Why I give… BOB SWEET, SAWs Volunteer Bob Sweet has been a regular volunteer at SAWS for the past seven years. A retired Lilly employee, Sweet has spent the early years of his retirement helping others. “A key to good health in retirement is keeping physically and socially active. SAWs provides those opportunities while providing life changing services to individuals in our community. It is what my wife calls adult daycare that is making a difference.” Sweet helps with his hands and also supports SAWs financially, understanding that nonprofit organizations are dependent on the generosity of donors to fulfill their mission.“Where else can you contribute $1,000 to help a family and make this big of a difference?” When asked about when he makes his gift, Sweet says, “I like to give in the first quarter of the year to help with the cash flow of the organization. I know that SAWs needs money early in the year to purchase supplies for the beginning of the build season, and I know that it’s harder to raise the money at that time.” New SAWs Kroger Rewards Number: EP501 Support SAWs While You Shop KROGER COMMUNITY REWARDS: Every quarter SAWs receives a percentage of the purchases made by SAWs supporters through Kroger Community Rewards. To enroll or update your account, go to www.kroger.com and choose Kroger Community Rewards at the bottom of the page. Click on “I’m a Customer” and search for Servants at Work or EP501. Each participant must update their account every year, so please take a moment to update yours today. If you need help, please email cecommunityrewards@kroger.com or call 317-579-8324 or 317-579-8321. AMAZON SMILE: Make your amazon purchases at smile.amazon.com and .5% of your purchase price will go to SAWs when you register SAWs as the charity of your choice. “We give through appreciated stock as part of our tax planning. It’s a great way for us to help the organizations we care about. We save on capital gains taxes and it doesn’t affect our AGI (adjusted gross income) because the amount we give never appears as income since it is transferred directly to SAWs.” Asked why SAWs is among his top philanthropic priorities, Sweet responded, “With SAWs, it’s the direct impact that really makes me want to give. I can see exactly what my money is doing and I get immediate feedback as to the difference a particular ramp makes in somebody’s life. It’s hard to describe the feeling you get when you see the tears of joy in the eyes of the client and of the caregiver. When you’ve seen it and felt it, it stays with you and it keeps you coming back.” When asked about his most memorable build, Sweet cites his experience of building for a woman who had not been out of her house for five years except when she called the paramedics to take her to get medical attention. “Can you imagine not being able to get out of your house for five years? That one really stayed with me.” SawsRamps.org
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