In keeping with our annual tradition, SunStone believes the best way to celebrate the holiday season is giving to those in need.
This year we again asked our team to recommend charities they believe are the most worthy, so that we can celebrate our blessings by donating in your name.
This year’s top donation of $6,000 is to the Direct Relief Fund, as recommended by Laura Ehrlich:
Laura - "In the past few years, our world has been hit especially hard with multiple disasters including diseases such as COVID, poverty and disasters, leading to suffering of many. These events adversely affect people’s health and well-being regardless of color, economics, nationality, or politics. We all know someone directly affected by these disasters, who may or may not have the resources or available infrastructure to deal with the emergency.
Direct Relief, founded in 1948, aids people and communities in need, without government funding or regard to politics, religion, race, ethnicity, gender, nationality, or any other classification. An organization with a 100% fundraising efficiency rating from Forbes, Direct Relief has been intimately involved in recovery from such disasters as the California wildfires by providing N-95 masks and respiratory medications. Their COVID response included providing emergency medical resources (vaccines, antibody therapies, PPE, medical grade oxygen and other critical items) to medial facilities across the world. Direct Relief prepares for hurricanes prior to the hurricane season and is ready to respond with needed medical relief in the gulf coast and Caribbean, should a hurricane hit. In addition, they provide health care relief for earthquakes, tornadoes, and Ukraine. Their service area is global with a focus in the US.
A current disaster in the US is opioid overdose from the misuse and addiction to opioids including prescription pain relievers, heroin, and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl. Direct Relief has been distributing naloxone, a lifesaving drug that reverses overdose, to organizations across the US. While this drug saves lives during a crisis, Direct Relief has also provided funding to expand behavioral health services for those most at risk including Community Health Centers, free and charitable clinics, The Harm Coalition, National Association for Recovery Residence (NARR)/VOICES project, public health departments, and direct donations to schools, colleges and universities, libraries, and YMCA’s with Narcan. Their fund supports education, outreach, treatment, and mental health services for those with substance abuse disorders.
We all know people who have been affected by every one of these disasters. Therefore, it is exceedingly important to donate to a well-regarded organization that has a longstanding history for providing assistance where it is needed."
We will also be making a $2,000 donation to the following charity, in your name:
CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children), as recommended by Bob Marcavage
Bob - "This is a national organization which has a local presence in our community. Their mission is to recruit, train, educate, and supervise dedicated volunteers to become agents of change for the abused and neglected youths of Dauphin County. A CASA volunteer is a trained citizen (21 years or older) who is appointed by a Judge to represent the best interest of a child in court. CASA volunteers advocate for children who were once abused and/or neglected and are now placed into the foster care system through the Dependency Court.
This organization provides a service to our community which has a great impact on children lives that are in need and are unable to receive this type of support.
The CASA website states… Studies show that if a child has a CASA volunteer, they are more likely to receive needed services, involving medical treatment, mental health therapy, and educational support. Children with an appointed CASA are also less likely to languish in long-term care."
Listed below are the other great organizations our team recommended, and SunStone will be donating $250 in your name:
Fisher House Foundation, as recommended by Tony Berkebile
Tony - "The Fisher House Foundation builds comfort homes where military and veteran families can stay free of charge, while a loved one is in the hospital. These homes are located at military and VA medical centers across the world. Since its inception in 1990, the program has saved military and veterans’ families an estimated $547 million in out-of-pocket costs for lodging and transportation during the difficult time of having a loved one in the hospital.
Fisher House Foundation also operates the Hero Miles program, using donated frequent flyer miles to bring family members to the bedside of injured service members as well as the Hotels for Heroes program using donated hotel points to allow family members to stay at hotels near medical centers without charge. The Foundation also manages a grant program that supports other charities and scholarship funds for military children, spouses, and children of fallen and disabled veterans.
Here are some of the incredible statistics that stuck out to me in my research about how this foundation impacts the lives of our military and veteran families:
Families served: 27,000 just in calendar year 2021 alone
Daily capacity: 1,300 families
Families served: More than 430,000 since inception in 1990
Number of lodging days offered: 11.5 million +
15,000 students have received $27,000,000 in scholarship awards
Over 70,000 airline tickets provided by Hero Miles to service members and their families, worth nearly $105 million
The fact that this organization affects our military and veteran families in so many ways is the main reason why I am selecting the Fisher House Foundation this year. There’s a special place in my heart, and I feel in all our hearts, for the brave men and women that fight for our freedom, and what better way to give back and say THANKS to them!"
