Celebrating 30 years of outstanding leadership, staff members of the Clara White Mission recognized CEO Ju'Coby Pittman Friday. Pittman was hired in 1993 to bring new life to the historic institution founded by Jacksonville humanitarian Dr. Eartha M.M. White. After 3 decades, she continues to work on initiatives that address food scarcity and homelessness in Jacksonville.
Pittman received words of encouragement and thanks from her family, members
of the CWM board and executive leadership team. Meg Fisher, the Chief Operating Officer of the mission has worked alongside Pittman for 30 years and shared
memories about the early years of their journey together bringing new life to the mission and expanding its programs. The staff also announced that Pittman had successfully raised more than $67,000 earlier in June during the 29th annual Miracle on Ashley Street. It is the mission's most popular fundraiser that raises awareness about hunger and homelessness in Jacksonville.
Pittman, a Jacksonville native, has made it her life's work to serve people who are overlooked. In 1993 when she became the Executive Director of the mission, she started with an annual budget of $250,000 and now operates several programs with a budget of more than $2 million. The mission's reputation has ascended beyond being a soup kitchen for the homeless to being renown across the state of Florida for its transitional housing program for homeless Veterans in partnership with the Veteran Affairs Department, as well as operating a museum, culinary arts training programs and a 10.5 acre farm that serves food desert communities and offers training in sustainable agriculture.
In 30 years Pittman has created a one-stop-shop for people needing a second chance in life. She has brought more awareness to homelessness and the hunger crisis through her leadership of Jacksonville's oldest Black human services institution. The Clara White Mission was founded in 1904, but dates back to as early as 1880 when Eartha White and her mother Clara White fed people out of their home.
