Each year, FLORIDA TODAY honors a citizen, volunteer, business and organization of the year. Winners of these four awards epitomize the spirit of volunteerism and have helped in some way to improve the welfare of our community.

Organization of the Year

Brevard Neighborhood Development Coalition picked up the award for Organization of the Year. “From our sticks and bricks development project . . . to social outreach, BNDC is helping to restore the streets of Brevard,” said executive director Lynn Brockwell-Carey. She leads a team of do-gooders in the restoration of the Booker T. Washington community. The coalition’s mission is to revitalize troubled neighborhoods. It opened the Dorcas Outreach Center for Kids, affectionately known as the DOCK, a safe haven for children. Other nominees for Organization of the Year were Junior League of South Brevard and Welcome Home Vets.

Our views: Honoring volunteers

Award winners deserve thanks for giving back to community. Each year, FLORIDA TODAY recognizes individuals, businesses and organizations that make life better in Brevard County.

This year’s winners of the 18th annual Volunteer Recognition Awards were announced Thursday night during a ceremony that honored their good works.

The winners, along with all nominees, give selflessly of their time, talent and resources to help the less fortunate and better the community.

Congratulations to: Organization: Brevard Neighborhood Development Coalition. Formed in 2001 to revitalize low-income neighborhoods, the grassroots organization has become a remarkable catalyst for improvement in impoverished areas.

Committed to a rebirth in the crime- and drug-plagued Booker T. Washington neighborhood in Melbourne, the Coalition opened the Dorcas Outreach Center for Kids, a safe haven where children are provided with role models, supervision, help with schoolwork and other services.

The BNDC also worked successfully to transform the blighted “Bottoms” complex in Booker T. Washington into the new Greater Heights apartments, empowering area residents to take back the streets.

Next up, the Coalition is working with residents of the Powell Subdivision in Palm Bay to redevelop a rundown store that was a magnet for crime into a nonprofit grocery store that will bolster the community. That includes creating job opportunities for residents and helping local teens learn business and other skills.

For more information on the Brevard Neighborhood Development Coalition's Award for Organization of the Year:

Florida Today: Our Views

Brevard Honors Volunteer Spirit.

Florida Today Honors Top Volunteers

To view a video about Brevard Neighborhood Development Coalition, click here.