The Samantha Foundation

Administrative Director

Miami, Florida | October 2005 – February 2008

tsf logoI started working for The Samantha Foundation (TSF) on a part-time basis to help its founders spread the word about their fledgling non-profit named for their daughter. Samantha Jane Kessler was two years old when she became the victim of a household injury by accidentally entangling herself in window blind cords and asphyxiating. When her parents learned how common and preventable this injury was among children, they decided to start a foundation dedicated to teaching parents about childproofing their homes to protect their children. I worked my way up to a full-time Administrative Director, but handled a plethora of duties:  fundraising, grant writing, programming, event planning, and communications.

The Home Safety Project 

The biggest goal of TSF was to teach caregivers the importance of childproofing a home for youngsters and getting childproofing devices in parents’ hands. After receiving enough funding, TSF embarked on what would be its first major program called The Home Safety Project in 2007. I worked with health officials to create a curriculum designed to teach parents and caregivers about how they could prevent childhood injuries – like burns, falls, and drownings – at home. TSF partnered with Miami-Dade County Public Schools to organize several seminars with parents after school. At the end of the seminar, each parent would receive a free safety kit, which contained basic childproofing devices to make their homes safer. In addition to creating the curriculum and teaching seminars, I also designed and wrote copy for the safety kit packaging. The final product contained cabinet locks, doorknob covers, outlet plugs, window blind hooks, and safety tips.  A copy of the safety kit can be viewed in my portfolio.

  • RESULTS: The first year of the program, 1,000 kits were created and distributed at various seminars and to our partners in the health field that distributed kits to their clients on our behalf. Parents also demonstrated increased awareness of how to spot potential dangers in their homes upon taking a survey administered before and after each seminar.

Annual Golf Tournament Fundraiser

In order to raise money needed for The Home Safety Project, the foundation needed to plan a large-scale fundraiser. Enter TSF’s annual golf tournament. Thanks to the help of dedicated volunteers and donors, I was able to organize what would be our biggest and most profitable fundraiser every year. I oversaw all aspects of the event: collateral, promotion, donor relations, and event scheduling. The tournament itself was tremendously popular, particularly due to the fact that we managed to secure Pulitzer-Prize winning humorist Dave Barry to host our live auction the three years I worked at the foundation.

 

This brochure was used to solicit sponsorships for TSF’s annual golf tournament. I worked with a designer to create a professional brochure that would highlight the purpose of the tournament as well as how previous funding helped the foundation implement its goals. I also organized the tournament, dinner, and auction, which featured Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Dave Barry.

  • RESULTS: Within three years, the golf tournament raised over $200,000 for programming and became another venue to teach people about the foundation’s mission. See some of my work from the event.

Securing Grant Funding

Another source of funding was grant submissions. I researched potential grant opportunities and wrote several proposals to both local and national grant gifting organizations asking for their assistance with another TSF program on water safety. Unfortunately, South Florida has one of the highest rates of childhood drowning due to the proximity of open water and number of swimming pools in the county. The rate of accidental drowning was higher for children in impoverished communities who had no access to swimming lessons. I solicited funding for a new program in partnership with a local swimming school, which would pay for swimming lessons for children most in need.

  • RESULTS: During my time with TSF, I raised $23,800 for safety programs through grant submissions.