A Resilient and Inspiring Region

As we've approached the anniversary of the COVID-19 public health crisis and looked back on this difficult year, we’ve been encouraged to discover some common and inspirational trends. Our donors never cease to amaze with their generosity and love for our community. Our nonprofit partners have consistently proven their adaptability and creativity. Our community is a giving and involved one. 

Their support has inspired our Gulf Coast team and given us hope for the future. We asked members of our team to share some of those moments with us…

"When reflecting upon this past year, I became increasingly amazed by the resilience of our nonprofit partners. One in particular, the Hermitage Artist Retreat, has stood out as a leader and set an incredible example for other arts organizations. Their commitment to providing safe art in this worrisome time has been an incredible gift. A lot of arts organizations had to pause their live performances, but the Hermitage quickly shifted gears and found a way to safely put on performances at numerous venues. They provided our community with much-needed respite and relief from the stresses we’ve all experienced this year, and I’m so thankful for that." Amber Lamerson, Philanthropic Administrator

"It was inspiring to watch so many nonprofit organizations in our community problem-solve and adapt to continue their mission. Very early in the pandemic, in March or April, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Suncoast found a way to continue to connect families and kids with mentors—despite quarantine. The matching process is extensive and is normally done in person, but BBBS found a way to do it online. They reached out to Gulf Coast requesting a technology grant for laptops with cameras so they could safely interview mentors and families. They do a great job matching kids to their mentors and were able to continue their excellent work while keeping everyone safe. They even matched one of my Gulf Coast teammates with a little sister!" Harriet Thompson, Community Investment Administrator

"I work on the Finance team and don’t have a lot of external contact with our donors or our nonprofit partners, but I’m continuously touched by the generosity and enthusiasm of our donors. I remember in March 2020, while I was still wrapping my head around working from home and figuring out how to set up my computer, our donors had already rallied and begun to give and support our joint COVID-19 Response Initiative. Local nonprofits have an important mission in our community, and to see how quickly our donors rise to the occasion to support them has been truly inspirational." Anthony Riskalla, Financial Associate

"This year has been so hard for so many, and it makes me proud to be a part of an organization that was so quick to help the community. Gulf Coast has been able to help more than a dozen nonprofit organizations purchase new technology—allowing them to continue to serve our community from a distance. Access to affordable mental healthcare is so important to me, so I was inspired to see how quickly mental healthcare providers were able to switch to telehealth services once they had the right equipment. Mental Health Community Centers and so many other providers successfully adapted to offer remote telehealth to their clients—giving me a lot of hope for the future of mental health care." Karla Detert, HR Generalist

"I’ve been blown away by what local nonprofits have been able to do this past year. I remember learning how SunCoast Blood Centers procured some high-tech testing equipment—I think it came from Europe—to safely collect more convalescent plasma to treat COVID-19 patients. As I understand it, SunCoast not only supplies plasma throughout our region, but they’ve even been asked to supply some U.S. military sites too. And this was after the blood bank developed a “concierge” blood-collection service that comes right to a donor’s driveway or office parking lot. That’s made it safe and convenient for potential donors in a really tough time. It’s cool to see organizations we already know and love become such innovators that other communities will look to follow their example." Greg Luberecki, Director of Communications