Gabriel Group

Gabriel Group Selects KidSmart as 2018 Pay-It-Forward Recipient

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Gabriel Group is happy to name KidSmart as our 2018 Pay-It-Forward recipient.

KidSmart’s mission is to ensure that children and their classrooms in the Greater St. Louis area have the basic tools for learning. It fulfills its mission by transferring the community’s surplus supplies and merchandise into the hands of teachers for school children in need, at no cost. Since opening in 2002, KidSmart has distributed over $50 million in school supplies to more than 150,000 economically disadvantaged children in the area.

For six years now, Gabriel Group has chosen a local St. Louis-area charity for our Pay-It-Forward efforts in order to make a bigger impact within our immediate community. Throughout each calendar year, associates participate in numerous fundraising efforts that include tournaments, happy hours and raffle opportunities. At the beginning of the following year, we then present a check to our partner organization in honor of our clients in lieu of a traditional Christmas gift.

Over the past 11 years, Gabriel Group has funded a spring water aqueduct in the Dominican Republic to help provide children with safe drinking water; built four double-family homes for families in earthquake-ravaged Haiti; funded a new classroom at an early childhood education center in Zambia; provided food and clothing to an orphanage in Mozambique; supported relief efforts following the tornado in Joplin; helped children suffering from abuse or neglect; partnered with an organization close to associates’ hearts after losing one of our own to ovarian cancer; fought homelessness and hunger in the St. Louis area; and supported local veterans.

We as a company couldn’t be prouder of all we have accomplished thus far, and can’t wait to see what 2018 will bring to KidSmart and the children it serves. The journey to our $15,000 goal has already begun, and we’re looking forward to yet another year of giving, generosity and fun! Make sure to stay up to date with all of our latest fundraising endeavors on our Facebook page and right here on the Gabriel Group blog!

Gabriel Group

2017 Pay-It-Forward Efforts Net $16,000 in Honor of Clients

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Pictured above: Erin Koury of Gabriel Group with Bill Wallace, President, and Christine Cronin, Vice President, of Missouri Veterans Endeavor

After another full calendar year of fundraising, Gabriel Group’s Pay-It-Forward initiative has continued to impress with a grand total of $16,000 collected for the company’s 2017 nonprofit organization of choice, Missouri Veterans Endeavor (MOVE-STL). Bolstering the largest amount raised to date, Gabriel Group has now completed its tenth year of partnering with a local charity in order to directly impact the St. Louis community through year-round giving in lieu of a traditional Christmas gift to clients.

MOVE-STL is a nonprofit organization that provides long-term supportive housing and comprehensive services to veterans and their family members. MOVE-STL was established in 2012 and currently houses 30 veterans, 16 dependents and 9 children, providing a wide range of services including case management, employment assistance, job training, sobriety support and permanent housing.

On top of traditional fundraising events including raffle basket drawings and happy hours, Gabriel Group associates were also given the opportunity to volunteer at MOVE-STL by using company time to give back. This was the first year an option to directly volunteer for our PIF organization during Gabriel Group hours was available. Following a large end-of-the-year push to break 2016’s record of $15,000, Pay-It-Forward Committee Lead Erin Koury presented a check for $16,000 to MOVE-STL leadership on February 5, 2018.

To date, Gabriel Group has funded a spring water aqueduct in the Dominican Republic to provide children with safe drinking water; built four double-family homes for families in earthquake-ravaged Haiti; funded a new classroom at an early childhood education center in Zambia; provided food and clothing to an orphanage in Mozambique; supported relief efforts following the tornado in Joplin; helped local St. Louis children suffering from abuse or neglect; and partnered with an organization close to associates’ hearts after losing one of our own to ovarian cancer.

We couldn’t be prouder to have continued increasing our annual Pay-It-Forward contribution as we as a company work to make a difference in the St. Louis area. Keep an eye out for our next big announcement where we will be naming our 2018 Pay-It-Forward organization nominee in just a few short weeks! Onward and upward!