Gulf Coast JFCS is finalist for two WEDU Be More Awards

Gulf Coast Jewish Family & Community Services is a finalist for two WEDU Be More Awards – one for Nonprofit Organization of the Year and the other in a special events category.

WEDU, A Public Broadcasting Service television station in Tampa, will present Be More Awards in 12 categories. The awards were created to pay tribute to the many unsung heroes servicing the Tampa Bay area, showcasing the best work of local nonprofit organizations.

The awards will be presented at a luncheon at noon on Thursday, Feb. 9 at A La Carte Pavilion in Tampa. Preceding the ceremony will be a Hall of Heroes event at 11 a.m., where award finalists will set up displays and offer videos about their organizations and meet with those attending the ceremony.

Speaking at the event and serving as Honorary Champion will be Ryan Nece, former Tampa Bay Buc and founder of the Ryan Nece Foundation. Nece will also present the Be More Giving Award, which was inspired by a keynote address he gave at the 2010 Be More Awards ceremony.

Gulf Coast is one of five finalists for the Be More Unstoppable award, which is for Nonprofit Organization of the Year, and one of four finalists for the Be More Entertaining award for special events.

Other finalists for the Unstoppable award include the Glazer Children’s Museum; the Lazydays Employee Foundation, which aids area children in need; The Spring of Tampa Bay, a local domestic violence shelter; and an organization aiding the homeless known as Starting Right, Now.

An independent panel of judges spends four weeks reviewing candidates for the Be More Awards. The Be More Unstoppable Award is given to a nonprofit organization that, through a superior level of service, helps its constituency “be more.” Selected from all submitted applications, the criteria to win this award consist of overall organizational excellence, service to the organization’s constituency, the level of community impact, financial viability and embodiment of overall community goodwill. The winner of the award receives a $1,000 WEDU Community Investment Grant.

The Be More Entertaining (Special Events) Award honors the organization that demonstrates the most successful special event – based on measurable objectives.

Gulf Coast submitted the application for its FACES gala event held in October. The gala included a dramatic presentation in cooperation with the freeFall Theater Company about several of the GCJFCS clients showcased in the agency’s FACES Project,

The FACES Project was created by Barbara Sterensis, Gulf Coast board chair, who felt the best way to tell the story of the agency was to see the faces of the people Gulf Coast serves in more than 33 Florida counties, including Pinellas, Pasco and Hillsborough. Sterensis and long-time agency supporter and photographer Sonia Raymund traveled to more than 15 communities to meet and photograph agency clients. What resulted was the FACES book and exhibit, both premiering at the Gulf Coast Jewish Family & Community Services annual fundraiser in 2010 — and were also featured at the 2011 gala.

Other finalists for the special events award include the Florida Institute for Community Services, the Junior League of Tampa and Wheels of Success.

Tickets for the Be More Awards ceremony are $50 per person, $600 for a Community Heroes table for 10, or $1,000 for a philanthropist table of 10. For more information or to make reservations, visit www.wedu.org/BeMore or call WEDU at 1-800-354-9338, ext 2241. Rservation deadline is Friday, Feb. 3.