Hello Friends & Family!
As 2024 draws to a close, we’re excited to share updates from the Zukowski Family Foundation and reflect on a transformative year.
We’re thrilled to welcome Shannon Zukowski and Deb Reed to the ZFF board. Shannon, a critical care and heart failure physician assistant, is passionate about helping others and joined the board after her marriage to RJ Zukowski in 2022. As a new mother, Shannon’s commitment to supporting children has grown even stronger.
Deborah, wife of board member George Reed, is a dedicated advocate for the blind and President of the Central Connecticut chapter of the National Federation of the Blind.
“Becoming a part of the Zukowski Family Foundation board allows me to collaborate with a diverse group that seeks to provide solutions for needs that affect children and I am excited and grateful to be part of this group.” -Deborah Reed
Welcome Deb and Shannon!
Our gratitude goes to our entire board, especially George Reed and Todd Shaw. George, a member since 2013, has been instrumental in our partnership with The Hole in the Wall Gang, while Todd’s dedication since ZFF’s beginning in 2008 has helped grow our impact. Thank you both – we certainly wouldn’t be where we are today without your dedication and guidance.
With the new additions, Professor Proulx now has the opportunity to fully retire after 15 years of invaluable service. Joe plans to kick back with his spouse, Marge, and his two adorable grandchildren all living nearby in Maryland. Joe challenged us to think differently, pushing us to evolve in our mission. Thank you, Joe; your influence and insights will be dearly missed.
We are also pleased to introduce Mia Giannantonio, this year’s ZFF Scholarship recipient. Mia is a young lady from Bristol, CT. She has a rare eye condition since the age of three, and with her hard work and grit, she has been able to maintain honors
every year of her high school education. Mia will attend Post University in CT where she intends to major in Medical Research Information Technology.
Again, these things could not happen without your generous support. Thank you for your generosity and big hearts.
On a personal note, Cheryl and I became grandparents, entering a new phase for our family and ZFF. We could not think of a better time for us to begin to help transition RJ & Carissa into greater roles. With this next generation in mind, we’re excited to announce RJ and Carissa Zukowski as new co-chairs of ZFF. RJ and Carissa will bring fresh ideas, energy, and deep-rooted passion for our mission, ensuring a strong future for the foundation.
Please welcome RJ III to the Zukowski family and congratulations to our two new co-chairs, RJ and Carissa Zukowski. And now I’ll hand this letter off to them!
Hello, everyone (and thank you for getting this far in our letter!)
Carissa and I have been blessed to have grown up alongside the ZFF. We have spent the last decade being involved through the board and doing our best to guide the foundation forward and ultimately help as many children as possible.
While we do have pretty big shoes to fill, we plan to work closely with our parents and other board members as we continue to learn, grow and are mentored into our new
roles. We are excited to continue to build off the amazing work that everyone has accomplished so far.
First and foremost, we would like to take this opportunity to give a big thank you to both of our parents for the dedication, energy, and sacrifice it has taken over these past 16 years to grow the ZFF into what it is today. We both admire you for having the vision and passion over the past 16 years and bringing our Vision to fruition. It has been a wonderful journey so far and we thank you for the opportunity to serve the board for these past 11 years.
Thank you Mom & Dad – we love you!
When RJ and I first stepped up into our new roles we decided the first thing we wanted to do was to take stock of where we are now and where we would like to be in the future. We looked at all the great relationships that were built over the past 15 years, all the lives that we have been fortunate enough to impact, and all the generous support we have received from our donors like you. We have spent recent meetings reflecting on our parents’ vision for the future to ensure we continue to stay true to our mission of helping children with the hopes of improving their overall outcomes in life.
We feel that by concentrating our efforts on those already strong relations held today we can have a greater impact. We believe that we can do the most good by focusing our support on some of the already strong relationships such as The Hole in the Wall Gang, The Plymouth Food Pantry, Special Olympics, and our scholarship program with the National Federation of the Blind.
Refocusing on our mission means deepening our relationships and being selective in where we dedicate our efforts and funds. To highlight an example of our renewed focus on these deeper relationships – We had the opportunity to step-up and become one of the primary sponsors for the 2024 Monster Match Giving Day for The Hole in The Wall Gang. Having had meetings and discussions with Justin Farrands, and Jimmy Canton, Major Gifts Officer & CEO of the Hole in The Wall Gang Charity respectively, our board unanimously voted to provide the needed support.
We also had the opportunity to help with the Plymouth Food Pantry, if you have ever wondered if relationships matter, or if your donation matters, please see the excerpt below from Larry Chiucarello the Food Pantry’s Director.
“It is a great relief knowing that I can pick up the phone whenever the Pantry is in need and at a moment’s notice there is a friendly voice on the other end asking “How are you doing?” and “What can I do for you?” You are the Pantry’s Guardian Angel.”
As we wrap up the year – we wanted to share a few new areas that we are learning more about as we look for increased possibilities to expand our reach and impact.
Firstly, we have had meetings with the County Educational Foundation and the County Schools focusing on their Families in Transition program which focuses on identifying and helping homeless children in our area. We’d like to better understand what resources are already in place and how we can best augment these efforts right in our parent’s community.
We are currently in the process of understanding what it takes to build adaptive playgrounds. These all-inclusive play spaces are community landmarks where everyone regardless of ability can come together to play, learn from each other, and be part of a diverse and safe community.
Our aim is to better understand the resources and various agencies that play a role either through land-grants or financial grants to bring these playgrounds to fruition. We are currently looking into requirements for Cape Coral, Florida as that is home to our mom’s cousin. She currently has five adopted disabled children, and a safe space like an adaptive playground, is missing from their community. Stay-tuned as we learn more through our discovery phase and please reach out if you know of anyone who could help us connect more resources here.
As we wrap up a heartfelt thank you to all our supporters! You have nourished and encouraged this foundation through your words of support and generous donations. From the bottom of our family’s hearts, thank you for your generosity, thank you for enabling us to build these long-lasting relationships, and thank you for supporting what we do. Your time and donations go a long way to making a positive impact for those in need.
We are proud to meet the needs of disadvantaged children in the hopes that these acts of kindness and care serve as positive ripple effects, building momentum to a brighter future. None of this would be possible without the continued support of donors like yourselves.
We hope that you will consider a contribution this year – and know that 100% of every donation goes a long way to helping those who really need it!
Thank you again, and we are excited for what the year ahead will bring!
To view previous year’s updates please visit us at Zukowskifamilyfoundation.org
To contribute to the ZFF please visit us at the above website or mail a check to the address below:
Zukowski Family Foundation
6 Valencia CT.
Palm Coast FL, 32137
