VyStar Team Raises More Than $100,000 for Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
After raising $101,553, VyStar’s own Dennis James has been named Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Man of the Year for 2020.
Congratulations to Dennis James, VyStar’s Senior Vice President of Consumer Lending, for exceeding his goal of raising $100,000 and being named our area’s Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Man of the Year for 2020!
Dennis raised a total of $101,553 during his 15-week campaign — making him the first ever candidate in Jacksonville to raise more than $100,000 — and each dollar counted as one vote for Man of the Year. With hundreds of donors, peers and business partners coming together to contribute, Dennis called it a great team effort. He also wanted to thank his campaign team of David Walton, Eric Weatherly, Melissa Thomas, Dart Bransby, Lori Wagner, Minette Torres, Kelley Martin, April Bartlett, Kevin Owens, Amanda Crawford, Paul Bement, Sharon Werner and Sarah Couture.
“Thanks to your support, my efforts will help fund therapies and treatments that are saving lives,” Dennis wrote on his fundraising page. “Over the years, support from people like you has been responsible for the blood cancer advancements that have doubled, tripled, and in some cases quadrupled the survival rate for some blood cancers.”
Overall, the Man and Woman of the Year campaigns for the Northeast Florida chapter raised more than $153,000 to support blood cancer research, patient services and public education.
Congratulations and great job, Dennis!
VyStar Works With Humane Society to Help Local Pets
To celebrate our 68th anniversary, we covered the adoption costs of 57 pets in April.
At VyStar Credit Union, we try to find creative ways to make a difference in the community whenever possible. Sometimes, that means supporting small businesses, such as restaurants that were negatively impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Other times, it means contributing to local charitable organizations.
In April, we had a doggone good time celebrating our 68th anniversary by helping animals from the Jacksonville Humane Society find loving homes. Over a two-day span, VyStar covered the cost of adoptions, and 57 animals met their new pet parents. One foster family even named their two newly adopted kittens “Vy” and “Star.” Is that a “purr-fect” set of names or what?
Thanks to our partnership with the Humane Society, anyone who brought home a new pet was able to do so without worrying about typical adoption expenses, such as paying for up-to-date vaccinations. Those can be costly and discourage some people from adopting.
We were thrilled to bring the joy of pet ownership to so many local residents while also teaming up with the Human Society to put a dent in pet homelessness in our area. Especially during times like these, who couldn’t use some snuggles from a new furry friend?
If you are interested in adopting a pet or volunteering at the Humane Society, you can find more information on their website at www.jaxhumane.org. Their website also offers information on veterinary services, training classes and upcoming events in Northeast Florida.
VyStar hopes to continue finding creative ways to make a positive impact in our community, including joining forces with the Humane Society.