211BB FALL Update

2-1-1 Big Bend eNewsletter - FALL 2015

In This Issue

Are you a FRIEND of 211?

Inspiration

A Message from the President

Meet Dana Brooks

Momentum is building in the

FRIENDS of 2-1-1 Campaign!

What's all the Buzz?

This year-long "friend-raising" initiative launched with the goal of getting

211 friends to donate $211 to the agency. We launched in July and have eleven (11) friends to-date! Please contact the Development Office today to add your name to the list below. Click here to learn how you can help. And, feel free to encourage others join also.

Thank you to these FRIENDS who have joined the campaign so far:

Kim Boyer

John Burrill

Full Press Apparel

Sheila Horne

Janet Lenz

Matt Liebenhaut

Mary Jane Mayo

Emily Millett

Randy Nicklaus

Dr. Cheri Rainey

Polly White

We're all working together; that's the secret. ~ Sam Walton

HELPLINE 2-1-1 CALL Stats

Our goal is to listen, assess risk and help our callers make rational decisions.

September Service Snapshot

Hotline counselors assisted 1583

callers and offered 3,062 referrals.

Click here for September 2015

MATCH DAY

On Thursday, November 5, 2015, our community will come together for MATCH DAY, and we need YOU to join us. It's 24 hours of unprecedented non-profit giving - and it's your chance to make a real difference, right here in our community.

2-1-1 Big Bend has an endowment fund at the Community Foundation of North Florida. Please contact us to learn how you can make an immediate or deferred contribution to our endowment fund. Additional information is available from the Community Foundation at 222-2899 ext. 104 or jwatkins@cfnf.org.

Join in supporting 2-1-1 on November 5th by donating online HERE.

About Us

2-1-1 Big Bend provides Helpline

2-1-1, a 24/7 free, community hotline service offering confidential counseling and human service information. Other specialized hotlines are also operated by the agency such as the Florida HIV/AIDS Hotline and the Family Health Line.

www.211BigBend.org

A United Way Agency

2-1-1 Big Bend

P.O. Box 10950

Tallahassee, Florida 32302

Free iPhone App

The 2-1-1 Big Bend app provides an immediate connection to more than 1,000 programs in the Tallahassee, Florida area including Franklin, Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Taylor and Wakulla Counties. Users can find information about housing asistance, mental health issues, substance abuse, domestic violence, parenting skills, employment, foodbanks, disaster services and more.

Click here for Android

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bowmansystems.cp5.bb211

Greetings!

Randy Nicklaus, President

On Thursday, October 15, 2015 I will be celebrating my 30th Anniversary as President of 2-1-1 Big Bend. It has been an honor to serve in this role and to help our community, state and nation through my various professional associations. I'm proud that one of the initiatives I've been involved with is the implementation of the three digit 2-1-1 number throughout the United States. There are many other wonderful memories and experiences that I'll have to write about sometime later. I look forward to many more years of working with our 2-1-1 Big Bend team.

Welcome to our new Director of Hotline Programs, James Smith, LCSW. James joined us in September and has many years of nonprofit experience in Tallahassee including his recent role as Clinical Director at the Alzheimer's Project.

Please help us with a donation HERE to the 2-1-1 Big Bend Endowment Fund as we participate in North Florida Gives Match Day Campaign. See information in this newsletter about this Campaign between now and November 5th. Donations will be matched!

My best,

Randy Nicklaus

New 2-1-1 Big Bend

Board Member

Dana N. Brooks

Before Dana Brooks became an attorney, she was a paralegal, law firm administrator, mental health counselor and Florida Supreme Court certified family law mediator. She attended Pensacola Junior College and Tallahassee Community College before graduating Florida State University, cum laude, with a Bachelor of Science in Social Work. She later earned her MSW and law degrees also from Florida State in 2003.

Dana's experience and reputation during her 14 years as a paralegal in medical malpractice defense combined with her law school performance provided the basis for the exceptional opportunity Dana was offered from Vinse Barrett, founding partner of Barrett, Fasig & Brooks. Dana was sworn in as an attorney in the morning and made a named partner of a thirty-year-old revered plaintiff's law firm that same afternoon.

Dana is committed to giving back to the community. She currently serves on the board of 2-1-1 Big Bend and here are her reasons for doing so.

"I joined 2-1-1 Big Bend because I see a need for social services resource linking in our community and I wanted to promote awareness of the services 211 offers, including its (Help Me Grow program) which helps insure children are reaching developmental milestones and getting the care they need. In addition, I have personally
seen the devastation families experience when a loved one takes his or her own life. 211's suicide hotline provides counseling services for people who are contemplating ending their lives as well as the people who love and care about them."

Welcome Dana!

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