Rayonier Provides Grants to 53 Nonprofit Organizations Supporting Nassau County
WILDLIGHT, Fla. – Rayonier announced the award of $178,700 to 53 area organizations serving Nassau County. The company hosted its annual special awards breakfast on December 1st at the FSCJ Betty P. Cook Nassau Center to recognize the recipients.
The grant recipients will use the funds to address a range of community needs, including civic, cultural, educational, environmental, natural resources, and health and human services programs.
“We believe that the health and well-being of our local communities, which are home to not only our forestlands but also our employees and contractor workforce, are critical to the long-term success of Rayonier,” said Mark McHugh, President and CFO. “As a
company that has been a part of Nassau County for nearly a century, it is our privilege to support the meaningful work of this year’s grant recipients.”
Present at the awards breakfast were Rep. Dean Black, District 15, and District Aide George Spicer. Also in attendance were Commissioner John Martin, District 1; Commissioner A.M. “Hupp” Huppman, District 2; Commissioner Jeff Gray, District 3; Commissioner Alyson McCullough, District 4; and Commissioner Klynt Farmer, District 5.
Nassau County School District Superintendent Dr. Kathy K. Burns and former Nassau County school board member Donna Martin also joined the breakfast.
“This annual grant breakfast serves as a solid reminder of Rayonier’s commitment to serving the community,” said Commissioner Hupp Huppmann. “The non-profit agencies and foundations Rayonier has chosen to support this year provide critical services directly to the citizens of Nassau County. We are fortunate to have this kind of generous corporate partnership.”
New to this year’s program, grant recipients who attended the breakfast contributed stocking stuffers for children in the care of Family Support Services of North Florida.
Through its community fund, Rayonier awarded grants to the following Nassau County organizations and projects in Northeast Florida in 2023:
Amelia Island Book Festival
Amelia Island Museum of History
American Heart Association
American Red Cross
Arts Alive Nassau
Baptist Health System Foundation
Barnabas Center Inc.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Florida
Blue Fire Theatre
Boy Scouts of America, North Florida Council
Elm Street Sportsman Association
Families in Transition
Family Support Services of North Florida
Fernandina Beach High School Foundation
Ferst Readers of Nassau County
FireFlight Flagler County
First Coast Healing Hands, Inc.
Florida Forestry Foundation
Folds of Honor Amelia Island
Florida State College at Jacksonville Foundation
Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation
Institute for Enterprise Inc.
Jacksonville Arboretum & Botanical Gardens
Keep Nassau Beautiful
Les DeMerle Amelia Island Jazz Festival
Micah's Place, Inc.
Nassau County Extension UF/IFAS Extension
Nassau County Council on Aging, Inc
Nassau County Sheriff's Office Emergency
Management
Nassau County Sheriff's Office Charities
Nassau County School District
Nassau Education Foundation
Nassau Habitat for Humanity
Nassau Humane Society
Nassau Racial Equality Coalition
National Pediatric Cancer Foundation
Northeast Florida Fair Association
School Board of Nassau County - All Pro Dads
St. Marys Riverkeeper
Take Stock in Children of Nassau County
The Arc Nassau
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Northern &
Central Florida Chapter
The Salvation Army Hope House
The US Constitution Scholarship Foundation
Three Rivers Legal Services
Traders Hill Farm
Trinity Love Hoblit Foundation
University of Florida/IFAS Extension
University of Florida Foundation
Veterans Council of Nassau County
West Nassau Historical Society
YMCA of Florida's First Coast - McArthur Center
YMCA of Florida's First Coast - Wildlight Center
About Rayonier
Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) is a leading timberland real estate investment trust with assets located in some of the most productive softwood timber growing regions in the United States and New Zealand. We own or lease under long-term agreements approximately 2.8 million acres of timberlands. We are More than trees because we recognize that our 90+ years of success in the timberland industry comes from our people, an empowering culture and the courage to constantly challenge “the way it’s always been done.” Get to know us at www.rayonier.com.