2023: ISRAELI RESCUE ORGANIZATION-ADOPT A RESERVE UNIT
This organization provides equipment and supplies, especially military helmets and ceramic vests for reservists.
2022 JIMU ROBOT EVENT
“The robots were donated by the Staci Michelle Robbins Foundation“
That’s Staci’s niece Sawyer on the right promoting and participating in the 2022 “Girls in STEM” robot event.
For 2020 and 2021, the Staci Michelle Robbins Foundation has made donations to the following organizations:
DRESDEN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION
Dresden Elementary School is a Title 1 school with almost 1,000 students, of which 94% qualify for free or subsidized breakfasts and lunches. In addition, 95% of the children are Hispanic. Staci started teaching there as an ESOL specialist in 2018 but had to go on full disability after only two months. The SMR Foundation responded for a request to provide rugs for kindergarten classrooms since the students spend a lot of their time sitting on the floor when reading. The new area rugs make for a more comfortable learning environment.
In 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic disastrously impacted the Dresden families’ ability to earn money for food and shelter, the Dresden Foundation put out an urgent request for food for the families. Staci’s foundation answered the call by donating 200 gift cards for families in need.
THE ATLANTA COMMUNITY HUNGER SEDER
This is the ninth year of the program, the purpose of which is to learn about becoming an agent of change in the fight to combat child hunger. The theme of the 2020 seder — to be held on April 13th — is “Hunger, Nutrition, and Health.” The SMR Foundation will co-sponsor this event and provide funds for those unable to afford the cost of the Seder meal and evening function.
OPERATION SCHOOL BELL
Operation School Bell is a program that provides new clothing, uniforms and hygiene kits to thousands of students each year. The children are in elementary and middle schools in the Fulton, Dekalb and Atlanta Independent School districts. Many of these children are homeless or fire victims, and the students are provided with at least a week’s worth of school clothing and other essential needs. The program is one of many operated by the Assistance League of Atlanta.
TONGABEZE TRUST SCHOOL
Started in 1996, this school provides underpriviledged rural Zambian children, living within walking distance of the school, with a sound and holistic education in an effort to improve the quality of their lives. There are currently 280 children between the ages of 3-17 enrolled. The school provides food for the children but unfortunately for most students, this is the only food they consume in a day. We are sponsoring two children in 2020: Angela and Chrispin, both pre-schoolers.
Angela lives with her mother and father and enjoys dancing, singing, and writing. She walks 40 minutes with her mother each day to get to school. Chrispin lives with his mother, father, and sister and wants to be a doctor when he finishes school. He enjoys dancing, singing, playing football, and making friends. Neither child lives in a house with electricity or running water.
MONTCLAIR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Every year, each student in Montclair’s fifth grade class receives a school t-shirt with his/her name monogrammed on the back to acknowledge graduation from elementary school, and each first grade student receives a book bag to help carry books home. Montclair was Staci’s first teaching assignment and she taught there for 10 years, receiving “Teacher of the Year” honors in her final year! The SMR Foundation is sponsoring this year’s graduating class of 125 fifth grade students and 100 first grade students.
LEAP FOR LITERACY
Founded in Atlanta in 2015, Leap for Literacy is a program that rewards students at Title 1 schools with new books for doing “acts of kindness” that they submit daily in a box in the classroom. A bookmobile, called “Read N’ Roll,” visits the schools each month and the children select one book from the shelves in the bookmobile. The Staci Michelle Robbins Foundation is providing funding for the program to purchase books for one year to support 100 children.
LOVE TEAM TESSA FOUNDATION
Tessa was a five-year-old kindergarten student when she was diagnosed with neuroblastoma. Four years later, her life was cut short after her courageous battle with the disease. Like Tessa, our Staci too was diagnosed with neuroblastoma at age four, but through G-d’s hands, she lived a productive, distinguished life until late last year. Team Tessa was founded to provide financial support for families during their child’s treatment of cancer and to fund research to cure neuroblastoma and other pediatric cancers. We have asked that our contribution be directed primarily to support the families.
