Jarden donates $15,800 to local charities

Jarden Consumer Solutions, a provider of consumer products such as Crock-Pot and Mr. Coffee, recently donated $15,800 to three local charities through its employee-funded JCS Community Fund.

The New York-based company has an office in downtown Hattiesburg.

Recipients of the grant money include the American Red Cross South Mississippi Chapter, which received $5,300; Pinebelt Association for Families, which received $5,500; and the Pink Ribbon Fund, which received $5,000.

The JCS Community Fund is designed to provide essential services to at-risk youth, women and families where JCS employees live and work, and has donated more than $5 million across the country since its creation in 2004.

“Our employees recognize the importance of supporting neighbors in communities where they live and work,” Rocki Rockingham, JCS vice president of community relations and communications, said in a statement.

“Through their generous contributions to the fund, JCS employees demonstrate genuine concern for those in need while making measurable improvements in the quality of their lives.”

•Red Cross will use its $5,300 to help provide direct disaster relief for 13 area families, including food, clothing and lodging.

That includes supporting firefighting efforts and response to floods and other natural disasters in the Hattiesburg area.

“It’s very helpful,” said Jay Huffstatler, chief development officer for the American Red Cross Mississippi Region. “The Red Cross depends on our local community to support our service delivery to folks when they need assistance, so it’s great to show the community that our partners are supporting our disaster response.”

•The Pinebelt Association for Families — a Petal-based organization that works with about 75 families in Forrest, Jones, Covington and Smith counties to support elderly living at home and provide home safety items — will put its $5,500 toward supporting the organization’s “Healthy Lifestyles” program.

The program encourages grandchildren and grandparents to pursue healthy lifestyles and develop healthy living habits.

“It’s absolutely crucial to keep our grandparents... healthy by sponsoring exercise at the Y, ranging from pool to floor exercises,” PAFF Executive Director Sylvia Forster said.

“It also helps to cover fresh food — we’ll go out to a U-pick, or we’ll go out to work with a farmer and pick stuff. It’s just fabulous.”

•The Hattiesburg-based Pink Ribbon Fund will use the $5,000 to help Pine Belt breast cancer patients pay for medical treatment and related costs such as hospital bills, diagnostic mammograms, lab bills and insurance deductibles.

This marks the second time the Pink Ribbon Fund, which is operated completely by volunteers, has received a grant from the JCS Community Fund.

“Last year, we were able to help many patients with that wonderful grant, and we intend to do the same this year,” Pink Ribbon Fund co-founder Susan Light said. “We’re very appreciative of this money from Jarden.

“The faith that they have shown in us is a catalyst for us to continue the work we’re doing. Whenever a corporation of that magnitude shows that they respect the work we’re doing, it’s a pat on the back.”

During the third quarter of 2014, the JCS Community Fund also provided donations to organizations in Arkansas ($5,000), California ($5,600), Missouri ($6,000), south Florida ($125,390) and Tennessee ($25,000). The JCS Community Fund approved grants totaling $182,790 in the third quarter of 2014.

To learn more

Jarden Consumer Solutions, through its JCS Community Fund, recently donated a total of $15,800 to three Pine Belt charities.

•The American Red Cross South Mississippi Chapter received $5,300. Details: (866) 964-5509.

•Pinebelt Association for Families received $5,500. Details: 582-0909.

•The Pink Ribbon Fund received $5,000. Details: 450-PINK (7465).

•To follow the activities of the JCS Community Fund, visit its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/JCSCommunityFund.