Bringing Hope to 2021

I hope you all have a wonderful end to 2020 and an amazing start to the new year.

What a crazy year for sure.  Despite the obvious challenges, GHN delivered on every commitment made in 2020.  More importantly, we have prepared ourselves to thrive in 2021.  This can only happen because of your generosity and passion you have for transforming lives.

Key 2020 highlights include:

• In September, our Board approved the creation of the Rising Star program.  Don Amoruso III was selected to lead this effort and was tasked to work with our Board to enroll 3-5 Rising Stars by the end of the year.  We have 4 excellent Rising Stars identified (Don Amoruso, Mallory Jacoby, Kelly Tamaccio, Kloe Thompson) and 4 executives (Chris Albani, Brian Cain, Ragnar Gaseby, John Downey) committed to joining our new Rising Star Advisory Board.  This is a very exciting new program that should help sustain GHN’s ability to transform lives for many years to come.  We will be expanding this program in 2021
• Mallory Jacoby (our 2nd Rising Star) was awarded the first ever GHN Hero award.  Mallory is an Oncology Social Worker focused on caring for patients.  Her natural inclination of putting others first is truly symbolic of the spirit of why GHN was formed and is a shining example for all of us to follow
• Justin Holko helped create a new partnership with Regeneron.  Regeneron has committed to support our HMN program and has offered to donate ~24 iPads on a quarterly basis.  Our 1st shipment of Regeneron iPads were delivered to our partners in 4Q and are already helping to transform lives
• Our HMN Team continued to lead the Executive Director forum and meet the needs identified by our partner organizations.  Thanks to the hard work of our HMN Team and the generosity of Marge’s family foundation, Investors Bank, Regeneron, Merck, Dirks Foundation, and the broader GHN community, we have been able to deliver on our 2020 commitments and help transform the lives of individuals with autism and their families
• Our International Youth Advocacy efforts provided the resources required to give the children at the Sanctuary Orphanage in Romania an opportunity for a better life by investing in special outings, education, skill advancement, food, clothing, medicine, buildings, etc.    Thanks to your generosity, we were able to fully fund our portion of these critical programs
• Our Youth Advocacy Team collaborated with our domestic partners to deliver on our 2020 commitments.  COVID hindered many of the typical programs we support (e.g., camps, job fairs, events, programs, etc.).  It also created new challenges for our partner organizations.  Luckily, our YA Domestic Team remained flexible throughout the year and found creative ways to support our partners and help them overcome many of these challenges
• GHN’s Grant Committee expertly managed the COVID environment.  These executives modified our normal procedures to ensure our scarce resources were deployed to the highest needs.  The revised procedures deployed were a big success and enabled us to provide funding for every grant requested.
• To date, we have collectively donated ~$264,000 to worthy charities via our grant program.  These resources are above and beyond the funds provided via the HMN and Youth Advocacy programs.  These resources help amplify the amazing impact our partners have in the communities they serve.

I hope you all find a safe way to enjoy some special time with your friends and family,

Tom