Gleaners Food, Hunger Doesn't Take a Break for the Holidays - Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan, as recommended by Marion Salwin
Marion - "Gleaners Food Bank is very near and dear to my heart. I have personally donated my time and financially to Gleaners over the past several years. Since 1977, Gleaners Community Food Bank has relied on corporate and personal donations to help feed individuals in southeastern Michigan. Gleaners works with 500 partners—schools, churches, community organizations, hospitals, and other non-profit agencies—to identify hungry individuals and families and get them the assistance they need. Also, Gleaners works with schools to distribute weekend backpacks filled with nutritious food for children who rely on free or reduced-fee school meals during the week. To help people with mobility issues Gleaners Mobile Pantries go directly into the community to serve senior citizens and those with physical disabilities. One of Gleaners newest projects, Making Investments in the Lives of Kids (M.I.L.K.), delivers fresh milk—the hardest item to get into the hands of low-income families—directly to homes and area agencies for pick up.
Gleaners provides food to more than 600 partner soup kitchens, food pantries, shelters, and other agencies across the region, and supplements efforts of those partners by offering direct service drive-up grocery and food box distributions. In its fiscal year 2021, Gleaners distributed a record-breaking 71.4 million pounds of food to neighbors in need. Every dollar donated provides three meals and 94 cents of every donated dollar goes to food and food programs!"
The J Foundation, as recommended by Brian Malley
Brian - "Jaime was a good friend of mine along with many others in the Philadelphia area. He started the foundation to initially pay the funeral costs for young children when families did not have money to pay for it. It has since grown into much more then funeral costs. Purchasing much needed supplies that can be provided to children when they are in the hospital for long periods of time. iPads, game systems, counseling services, mortgage payments etc.... and so much more."
K9s For Warriors - Service Dogs for Disabled Veterans , as recommended by Candice Shaffer
Candice - "I think this is a worthy cause due to them taking shelter dogs and training them to be service dogs for veterans that are experiencing service-connected trauma. This helps reduce veteran suicide and takes dogs out of shelters and into homes. This is offered to the veteran at no cost to them. This was founded in 2011,by a mother who was trying to help her son handle his PTSD when he returned home. I truly believe dogs can help people in dark times."
Maranatha Ministry, as recommended by Tammy Reed
Tammy - "They help those in the community who are in need with physical and spiritual needs. They have a local food pantry and a Cold Weather Shelter for the homeless during the winter. I volunteered at the shelter for a short time last winter. This year they are giving out Christmas gifts for the children in the community. Craig Newcomer, the CEO, is a very kindhearted person and enjoys serving the community."
Pathways Center for Grief & Loss, as recommended by Georgia Rackley
Georgia - "Death and its accompanying grief are a universal experience. And yet, it is one of the most difficult things to talk about because of the associated pain and even stigma depending on how our loved one died. Grief is not a problem to be fixed but to be honored, carried, and incorporated into one’s life.
This year I would like to nominate the Pathways Center for Grief and Loss. Following an untimely and tragic loss of my own, I found that my broken heart was an open heart and I sought out every resource possible. An on-line search led me to this Center, fand I participated in several of their topic related grief support groups; then on-line because of COVID. The Center also offers individual grief counseling and has an outstanding library of everything grief and loss related. Every service is free and is available to anyone even if they have not used the services of their affiliate Hospice and Community Care organization.
I cannot say enough about the professionalism of the staff who are highly trained in the experience of death, grief and trauma. Most notable is their approach to death; one of utmost respect and acknowledgment of the sacredness of the grief journey. I would like SunStone’s donation to be in honor of the staff of this Center so they can continue their vital work.
We have trauma centers for broken bodies and hopefully someday we can have more centers like this one where the healing of emotional trauma and broken souls can begin."
Penn State Hershey Children’s Miracle Network,
as recommended by Joli Fitzgibbons
Joli - "This year I’d like to recommend we donate to the Penn State Hershey Children’s Miracle Network in honor of Malaya Gohn. Malaya was my niece’s little girl (my grandniece) born in 2017 with a rare genetic disorder called Megacystis Micro-colon Intestinal Hypo-peristalsis Syndrome (MMIHS). Malaya passed away last September at the age of four. Penn State Health through the Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) provided invaluable support throughout Malaya’s short life to Malaya, her big brother, and my niece Amanda, and her husband Brin. They were tremendous. Attached is a quick synopsis regarding Malaya. Donations to CMN support pediatric research, family-centered programs, and equipment for sick and injured children."
The Shalom House, as recommended by Cathy Archuleta
Cathy - "The Shalom House, assists women and children with housing, income stabilization and/or employment and provides counseling services as well. Their wholistic program addresses family, finance, social, spiritual, physical, and mental health with goals personally designed for each woman and child.
I wrestled with the nomination but the idea of giving to a local group seemed very appropriate given the needs are overwhelming in every direction. The stability of the family is foundational to raising children in this very uncertain world."
SunStone has made these donations with all of your names as a way of saying thank you for your business, your friendship and support of our ongoing collective success.
We wish you all a very Merry Christmas, a Happy Holidays, and for you and your families to have a healthy and prosperous New Year!
Warm regards,
Greg St.Clair, and all your friends at SunStone