Presenting Awards & Scholarships to Those Having Positive Impact on Foster Care
CHARLOTTE, Oct. 4, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Comfort Cases, a 501 (c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to promoting hope and dignity to youth in foster care, is celebrating its 10th anniversary at a gala "Backyard BBQ" on Saturday, October 8. At the event, awards and scholarships will be presented to individuals and organizations who best promote positive messaging regarding foster care which support Comfort Cases' mission and goals. National media personality, Nicole Ryan will emcee this year's event.
Comfort Cases was founded by Rob & Reece Scheer, soon after the arrival of their first children through foster care. They are now the proud fathers of five children, all who came through the foster care system.
Rob Scheer, expresses his gratitude to the thousands of volunteers from around the world who have helped pack and distribute comfort cases to those in need: "Our organization is 96% volunteer led. Without our volunteers, community leaders, organizations and our other "good humans", we wouldn't have been able to give away the more than 185,000 Comfort Cases® and Comfort XLs to those in need. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!"
Awards and Scholarships being presented this year include:
The Alice O'Sullivan Volunteer of the Year Award is being presented to Lynn University. In 2018, Comfort Cases partnered with Lynn to pack Comfort Cases® for children in foster care in Palm Beach County through the university's Citizenship Project. Since then, students and alumni have delivered 3,400 to local organizations.
The Barbara Harrison Award is being presented to Rita Soronen, CEO of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. This award is given to a recipient who has improved the lives of children in Foster Care and best promotes the mission of Comfort Cases. Rita has been leading the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption since 2001 and the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption-Canada since 2004. The organizations are national, nonprofit public charities dedicated to finding forever families for the more than 140,000 children waiting to be adopted from foster care in the United States and Canada. Under Rita's leadership, the Foundation created its signature program, Wendy's Wonderful Kids®️, to transform failing child welfare practices and, most importantly, to aggressively find the right families for children waiting much too long to be adopted. Rita and the Foundation have been long-time supporters of Comfort Cases and are thanked for their outstanding efforts.
The Milton S. Hershey Award is being presented to Sackcloth & Ashes.
This award is given to a corporation that demonstrates best in practice Corporate Social responsibility. A mission-driven company founded in 2013, they donate blankets to homeless shelters for every blanket purchased. Today they have a goal to donate 1 million blankets to homeless shelters by 2024.
The "Kids Helping Kids" Award is being presented to Dean Arnold.
This award is given to a youth who has demonstrated outstanding service to those in Foster Care. In the fall of 2018, Dean Arnold started the first Comfort Cases Club as a freshman at Quince Orchard High School in Gaithersburg, Maryland. After volunteering at Comfort Cases and learning about the challenges facing youth in foster care, Dean was inspired to take action. He recruited members, developed meeting plans and a club curriculum, and planned numerous successful fundraising events. Dean is a true leader and because of his act of kindness, there are Comfort Cases Clubs all over the country. Dean continues to act as liaison between Comfort Cases management and Comfort Cases Club officers. Dean is currently a Freshman at the U.S. Naval Academy.
The Scott Isaacson Scholarship Award
This year Comfort Cases is awarding two $5,000 Academic Scholarships to two deserving students formerly in foster care:
Ashley Baker is a student at East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania pursuing studies in Psychology and Guidance Counseling. She is an active member of the ESU Christian Fellowship group, volunteers with the Kindness Project and is a member of their Youth Advisory Board. At ESU, Ashley is part of the Fostering Warriors program connecting, guiding, and building relationships with other foster students.
Parker Lopez is a freshman at Arizona State University and is pursuing a career in Creative Writing with a minor in Film and News. In high school, she was part of the Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA), the school broadcast center, the yearbook, and the art club. Outside of school, she was part of the program, First Star Academy, which helped children in the foster system prepare for college or independent living.
This award is given in honor and memory of Scott Isaacson, of Integrity Staffing. Scott was tragically lost in 2019. Scott and his husband Kevin were huge advocates of foster care programs and proudly adopted their son from a foster program in Reno, NV. Integrity Staffing has been a proud supporter of Comfort Cases for years.
Recent research states that less than 3% of youth in foster care graduate from college. The Comfort Cases community is committed to changing that number. Education opens doors to better opportunities and every child deserves the chance for a bright future.
Comfort Cases' Backyard BBQ Gala is unlike traditional "galas" as it is held outdoors at Comus Farm in beautiful Dickerson, MD. "We had an incredible response following last year's gala/BBQ being held outdoors, and believe this needs to be our new tradition," continued Reece Scheer. "My husband and our five children – all adopted through foster care – live on a small farm and we just LOVE having a gala on a farm. We are again inviting children to come with their parents and caregivers to celebrate the amazing work our team and all of our volunteers have achieved."
Beyond the awards, scholarships and fundraising activities (including a live and silent auction), guests will be entertained by two outstanding performers: emcee Nicole Ryan, and The Como Brothers, Matt and Andrew.
Nicole is known for her many national TV appearances, but particularly as host of SiriusXM Hits 1 "The Morning Mash Up" daily interview show, as well as the podcast, Have Kids… They Said.
The Como Brothers combine a "pop and rock sound with a blues vibe" and have written and recorded multiple albums and Eps of original songs. Their songs have been featured on TV shows including Keeping Up with the Kardashians, The Real World and elsewhere. Matt and Andrew have performed for Comfort Cases more than five times.
A silent auction with all proceeds benefiting Comfort Cases is now LIVE. Items can be viewed, and bids can be placed (even if not attending the BBQ) by visiting http://bidpal.net/comfortcases.
Click this link or visit https://www.comfortcases.org/gala for more information.
About Comfort Cases:
Comfort Cases is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization with a mission to inspire communities to bring dignity and hope to youth entering foster care. Since 2013, we have distributed more than 185,000 Comfort Cases® and Comfort XL duffel bags to children in the foster care system in all 50 states, Washington, DC, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom. We are a gold-level GuideStar participant, demonstrating our commitment to transparency.
Comfort Cases is based in Rockville, MD.
Comfort Cases UK is based in Shenley, Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom.
Media Contact:
David Thalberg
[email protected]
917.952.2580
Media Contact
David Thalberg, SMG, 1 9179522580, [email protected]
SOURCE Comfort Cases
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