Legacy Grant Brings Hope in Jacksonville, Florida

The Salvation Army has faithfully served the community of Jacksonville, Florida since 1891. Thanks to the generosity of Delores Barr Weaver and the facilitation of The Salvation Army’s local partners in the area, their continuing Kingdom work will be greatly aided in the coming days. The Salvation Army of Northeast Florida recently received a $300,000 grant, spread across three years, from Delores Barr Weaver Legacy Funds. Major Keath Biggers, area commander for Northeast Florida, explains that the funding “will have a profound impact on the lives of individuals and families seeking hope and healing.”

“This support allows us to continue providing critical shelter, resources, and pathways to stability for those experiencing homelessness in our community,” Major Biggers continues. “With this gift, we are not only meeting immediate needs but also building brighter futures.”

Delores Barr Weaver has been a long-time champion of The Salvation Army’s work in the Jacksonville community, her support including an annual matching grant through their Red Kettle Telethon each December. “We were already so grateful for that continued support,” Major Biggers shares. “We’re also blessed to have that commitment again in December, above and beyond this incredibly generous grant.”

A sizable portion of the funding received from Delores Barr Weaver Legacy Funds will go to support the ongoing work of the Towers Center of Hope. The Center of Hope strives to be a comprehensive support facility for individuals and families in need, offering a wide range of services and aiming to empower people to achieve stability and self-sufficiency. This includes emergency housing, comprehensive casework services, food pantry distribution, and a meal service that reaches nearly 200 people each day.

“There are meals provided through our programs seven days a week, 365 days a year. And that’s breakfast, lunch, and dinner,” says Major Biggers. “That doesn’t even take into account Thanksgiving, when we distribute around 1,000 food boxes with the help of Casey Jones, one of the survivors of the Miracle on the Hudson and a great supporter of ours. He’s been helping us for more than a decade with that service, and it is instrumental.”

In 2024, the Towers Center of Hope provided more than 27,000 nights of lodging in Jacksonville, its services also extending to educational support, spiritual counseling, transportation, and job placement. The community fellowship room, which also serves as a meeting space for partner organizations in the city, will be renamed “The Delores Barr Weaver Community Room” in honor of this legacy of support.

“This funding will greatly support the ongoing services and give us more of a solid foundation,” says Major Biggers. “It came at an opportune time to ensure that we can continue serving people, making sure that the needs are being met day in and day out. When we got the news, there was just an outpouring of gratitude from the staff and our board. We’re grateful for all those who have nurtured this gift and made it possible, and also for the outreach and for the answered prayers as we’ve been praying for God to bless us with the needed resources.”

Major Biggers indicates that the grant process has been “a total team effort to make the gift possible,” including generous and dedicated support from The Salvation Army’s Advisory Board, Echelon, and Women’s Auxiliary in Northeast Florida. “They’ve helped us to get the message out about what we’re all about,” Major Biggers says, “and I just thank God for the wonderful advisory organizations and support that we have in Jacksonville that are committed to the mission and ministry of The Salvation Army, not only with their words, but with their pocketbooks and being ambassadors for us.”

In a spirit of gratitude, Major Biggers and those who serve in Northeast Florida are both motivated by and grateful for the generosity of Delores Barr Weaver and others who support the ongoing work of The Salvation Army. “We give God all the glory and all the praise,” Major Biggers says. “And we thank Him for both opening up the hearts of those who have the resources to give and for enabling us to continue to do the most good for each and every person in need that comes to our doors in Jacksonville.”