Pictured: Chair, Mike Quillen; Lon Deckard, Quadrel Labeling and Team Quadrel/SRQ Hot Shots. Photo courtesy of Courtesy Geckos Hospitality Group.

The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office Charitable Foundation (SCSOCF) is gearing up for their ninth annual sporting clays event this fall. This is the Foundation’s only fundraiser of the year to benefit Sheriff’s Office employees facing extraordinary, or unexpected needs.

A nonprofit organization, SCSOCF, was established in 2015 by a group of concerned business leaders who recognized that despite the enormous contribution law enforcement employees make to our quality of life, their economic security is often inadequate when faced with extraordinary personal or family circumstances. The Foundation’s mission is to assist employees of the Sarasota County Sheriff's office who are experiencing these types of situations. To raise awareness of the Foundation and to fund grants, the SCSOCF hosts an annual clays shoot, with this year’s event taking place on Friday, November 17.

Every dollar raised from the event will go directly to supporting law enforcement through Foundation assistance grants. The Foundation has seen a 1400% increase in grants awarded since the first Foundation grant application was submitted and a 70% increase in the numbers of companies or individuals who joined as supporters of the Foundation.

“Thank you so very much! This is a huge relief given everything else we are dealing with” said one 10-year employee whose spouse was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, had surgery and was undergoing aggressive medical treatment, which caused the family to fall behind on their bills. The Foundation provided mortgage and car payment support, relieving the burden so that the family could focus on the health of their loved one. Other examples of how the Foundation steps in to help include providing assistance after natural disasters such as the recent damage caused by Hurricane Ian, and accidents that employees or their family members may encounter.

To show community support, the Foundation members are asking for sponsorship and raffle items to help them answer the call for every crisis grant application they receive. Community support helped them set a new record for the 2022 Sporting Clays Fundraiser–225 shooters, raising $62,000, but in this post-Ian year the need is even greater.

“As a small foundation we compete with 2000 others in our very philanthropic community but seem to have made some inroads with helping our deputies and their families with any number of crises,” says board member Anne Rollings “Especially after hurricane Ian, we had so many deputies and first responders who lost their homes and were still trying to answer the call to protect the community so any help is always greatly appreciated.”

Interested donors may register for the event at www.scsocharitablefoundation.org and send tax-deductible contributions to: Sarasota County Sheriff's Office Charitable Foundation, Inc., c/o Kim Noyes, 6120 So. Lockwood Ridge Rd., Sarasota, FL 34231.

The event will take place on Friday, November 17, 2023 at Knight Trail Park, 3445 Rustic Road, Venice. 

Pictured: Chair, Mike Quillen; Lon Deckard, Quadrel Labeling and Team Quadrel/SRQ Hot Shots. Photo courtesy of Courtesy Geckos Hospitality Group.

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