Dear Friends,
It has been just over one year since we started The Parker H. Bainter Foundation to help families and children in need. We did not know what we were doing starting out and are astonished at how successful this endeavor has been thanks to your generosity. Your donations help us bring moments of happiness to children in the pediatric ICU and provide financial support to parents caring for their children in the hospital.
Lindsey and I are amazed by how much was raised in the first year as it far exceeded our expectations. Although I must admit, we did not set a goal and rather just tried raising as much as we could. We are happy to report that there are over 300 individual donors and we have raised over $70,000!
It has been more challenging to connect with families than we expected but we are working hard on outreach. We are pleased to share that we connected with and helped two families so far. Our goal over the next year is to greatly expand the number of families we help and the amount we provide to each family. Over the next year we want to help 10 families with an average of $2,500 per family.
When Parker was in the hospital, we appreciated other foundations bringing some holiday cheer to his room. We continue this through various efforts, but with Parker’s touch:
February/August - a bi-annual delivery of rainbow and summer inspired balloons to pediatric ICU patients. Our balloon drops include informative tags about the Foundation that we hope leads to more awareness and families in need (see attached photo from the most recent visit in February).
February-April - delivery of plush bunnies to pediatric ICU patients in time for Easter and Passover. In 2023 we delivered to UCLA (both locations), Santa Barbara Cottage, RADY San Diego, Montage Health in Monterey, Loma Linda Children’s, Trinity Health in Michigan, Children’s Hospital of Chicago, and Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana (see how much Jonah loved his bunny in the attachment!)
August - Parkerpalooza, an annual fundraising event in celebration of Parker. This year the event will take place on August 13th from 11am-2pm. Please RSVP if you already have not (include your name and total number of guests). There will be a silent auction this year that you can bid on even if not present; so far we have donations from Montecito Inn, Shutters, Margerum Winery, Nosotros Tequila, DeRose Winery, Elite Island Resorts, jewelry, and much more. A follow-up email on that to come soon.
As much as we appreciate your financial contributions to the Foundation, it is also important to us to give blood. When Parker was rushed to the hospital, he received a lifesaving blood transfusion, and it opened our eyes to how invaluable these donations are. I am proud to share that I have now donated 10 times! We would be honored to share your experience of giving blood on our Instagram page @parkerhbainterfoundation -so please tag us.
Lastly, we are now set-up to receive publicly traded investments, such as stocks, directly in our brokerage account. This is just another way you can donate to the Foundation in a tax-efficient manner. Thank you once again for your generous donation.
With all our gratitude,
Zachary Bainter and Lindsey Hartsough