Rich's Products donates $81K to community organizations
Sep. 29—Organizations working to better the lives of youth and families in Glynn County were celebrated Wednesday and given funds to support their mission.
Rich Product Corporation's Consumer Brands Division and the Davis Love Foundation hosted a check presentation at Rich's offices on St. Simons for five local organizations — the Brunswick-Golden Isles Chamber Foundation, STAR Foundation of Coastal Georgia, Girls on the Run, Glynn Visual Arts and CASA Glynn Inc.
"This is such an exciting part of what we do here at Rich Products, and we're really thankful to be able to recognize all of the hard work that's happening in our community to support youth and families for the betterment of Glynn County," said Shannon Gilreath, Rich's senior vice president of consumer brands.
Rich's Consumer Brands Charitable Fund, the philanthropic arm of Rich Products Corporation's Consumer Brands Division, was established to help support organizations serving Glynn County and the southern Georgia community.
Rich Product's partners with the Communities of Coastal Georgia Foundation each year to host a fundraising event in collaboration with the RSM golf tournament on St. Simons hosted by the Davis Love Foundation.
"It's a highly successful fundraising event for Rich Products and the Davis Love Foundation, and it's a really interesting, unique way that we raise money," Gilreath said.
Rich's raised $81,500 this year, and the event has raised more than $481,500 in the past seven years.
The local Girls on the Run organization received a $20,000 donation. Girls on the Run serves girls in third through eighth grade and aims to build their confidence during those pivotal years.
Glynn Visual Arts received $10,000, which will go toward creating a pilot program with the Boys & Girls Club of Southeast Georgia and supporting a Gullah Geechee artist's visit in 2023.
The Brunswick-Golden Isles Chamber Foundation received $30,000 to support an initiative intended to address learning gaps created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"There's an opportunity to invest in a reading achievement program for our first graders within the Glynn County School System," Gilreath said.
STAR Foundation of Coastal Georgia received $20,000 to help fund a computer workshop for up to 75 people ages 55 and older.
"COVID has shown us that there's a large digital divide," said Markisha Butler, executive director of the STAR Foundation. "We have more grandparents raising children, and we felt this would be a good program to help the community out to try to overcome that divide."
CASA Glynn Inc. received $1,500 to further its work as court-appointed advocates for children.
The funds will be used for the local CASA's "birthday closet" program, through which advocates can provide gifts for children in foster care.
"A lot of our children have never had a birthday party," said Rebekah Johnson, advocate coordinator. "They've never received a birthday present."
A donation was also previously given to Morningstar Children and Family Services to support renovations to a cottage on its campus, Gilreath said.
"At Rich Products, what we do is really about giving back to the communities that we live in," she said. "We are a global company, but we really, truly act local. We want to invest in our community."
