Stellar work: 211 Brevard names winners of 2021 Stars of Space Coast awards for nonprofits

Britt Kennerly, Florida Today
·2 min read
2-1-1 Brevard offers information and referral and crisis intervention 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The countless contributions of local nonprofits don't go unnoticed by officials at 211 Brevard, who on Friday named the winners and finalists for 211's 2021 Parrish Medical Center Stars of Space Coast Awards.
2-1-1 Brevard offers information and referral and crisis intervention 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The countless contributions of local nonprofits don't go unnoticed by officials at 211 Brevard, who on Friday named the winners and finalists for 211's 2021 Parrish Medical Center Stars of Space Coast Awards.

In a community brimming with important work by diverse groups, these folks make a stellar addition to life on the Space Coast.

The countless contributions of local nonprofits don't go unnoticed by officials at 211 Brevard, who on Friday named the winners and finalists for 211's 2021 Parrish Medical Center Stars of Space Coast Awards.

The 2021 winners are:

· Down the Road Thrift Store for the CBRE/Imperial Plaza Superstar Award for veterans’ services.

· Brevard Health Alliance for the Publix Super Market Charities All-Star Award for children’s services.

· Eckerd Connects Family Support Services for the Florida Power & Light Community Star Award for homelessness prevention; and

· Lifetime Counseling Center for the Space Coast Credit Union Supernova Award for mental health support.

211 is a nonprofit that operates a 24-hour helpline offering crisis and suicide intervention as well as information and referral to human services.

“Again this year, we are focusing on honoring nonprofit partners with services that complement our own key services and programs,” said Libby Donoghue, executive director for 211 Brevard. For example, she said, the addition of the SCCU Supernova Award for mental health complements their suicide and crisis intervention work.

“We could not be effective in improving lives on the Space Coast without our partners who join us in providing services,” Donoghue said.

Take, for instance, Down the Road Thrift Store, founded in 2017 by Navy veteran Jerry Vaughan and a partner.

Vaughan served in the U.S. Navy from 1985 to 1989, mostly on the USS Eisenhower. His varied career after the military included working as a thrift store manager for Habitat for Humanity.

The store, which recently moved to a new location at Titusville Mall, furnished the first apartment for a formerly homeless veteran in March 2018. By the end of this year, donations and proceeds from the store will drive furnishing the store's 500th apartment.

Down the Road also recently began to provide burial uniforms for veterans. In less than three months, five uniforms were donated for deceased veterans without resources or at their families’ request.

Other finalists for the awards were: Eastern Florida Military and Veterans Service Centers and Melbourne Vet Center for the CBRE/Imperial Plaza Superstar Award; Brevard WIC (Women, Infants and Children) and The Children’s Center for the Publix Super Market Charities All-Star Award; Genesis House and Brevard Homeless Coalition for the Florida Power & Light Community Star Award; and Circles of Care and the Brevard CARES Mobile Response Team for the Space Coast Credit Union Supernova Award.

211 Brevard managed more than 63,000 calls in the past year, and call volume continues to be significantly higher as the result of needs related to COVID-19. People reach helpline specialists by dialing 2-1-1 or texting a ZIP code to 898211.

Contact Kennerly at 321-242-3692 or bkennerly@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @bybrittkennerly Facebook: /bybrittkennerly.

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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Winners of 211 Brevard’s Stars of Space Coast awards named