Kosair Charities' surprise gift will help fund life-changing services for newborns, mothers, children

Earlier this month, Kosair Charities invited nonprofits in the Louisville area to attend their annual Holiday luncheon. Little did we know that this was no ordinary holiday celebration. After lunch, and a few words from Santa in which he suggested that all of us deserved a gift, red gift boxes were distributed to leaders of the each organization. When President/CEO Jennifer Hancock opened our box, what we found inside can only be described as a holiday miracle. Each nonprofit in the room received a very generous check – unsolicited and unexpected – that will help all of us to provide more service to more people.

"As you might expect, receiving an unexpected donation so large at a time of such great need was overwhelming to all of us. For me, and so many others, it was a day of surprise, of tears and of gratitude," Jennifer said.

At Volunteers of America, we will use this special gift to meet two urgent needs. We will help to fund Louisville Family Housing Services, where we are currently serving 44 children and their parents who would otherwise be homeless this holiday season. This program, which has faced substantial funding cuts, has a waiting list to serve even more families. This donation will also help us to nurture and protect eleven newborns at Freedom House, our home for new moms who are struggling with addiction.

We want to publicly and enthusiastically thank Randy Coe, President of Kosair Charities, and Jerry Ward, Chairman of the Board, for their service and kindness. The very generous donation they made was a wonderful holiday surprise that only affirmed and reminded us of the unequaled dedication to children that Kosair Charities demonstrates every day.

At Volunteers of America, we will work tirelessly to turn their investment in us into a holiday gift that make a real difference in the lives of the families we serve.