Smuggler’s Foundation an active community partner

Question: What do the following 23 Charlotte County nonprofits have in common?

Habitat for Humanity — five Homes, Boys and Girls Clubs of Charlotte County, Team Punta Gorda, Charlotte County YMCA, St. Vincent de Paul, Octagon Sequence of Eight, Harry Chapin Food Bank, Leadership Charlotte 2012 benefiting the Homeless Coalition and the Ya Ya Girls — BackPacks for Kidz, Animal Welfare League, Charlotte Behavioral Health Care, Charlotte Harbor Environmental Center, Charlotte Local Education Foundation, Virginia B. Andes Community Clinic, Do The Right Thing of Charlotte County, Center for Abuse and Rape Emergencies (CARE), Charlotte County Public Schools Homeless Education Program, Free To Breathe, Susan G Komen, PG Kiwanis, AMI Crossroads, All Children’s Hospital and Charlotte High School.

Answer: Smugglers Foundation 2012 grants and awards.

With the help of our patrons, most of our 260 employees and the generosity of a caring community, we were able to share more than $60,000 with the above-mentioned nonprofits this past year. In addition to financial donations, we also contributed several thousand dollars in food and beverage products. We worked closely to facilitate our team members’ donation of hundreds of community volunteer hours.

We were fortunate to be able to access special Florida state statutes authorizing community grant contribution credits, thus helping to build five Habitat for Humanity homes in Charlotte County.

Smuggler’s Mission is a simple one: Establish partnerships which benefit the needs of our community, with the focus being on children. As your corporate neighbor, we strongly believe it is our responsibility to work with local organizations and support programs through philanthropy and community outreach.

The Smuggler’s Foundation wishes all of Charlotte County a blessed and prosperous New Year. Our pledge to you in this coming year is to continue to provide assistance to our community members who are less fortunate and are facing difficult times.

Come and visit one of our establishments and know that you are not only getting quality service, quality food and a great time, but you also become a partner giving back to our community. Thank you for your time.

Christopher R. Evans

Christopher Evans is the Director of Operations for Smuggler’s Enterprises, Inc.