live music, delicious food and spirited fundraising as the One ARK Foundation held its second annual “Kindness Matters Extravaganza” at The Cheesecake Cutie & Cafe on March 21.
“One ARK” stands for “one act of random kindness” and is a newly-established 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded by The Cheesecake Cutie and Cafe owners Jennifer and Kane Geils, who have been licensed foster care parents in Bradenton for two years and foster parents for six years.
“This event is to help raise money for foster families, adoptive families and single-parent families; that’s what One Ark is about,” Kane Geils said. “We are building programs and raising money to support the entire family of fostering, adopting or single parents.”
Kane says there are a lot of gaps in the system and needs that haven’t been met, and their goal is to fill those needs. He says they are also working with other organizations in the area that can help fill those needs. Their hope is that their fundraising efforts will help fill those gaps.
Kane says they are in the beginning stages of the project, and families don’t apply for assistance, rather, people refer them to One ARK. He says they chat with the families and find out their needs, then assess their ability to help. If One ARK is unable to help, they are committed to getting them with an organization that may be more equipped to do so.
The 2023 fundraiser raised $7,500, 25% of which went to Safe Children’s Coalition in Bradenton and 25% of which went to All Star Children’s Center in Sarasota. The other 50% went to four foster families in the local community.
“This year, we hope to raise at least what we raised last year, but right now we know the numbers are way above that,” he said.
In addition to the $50 fee to attend the event, an auction hosted by Bob Slicker raised thousands of dollars thanks to donations by area businesses. The total raised is not yet available. For more information, visit www.onearkfoundations.org.
