To volunteer with Camp Sunshine, go to www.campsunshine.org
Partnering together for the past eight years, Tropical Smoothie Cafe and Maine-based Camp Sunshine have been giving families around the country opportunities to attend the year-round camp that supports kids with life threatening illnesses and their families.
On June 28, Tropical Smoothie Cafe expanded its giving back by hosting its first 5K at Brook Run Park in Dunwoody to raise money for the year-round camp. With 200 runners, the 5K brought in almost $30,000.
The race was just one of the many ways the company, headquartered in Atlanta, has given back to the camp. Earlier in June, cafes across the country honored National Flip Flop Day where they gave out free smoothies for anyone who wore flip flops while collecting donations.
“Our company wants to build solid relationships and inspire healthier lifestyles,” said CEO Mike Rotondo. “And, [to achieve] both those principles also mean giving back to our communities. We want to inspire our community to live better by also doing things for each other.”
Over the years and through various fundraising efforts, the cafe has made over $3 million in donations to help families come to the six-day camp at no cost.
For the week, Camp Sunshine aims to provide a place for families to meet other families, learn about resources, “but also have fun and enjoy being a family,” said Executive Director Michael Katz.
Camp Sunshine serves about 800 families a year over 28 sessions. To make it a success, the camp seeks the community to volunteer at the various sessions, which need almost 2,500 volunteers per session.
In addition to fundraising, employees from Tropical Smoothie also volunteer at camp sessions to continue giving back to the camp.
“Having the support of a company like Tropical Smoothie has really helped our nonprofit bring more families to Camp Sunshine and let them experience a week of fun and create happy memories,” said Katz.
In other news: Senior Connections, a home and community-based service organization in metro Atlanta and Middle Georgia, raised nearly $200,000 for its programs and services at Senior Prom held on May 30.
On June 10, Bassett Furniture donated nearly $10,000 worth of furniture and accessories that will transform two rooms used for reading and therapy sessions for families at the Gwinnett Children’s Shelter. GCS offers an array of services that impact more than 6,500 youth and 300 families annually from all across the north metro Atlanta area.
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