The Sarah Grace Foundation Of LI Receives $5K Dunkin' Joy In Childhood Foundation Grant

HICKSVILLE, NY — The Sarah Grace Foundation, a childhood cancer charity based in Hicksville, received a $5K grant from the Dunkin' Joy In Childhood Foundation.

The charity plans to use the grant money for financial aid requests from families for supermarket gift cards, said Matthew Weippert, who founded the charity following the death of his daughter, Sarah, to cancer. Supermarket gift cards are a "huge demand" given many families are struggling to cover their household and medical expenses, as well as to provide meals for their family.

"This utilization encompasses the Dunkin' mission of battling hunger and illness," Weippert told Patch.

Dunkin's foundation offers grants to nonprofits that make a difference in the lives of children battling hunger or illness across the country.

The Sarah Grace Foundation had not yet applied for a Dunkin' Joy in Childhood Foundation grant, and Weippert said he and his family were "excited" to receive the grant on their first attempt.

"When we received notification that the foundation was being awarded the grant, we were honored that our efforts to provide for families of children with cancer who were experiencing financial difficulty and food insecurities was being recognized by the Dunkin organization," Weippert said.

Weippert said it is "difficult" for localized charities, like The Sarah Grace Foundation, to obtain grant funding or corporate sponsorships.

"Most corporate entities cater to the national charities and grant funding is just plain difficult to secure," he said. "This is why it’s so critically important to keep promoting the smaller, localized charities in the hope of making the right connections for these funding opportunities. As a local organization, our finger is on the pulse of what the local child with cancer is experiencing and what his/her needs are and national charities don’t have that same connection."