JEFFREY CAMPBELL EVANS FOUNDATION
The J. C. Evans Foundation provides a fully furnished two-bedroom, two-bath apartment at no cost to families whose loved one is undergoing a transplant procedure. Imagine knowing you need a transplant, traveling to Atlanta to wait for an organ donation, and then undergoing the procedure, all while facing financial hardship. These apartments provide a home-away-from-home for families in just these circumstances. Today, six apartments are available and a seventh one is opening soon. The Foundation’s long-term goal is to establish transplant housing in 38 other states.
Staci had two kidney transplants — one from her sister Hillary and one from a donor — and we recognize how fortunate we were to afford comfortable housing close to the Emory Transplant Center. Staci’s Foundation is helping the J. C. Evans Foundation provide housing to other families in need.
NEW SANCTUARY OF ATLANTA AND THE TAHIRIH JUSTICE CENTER
These two organizations, in conjunction with synagogues, churches and other non-profit organizations, have formed a movement to support refugees applying for asylum in the United States. The Foundation’s contribution will help asylum seekers with basic needs: food, shelter, language skills, and training.
The Tahirih Justice Center provides a broad range of legal services, policy advocacy, training, and education to protect immigrant women and girls fleeing gender-based violence. Staci’s Foundation donated funds to provide grocery cards for several of the asylum seekers and to purchase technology devices to support student’s needs.
FULLY FURNISHED MINISTRIES
Some people need furniture. Some people have furniture they don’t need. Since 2003, Fully Furnished Ministries of Johns Creek, Georgia, has been matching these efforts. When Staci passed away in 2019, we donated her furniture to this ministry and we learned Staci’s furniture was going to a family in Gwinnett County, Georgia. This was heartwarming.
One financial issue for the Ministry’s efforts was its need to rent a truck to move the furniture. Thanks to a generous donation from the Staci Michelle Robbins Foundation and others, the Ministry is on its way to purchasing its own used truck.
LUELLA’S LODGE
Luella’s Lodge provides support groups and non-traditional holistic therapies for families grieving the loss of a child. The retreat provides families the ability to connect with one another through grief and healing. Our funds are being used to build additional housing so that more families can participate in the monthly support meetings and have a place as a retreat and getaway while on their own grief journey.
WOMEN AND GIRLS LEADERSHIP EMPOWERMENT CONFERENCE (WGLEC)
The goal of this conference is to address barriers faced by women and girls in Africa and develop practical strategies to prepare and equip them to excel in leadership roles.
DERBY MIDDLE SCHOOL STEM ROBOT EVENT
Derby Middle School girls partner with a high school or college girl in engineering who assist in building and coding robots. Sawyer (pictured below) was one of 50 girls chosen to participate. Staci’s Foundation funded the event.
A DOLL LIKE ME
A Doll Like Me believes makes dolls that look like the children who love them. If children see themselves in the dolls they play with, the dolls help the children cope with stressful situations and feel confident in who they are. When our daughter Staci was going through a bone marrow transplant, her grandmother made her a doll with a Hickman catheter like the one Staci had in her chest for chemotherapy. It is amazing to watch a child’s self-esteem grow when a buddy shares the experience.
HOPE FOR HENRY
Hope for Henry empowers children with serious illnesses to actively participate in their own care.
Since 2003, Hope for Henry has collaborated with doctors, nurses, child-life specialists, and psychosocial team members to improve the lives of more than 60,000 children nationwide through groundbreaking patient incentive programs, full-time, year-round child-life specialists, and specialized patient experiences.
Hope for Henry has personalized hospital rooms, thrown birthday parties for thousands of patients, organized Superhero Celebrations, decorated for Halloween parties, and arranged concerts, athlete and author visits — all to alleviate the boredom and stress of long hospital stays.
In addition, as children accomplish their medical goals, they are awarded “Hope for Henry Bucks” they can use to purchase their own gifts.
ISRAELI RESCUE ORGANIZATION-ADOPT A RESERVE UNIT
This organization supplies equipment and supplies, especially military helmets and ceramic vests for reservists.
Staci Michelle Robbins Foundation 