Pet It Forward/Gina deserves the award of the year from our household! We have a precious…read more(ShihTzu) little girl named Princess who desperately needed to be seen by a VET ASAP because I thought she was having a seizure & have bloodwork done due to something she got into. Frantically I called Gina & to my surprise she started making calls for me. Not only did she help find somewhere affordable to take Princess, but stayed in communication w/me the entire trip as well from beginning to end. Even during the VET'S actual visit, to ensure that we received excellent care @11pm at night. Which we did & Princess was able to come home with/a clean bill of health after the scariest night ever! Without Gina walking me through this, idk what I would have done. It's not often that you call a complete stranger & the person on the other end, ends up being an Angel! Gina words truly cannot express to you what you've done for our family. I will certainly not ever forget & will shout from the rooftops that there is certainly still hope for our pets through folks like YOU. P.s. Pretty sure you'll be wearing a cape when we finally meet! #petitforward #shihtzuluv #angelsindisguise

From the owner: Pet It Forward is a non-profit foundation that helps keep pets and their owners stay together! As…read morea 501(c)3 status Pet It Forward helps pay a portion of vet bills, food, spay and neuter to the less fortunate in the Jacksonville, Fl area. (other areas soon to follow) Looking for a great cause to support? Donations of any amount are always welcomed and appreciated! Together we can help the less fortunate to not have to make the heartbreaking decision to have to surrender or rehome their beloved pets due to financial difficulties. Helping one paw at a time!

The Florida Christian Center is the non-profit "providing ministry and pastoral care, worship…read moreservices, classes on faith and aging, and other programs focused on the spiritual health of the residents of the Florida Christian Apartments and Sundale Manor." They do have people on the board that are part of the community and are actively working to carry out this mission. I had the pleasure of speaking to one of them at the last "Taste of Murray Hill" event a couple of weeks ago. He told me the FCA was a independent living community as opposed to assisted living with nursing care options for the elderly. This non-profit helps to organize this annual event as well as other community events that are held at the Florida Christian Apartments here in Murray Hill. Some of the programs and activities they organize for the senior residents on an ongoing basis include a caregiver support group, chair yoga, transportation to worship services at a local church, chair volleyball,Silver Sneakers with the YMCA, meditation classes, line dancing, English class for Spanish and Spanish class for English speakers, movie day, hot dog lunch, monthly resident birthday parties, and live music and dancing at Lane Wiley Senior Center. The Florida Christian Center is a nice organization that serves our community's seniors and persons with special needs in the area. I am glad that this resource is available to our senior citizens. ​ ​

HABIJAX has been a great place to spend our days off from work to volunteer whether it is at the…read moreReStore or one of the home build sites.

Great place , great atmosphere and great prices. Would highly recommend for D.I.Y oriented people…read more The people are friendly and for a great cause.

Every Saturday, from 10-3, under the bridges in Riverside, many of the best food and craft vendors…read morein the area, along with performers, local residents, and Jacksonville's greatest dogs, converge for a great weekend event. RAM is just a vibe. We make this a weekly stop and bring our dogs. There is something for everyone here. The outside lanes are devoted to local food vendors and food trucks respectively. Tons of great bakeries, produce and coffee selections. Inside, art, jewelry, and on stage, local talent weekly. Some of my favorite food vendors are 1748 Bakehouse and Mixed Fillings. The art vendors differ week to week and we've made a few purchases. Most importantly, this is THE highlight of the week for my dogs. They get to mingle with other dogs and people and they smile the entire time we're there. This is THE event to start your weekend in the Jacksonville area. If you haven't been, I highly encourage you to visit RAM.

An amazing experience alot of Duval artist out to showcase their talent and sell goods reasonable…read moreprices alot of fun for adults and kids and tons of food trucks Great customer service!!!!

Riverside Avondale Preservation is a non-profit formed in 1974 dedicated to preserving the…read morehistorical nature of the Riverside and Avondale neighborhoods and their respective communities. Every year in the spring, they host the home tour which includes a party and self-guided tour of specially selected historically renovated homes. They have been the guiding force behind the Riverside Arts Market, now in its 10th year, located underneath the Fuller Warren Bridge. They also help host the annual Luminaria held in mid-December which lights up the streets of Riverside, similar to displays held in the US Southwest. It's especially charming, to drive down historic streets and see the decorated homes with the bagged candles on every sidewalk. They are not like an HOA (home owners association) and do not "rule" over us here in Riverside and Avondale like some think, but do provide guidance when needed. They also help with research and are advocates for preservation. Without them, Riverside and Avondale would not be the beautiful place it is today.

One of my favorite parts of Jacksonville. It's a hike from where we live, but always enjoy coming…read moreto enjoy the good food, small businesses, and cultural diversity.

