Sunmark Foundation Wraps Up Fourth Annual “Summer of Kindness”

The Sunmark Charitable Community Foundation wrapped up its fourth annual Summer of Kindness this month, utilizing their final Kindness Project to purchase bookbags, lunch boxes, hand sanitizer, clothing, snacks and water bottles to be donated to Schenectady City Schools’ William C. Keane Elementary. The school, located on Albany St. in Schenectady, serves more than 300 students.

The donation marks the completion of the 2024 “Summer of Kindness” which saw the Sunmark Charitable Community Foundation complete a total of 10 kindness projects, in honor of the Foundation’s tenth anniversary in 2024. Throughout the summer, the Foundation worked closely with community organizations and non-profits to give back to the communities that Sunmark Credit Union serves. Among these organizations were the Working Group on Girls of Schenectady, Inc., KIPP Troy Prep High School, Girls Inc. of the Greater Capital Region, Red Cross of Northeastern NY, Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Capital Region, Vanderheyden, and Veterans & Community Housing Coalition.

“Sunmark believes deeply in the credit union philosophy of people helping people, and nothing illustrates that belief better than the consistent commitment our Foundation makes to the communities we serve,” said Amber Cooleen, Chief Marketing Officer at Sunmark Credit Union and President of the Sunmark Charitable Community Foundation. “Summer of Kindness is about much more than cutting checks and making donations. It’s about showing up, volunteering, and being an accessible and reliable partner for the organizations and non-profits doing important work in our communities.”

The Summer of Kindness campaign began during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 and encourages children up to age 12 to “deposit kindness” by submitting ideas on how they would spread kindness in their community. Ideas are collected by the Sunmark Charitable Community Foundation and a number are selected to be carried out by foundation volunteers each year.

For more information about Summer of Kindness, and additional details on this year’s projects, visit www.sunmark.org/kindness.