Dear Survivors & Supporters:

It is a new year and an opportunity to look back on the successes of 2016 and look forward to the goals and hopes of 2017. We began last year with our first major fundraising effort, A Year of Hope, and it was a huge success as it allowed us to start developing a statewide cold case database and launch an improved website. You can view our database progress here – https://projectcoldcase.org/cold-cases/. We were able to publicized 30 cold cases through our Cold Case Spotlight feature, including announcing arrests in 4 cases submitted through our website. You can view those here – https://projectcoldcase.org/category/arrest-made/. We also expanded our partnership with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office to include regular meetings with the Cold Case Unit and the ability for them to submit cases directly to us. This is a service we hope to expand across the country. We received a small grant from the Florida Office of the Attorney General to reimburse expenses for specific services we provide to our survivors. Of course we also found time to publish a book featuring 22 cold case homicides. Grief Diaries: Project Cold Case was released in late November as a “portable support group” for others grieving the loss of a loved one to an unsolved homicide. You can read more about the book and process of compiling the stories here – https://projectcoldcase.org/2016/11/21/grief-diaries-project-cold-case/.

As we begin 2017 and set our sights on goals of completing the database, expanding our staff and reach to families in need (and of course helping to resolve more cases), we invite you to attend our 2^nd annual “Year of Hope” event. On Saturday, January 28, 2017 from 2-5pm, Royal Palm Village Wine and Tapas will host our yearly fundraiser. This year we are confident that we will have enough support from businesses to not charge for tickets. We are also excited to announce a new addition to our event, a “live” auction conducted by state Senator Aaron Bean.

We are still looking for corporate sponsors that share our commitment to solving cold cases and making our communities safer. If you know of a philanthropic business that might like to help, please let us know. If you follow us on Facebook, you can RSVP on our event page where more details, including auction item previews and sponsorships will be announced.

 

Thank you to all that support this cause.

Sincerely,

Ryan Backmann

Founder / Executive Director

Project Cold Case, Inc.