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Last month marked the successful return of our 15th Annual Jacksonville Wine Reception, benefiting Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, Inc. (JALA). Thanks to your generous support, we were able to surpass our JALA Wine Reception fundraising goal this year and raised a record $36,150! JALA assists low-income local community members experiencing civil legal issues. With only 30 attorneys and a 30-year history of providing high-quality legal presentations in a variety of service areas, JALA is an integral part of the Jacksonville legal community.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced $20 million in inaugural grants from its Eviction Protection Grant Program, the first of its kind for the department. These grants will be awarded to legal service providers to assist in providing legal assistance to low-income tenants at risk of or subject to eviction. The Eviction Protection Grant Program is part of HUD’s continued work, as part of a whole of government approach, to support families recovering from the public health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jacksonville Area Legal Aid has garnered support from many business sectors over the years, but in a true first, JALA will receive a portion of the proceeds of a craft-brewed IPA from Intuition Ale Works that will be sold in select stores, on draft in the company’s taproom, and at this September’s St. Johns County Sing Out Loud Festival. “What’s not to love about this partnership?” asked JALA CEO Jim Kowalski. “We are so grateful, and so very thirsty, for this one-of-a-kind support. This is the coolest thing ever.”