Review #900 comes in the form of admiration for the Ronald McDonald House in Jacksonville. I…read morerecently toured the facility for the first time and still have goosebumps from my experience. This non profit charity does not receive any federal or government grants or funding. Contrary to popular belief, it's a completely donation-based organization, which is absolutely stunning, since they currently house 53 families free of charge. Patients and their families come from all around the world to seek medical attention in Jacksonville. When I toured the house, they spoke enthusiastically of a family who recently crossed the pond from Ireland. People might not be talking about this enough, but Jacksonville is home to state-of-the-art medical care. The house is beautiful. There's a courtyard, a full-service kitchen (larger than some restaurants), a pantry, a movie room, a play room, a prayer room, a class room, a covered parking garage, a gorgeous rooftop garden and so much more. On top of that, each employee I've worked with or met in passing has a passion so evident it's contagious. I have to admit there were times during the tour I found myself getting choked up. The mission is clear and they are truly changing lives by providing lodging, food and transportation better than most hotel accommodations. Add to the mix, families at their most stressful only emphasizes the Lord's work they're doing. Love, love, love! I encourage anyone to donate or give back to the Ronald McDonald House.

This is a good place to get together with other friends of Bill W. Lots of meetings every day. I…read morelove this place...friendly people too and the snack bar is good. It's an older building, but has a lot of character upstairs and down.

From the owner: A Social Club & Snack Bar....The San Marco Club is a neighborhood anchor in a sea of temptation for…read morepeople struggling to turn their lives around. The San Marco Club of Jacksonville Fl. has 156 12-step meetings a month attended by many people from diverse backgrounds .

I took my chainsaw to Power Equipment Sales to have them take a look at my chainsaw last year that…read moreI couldn't get to work anymore. The guy took a look at it and made a few adjustments and gave it back to me, fixed, and didn't charge me anything. After this summer using the chainsaw, it quit again. I took it back to Power Equipment and this time, the guy had to keep it to try and repair it. He called after a short week and told me he had fixed the chainsaw and no need to buy another one yet. The guy is honest, reliable, and absolutely knows what he is doing. This business is a hidden gem on the Westside and I drive all the way from the beaches to have him repair any of my equipment as I know he will give me an honest answer as to if my piece of equipment is worth fixing and has saved me a lot of money!

Came here for a part for our Husqvarna riding lawnmower that decided to break off in the middle of…read moremowing. There was only one person working behind the counter and the two customers that were there had a life story to tell. Once I got to the counter the guy was super helpful. They didn't have the part in stock but he gave me a number to check and see if someone else had it locally.

This was a great event and well worth the money spent on admission. The offerings from some of the…read morenewer restaurants in the area were creative and delicious. And the organizers managed to create a relaxed and fun environment for everyone despite the rain. In addition, Intuition was a terrific location offerings just enough room to mingle with others, discuss the food samples from each vendor and enjoy some refreshing beer with other locals. :)

We just returned back from the Slow Down Slow Food First Coast Dinner. The rain couldn't keep a few…read morehundred folks from this event. There was plenty of beer from Intuition Ale Works. The food was good and really good. To Start we hit Hawker's they had tofu, jerk chicken, and pork skewers. Prepared and served by Kalib, Tim and a couple of the other owners. Then you had Moxie and Tom Grey himself was creating his delicious morsels of yumminess. Then Black Sheep had a smoked trout crostini. You could move on the a beef hash style dish with a quail egg on top from Uptown Market. One of the better dishes for me came from Nola's chef. The cold corn chowder was fabulous. Then the lobster rolls were equally delish from 29 South. You had to almost fight your way into Corner Taco's truck made chorizo cooked by Chris himself. With his soon to be famous Fred Bacon's riverside grown butter lettuce. We moved to Taverna's own Sam Efron was creating pea puree sampling. The young lady from Dig Foods was cutting living herbs for their kimchi pizza. We also tried the black corn cake with a kale salad. You could also head outside (under tent) to a small yet well stocked farmer's market. They had some of our favorites like down to earth farms, my grandmother's pies and KYF farms, Glades ridge farms, and a few more from the old king's street market. In all a great time and we walked or waddled away very full and we can't wait till next year.

The JAF is a great group that holds many charity events here at their headquarters on Stockton…read moreStreet in Riverside. They occupy a now-defunct firehouse on one side of the street (with the old brick training tower) and a church on the other side of the street. They hold food truck events, chili cook offs, car shows, and are the voting station for my area of Riverside. They have put a lot of money into rehabbing the main meeting hall on the church side, making it safe and welcoming. I was voting here many years ago when it was a church, and sadly run down, and truly appreciate what they've done for the voters in allowing us use of their hall. I do hope that someone repairs their parking lot, it's horrible. Be careful entering and exiting the church side.

I attended the Firefighters Food Truck Rally today. I really don't know why they didn't post the…read moreline up till the last couple of days. But, There was 8 trucks there today. Everyone from the Fusion Truck with Chef Ashley cranking out her Indian/Asian fusion stuff to What's the Catch floating some very tasty morsels for your taste buds. The Loving cup was also there serving up some really sweet smoothie's and coffees. I also saw the bare 2nd truck (stark white) of the Baby's Bad Ass Burger. You also had some regular trucks out like Craving Z's, Le Petite Cup Cakes and Lewey's crab truck. I did notice a new comer to town was the Soup to Nut's truck from Gainesville and a brand new truck out for the first time. The What's the scoop truck which is literally to children's truck of What's The Catch. I did pick out my favorite trucks and munched out. Without leaving my wife out I brought her some tasty morsels also. So to everyone that needs a firefighter (and that's everyone breathing) you need to come down and help out with this cause.