Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam is serving as the master of ceremonies Friday night for a charity reception during the Florida Association of Health Plans’ annual conference.
The event will benefit a host of charities including BASE Camp Children’s Cancer Foundation, Camp Boggy Creek, Freedom Ride, Make-A-Wish of Central and Northern Florida, Healthy Start Coalition of Orange County, Children’s Safety Village and the Florida Chapter of the March of Dimes. This is the second year such a charity event has been held at the annual conference.
“We are very happy Commissioner Putnam keynoted this very popular event,” said Audrey Brown, president of FAHP. “These great organizations are doing phenomenal work, and we are honored to provide them with resources to help continue their efforts. Our conferees attend numerous events over three days, yet the charity reception has quickly become the favorite.”
Each benefiting charity received at least $500 and as much as $2,500.
One of the benefactors, BASE Camp Children’s Cancer Foundation, helps children and families battling cancer or other life-threatening blood-related illnesses. Camp Boggy Creek helps sick kids enjoy a traditional camp experience while still keeping that child in a medically sound environment appropriate for their illness.
Other charities benefiting from the event include the therapeutic riding program Freedom Ride. That provides services to kids and adults with developmental disabilities, autism, Down Syndrome, muscular dystrophy and other degenerative or brain-related ailments.
Contributions were also made to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central and Norther Florida and the March of Dimes benefiting pregnant mothers.
The Healthy Start Coalition of Orange County also received donations to improve maternal and child health.
A program aimed at teaching safety skills to kids to keep them from getting hurt also benefited. The Children’s Safety Village of Central Florida provides a mini-city to deliver its message.
Putnam focuses on ensuring families have food and school lunches are nutritious. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services also touts its Fresh from Florida program that helps promote the state’s 47,000 agricultural producers, including small farms within Florida and around the nation.
The Friday charity event is a part of the 2015 FAHP annual conference that began Wednesday. The conference aims to identify and solve problems facing health care.
