Experience Kissimmee presented a landmark donation to the Healthy Start Coalition of Osceola County during its recent annual Destination Update.
Experience Kissimmee, the county’s tourism marketing arm, presented a donation check on behalf of its charitable partners. Through its Kissimmee Cares Committee, the largest-ever annual amount was donated to an annual charitable recipient: $37,097.74.
Healthy Start Executive Director Kerri Stephen said Coalition’s mission to improve maternal and infant health outcomes in the Osceola County community.
The Kissimmee Cares Committee selects the annual charitable recipient which must meet specific criteria: they must be based in Central Florida, serve the Osceola County community, have no political or religious affiliation, be a registered 501(c) (3) for at least three years, and not have received this donation within the past five years.
Of the donation, $28,691.26 represents the cash donation portion from the Kissimmee Golf Classic in May; a donation of diapers, baby wipes, outlet covers and baby books totaling $3,330.91 during the Experience Kissimmee 10th Anniversary Gala; a partnership with Celebration Brewing to launch Kissimmee’s first Give Back Beer, Citrus Kiss, which resulted in $1,000 in donations; Explore Kissimmee, an industry event organized by Experience Kissimmee with local partners, gathered $1,623.86 in various items for new moms; donations of baby books collected at the Kissimmee Golf Classic totaled $868; support for Healthy Start’s Community Baby Shower through the purchase of baby car seats and other items, which totaled $1,243.86; and a Sunrise Social event that raised $339.85 in donations of diapers.
Stephen, who noted the Coalition is working remotely after a small fire has temporarily closed its New York Avenue office, called it an, “Amazing experience for our organization to receive the outpouring of support throughout the year.”
“Efforts like this help us in our work of infant mortality prevention,” she said. “As for the financial donation with funds raised from EK’s golf classic, we had no idea what to expect, especially considering we started off by only asking for help to meet emergency needs of families with items like car seats and pack’n’plays. Right now we’re taking our time to determine the best use of those funds, and needless to say we are so incredibly grateful for this partnership and support and the difference it has made for our organization.”
Experience Kissimmee CEO DT Minich said he was “amazed” at the outpouring of participation and donations.
“We approached things differently, adding multiple opportunities for our partners to participate and give back at some of our marquee events,” he said. “The strong community support within Osceola County is truly inspiring, and we at Experience Kissimmee are proud to be advocates for supporting local charities.”
Experience Kissimmee officials said a new application process for its next Charitable partner will start in July.
