Ounce of Prevention Matches St. Joe Community Foundation

Grant for $20,000 Infusion

PANAMA CITY, FLORIDA- August 5, 2004- Larry Pintacuda, Chief Executive Officer of Partnership for Families announced that they have received two grants totaling $20,000 for their “Give a Child a Boost” Foster Care Fund.

The Fund, established to give area foster children a boost, provides a resource for foster parents to purchase the “extras” that allow foster children to participate in activities that bolster self-esteem, social skills and academic achievement.  This includes yearbooks, class rings, school supplies, athletic equipment, club and camp dues, lab fees and more. The St. Joe Community Foundation granted $10,000 and the Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida issued a $10,000 match for a combined total of $20,000. “The Ounce” has committed to match funds raised by Partnership for Families by up to $10,000 a year for its “Give a Child a Boost” Foster Care Fund.

“This is a major contribution to our community.  These funds will help ensure that our foster children experience normalcy in their lives during these very difficult times.  Furthermore, it will help reduce the likelihood of mental illness, drug and alcohol abuse, unemployment, crime, domestic violence and homelessness in their futures,” explains Pintacuda.

"Growing up can be difficult, and especially so for foster children.  The Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida is proud to partner with organizations like Partnership for Families to give the foster children in our community a boost.  Our contributions help provide these children with many of things they would otherwise go without, such as athletic uniforms, band instruments, and prom attire.  These things may seem like inconsequential extras, but they have a tremendous impact on the outlook of children in foster care," said Douglas Sessions, Jr., President and CEO of The Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida.

“The opportunity to leverage support for this program with a match from the ‘Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida’ gave us an added incentive to help the ‘Partnership’ with the ‘Give a Child a Boost,’ said Pamela Selton, executive director of The St. Joe Community Foundation. “We’re delighted that our funds, paired with the match, means that more children will be able to enjoy some of the ‘extras’ that are too often denied them because of limited resources.” 

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About Partnership for Families

Partnership for Families, Inc. is a private, non-profit organization formed through the collaboration of Anchorage Children’s Home of Bay County and Life Management Center of Northwest Florida. The Partnership contracts with the Department of Children and Families to coordinate and financially manage child protection services for abused and neglected children and their families in coordination with non-profit providers in Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson and Washington Counties.  The mission of Partnership for Families is to protect children and preserve families.

About Ounce of Prevention

The Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida is a public-private partnership, blending state and private dollars and investing them in innovative, community-based programs that serve at-risk children and their families.  Believing that the wisest way to invest money is to spend it on prevention, the organization identifies, funds, supports and evaluates innovative programs that improve the life outcomes. Programs funded by the Ounce of Prevention Fund focus on ensuring that families have the skills, training, education, financial stability and healthy lifestyle they need in order to grow stronger and raise healthy, educated and productive children.

About The St. Joe Community Foundation

The St. Joe Company (NYSE: JOE) created The St. Joe Community Foundation (STJCF), formerly named Northwest Florida Improvement Foundation, in 1999 to invest in community initiatives that pay long-term returns on the quality of life in Bay, Franklin, Gulf, and Walton counties.

Since its inception, STJCF has granted more than $3,175,000 to the region: over $905,000 in Bay County; $214,000 in Franklin County; $595,000 in Gulf County; over $1,100,000 in Walton County; and more than $324,000 for multi-county.

STJCF’s unique funding structure is based on payments from JOE that are a percentage of the proceeds from new sales in specific JOE communities.  Payments continue each time the properties are resold through deed covenants requiring a transfer fee to be paid to STJCF each time a property is subsequently sold.  In this way, JOE, and the property owners who live in our neighborhoods are partnering with the community for the betterment of the entire region.

Focused primarily on education, regional health care delivery, art and culture, parks and recreation, and community spirit, STJCF investments are based on building civic infrastructure and providing on-going improvements in the region through grants and initiatives that promote teaching and learning and create healthier communities.  To learn more about STJCF or to request a 2003 annual report, log on to www.stjcf. com or contact Pamela Selton, STJCF executive director, at 850.231.6558.