What each gift became.
The animals, the partners, the moments. Stories build year by year here — as the work happens, and as we have time to tell it honestly.
Sponsoring Cricket.
The second horse we sponsor at Catskill — a quiet mare receiving steady, individualized care as the sanctuary marks its 25th year.
Earlier this winter, Cricket said goodbye to her longtime best friend and roommate, Callie. Her caregivers were especially attentive through the change, and we’re glad to report some good news: Cricket has moved into a new pasture alongside a new friend, Coco. Their introduction was “wonderfully uneventful,” and the two have already been spotted sharing meals and exploring the field side by side.
Cricket is also being treated for a front-left hoof abscess. She’s wearing a special wrap and wedge heel while she heals over the next few weeks, with her veterinarian very optimistic about her recovery.
Meet Rowdy.
A gentle soul, rescued from an animal hoarding situation in Saratoga, New York, alongside thirteen other horses.
When Rowdy arrived at Catskill Animal Sanctuary, he was several hundred pounds underweight, suffering from rain rot, and had severely neglected hooves. Due to his past, Rowdy carries some lingering trust issues — but he is patient and kind, and getting better every day.
We sponsor Rowdy. The sanctuary itself is a 150-acre Hudson Valley refuge that has rescued over 5,000 animals in twenty-five years, and we couldn’t be prouder to support what they do.
We’ve had the privilege of sponsoring a few of Catskill’s blind horses, too. The sanctuary trains them — twelve right now — to navigate by sound and voice command, and watching a newly blind horse find its footing again is breathtaking. Their motto holds for every animal that arrives: you are safe, you are loved, and you matter.
To Paws of War.
A single gift, hand-delivered in September 2024 to the people pairing rescued animals with American veterans and first responders.
Paws of War rescues animals from neglect, abandonment, and active conflict zones, and trains them to support service members returning home. It is some of the most concentrated good we know of — healing on both ends of the leash.
We delivered the check in person, at the Nesconset facility, alongside the team that does the work day-in and day-out.
Newtown's quiet sanctuary.
A 34-acre animal sanctuary in Newtown, Connecticut — carrying forward the memory of Catherine Violet Hubbard through compassion, education, and care.
We were drawn to the worthwhile programming at the Catherine Violet Hubbard Sanctuary in our home state. It is a place built deliberately for healing, and we are honored to support their ongoing work.
A night at the Glass House.
The national leader in ending the killing of dogs and cats in America's shelters — and the closest thing the movement has to a center of gravity.
In 2024, members of the family attended Best Friends’ annual benefit gala at the Glass House. The mission of Best Friends — ending shelter killing by 2025 — is one of the only audacious, time-bound goals in animal welfare. We’re glad to be part of the room that’s funding it.
Later that year, the family made the pilgrimage to the Best Friends sanctuary in Kanab, Utah. The land itself is part of the story — we keep going back. And we love their promise: any animal adopted from Best Friends, dog or pig, is always welcome back if its person can no longer care for it. A soft place to land, for good.
A local shelter, year after year.
A no-kill shelter serving Western Connecticut with adoption, foster, and community education programs — our longest-running partner.
DAWS has been a constant for the foundation since the beginning. We read their newsletter cover-to-cover, attend the benefits when we can, and quietly keep the relationship warm. They are the model of what a small, well-run shelter looks like.
Gingerbread joy.
Programs and resources that foster healthy, loving, supportive family environments. They invite us in for the work and for the joy.
Their mission is to ensure that families receive the support they need to give their children a safe and healthy start. The programs reduce social isolation and mitigate childhood risk — quiet, structural work.
We were granted the joyous privilege of judging their Gingerbread Decorating Contest, themed “Winter Family Fun: Avoiding Cabin Fever.” The kits went out with winter activity ideas and safety handouts. We came back with a story we still tell.
Care close to home.
A 456-bed acute care hospital in Danbury, Connecticut — now part of Northwell Health, and the place our family has trusted with its own care for years.
For more than 130 years, Danbury Hospital has delivered mission-driven care to its community. As part of Northwell Health — a system serving three million people a year across New York and Connecticut, with 14,500 providers and 28 hospitals — its patients reach an even wider network of care.
We’ve given over $700,000 to Danbury Hospital since 2019. We started with the cardiac care department and fellowship funding, and have since supported Cleveland Clinic training, the emergency preparedness fund, the Yoriko McClure Surgical Suite, and a bilingual peer-navigator program. Our family has been cared for here over the years — getting involved was a no-brainer.
A foundation that gives,
not gathers.
If you'd like to contribute, your gift goes directly to one of our partner organizations. We don't take a cut. We don't keep an endowment.