About Us
The Spero Foundation , a non-profit corporation founded by Heidi Hartman, Colleen McKernan, Linda Knowles, Susan Clifton and Kathy Childs, provides counseling, guidance and raises money for various charitable purposes. The founding members formed the organization as a continuance from previous projects they have worked on together and separately for various causes. The passion of giving, organizing and creating is part of the success of The Spero Foundation members. They saw a need, formed the foundation and will continue sharing the skills and energy to benefit the community.
The goal is to provide help by determining who is in need then raising as much money as possible to provide hope to the hopeless, help to the needy, strength where weakness prevails and the skills necessary to pass support along to those in need. Organizations to be targeted as beneficiaries will include Methodist Hospital “The Year Beyond” program, local families and friends with special needs, cancer research programs and City of Hope.
In these very difficult financial times, it is an even greater challenge to raise the necessary funds to help those in need. The founding members of The Spero Foundation have captured the spirit of giving and will continue to involve the members of various community organizations who have so generously given to fund raising efforts in the past. With creative ideas regarding interactive events, community participation and the energy level of the citizens of Sierra Madre, The Spero Foundation will be the vehicle for everyone to give to those in need.
How do we compete for the charitable dollars from families, friends and organizations when there is such an enormous call for money from many worthy causes? Local churches, food banks, educational centers, medical research facilities and the list, goes on. The answer is simple. The Spero Foundation represents the volunteer spirit of our village with an ability to determine the needs, target the challenge and meet the goals. What greater gift is there than the gift of giving to a neighbor and a friend. Our local hospital, cancer research and treatment center, food banks, and more will benefit from our volunteer spirit and endless energy targeting the cause.
Our capabilities include:
Fund raising – single source events for specified recipients (collective we have raised millions of dollars and plan to continue to do so)
Guidance – guidance for the family in need, resource material, outsource services and suggestions
Consulting – assistance to organizations and groups for their fund raising efforts
Spero Fondation Board Member Update
The Spero Foundation proudly remains an active provider of support to the community through fundraising, volunteer activities and financial assistance. We are proud to announce new members who have joined our group to help us meet our commitment to enrich the lives of those we touch. As well, a few existing members have changed positions.
Founding members positions remaining the same - President, Susan Clifton & Chairman of the Board, Heidi Hartman
Changes - Colleen McKernan is now the Treasurer, Linda Knowles is now Vice President and Kathy Childs has stepped down from the Board to serve in the position of Member at Large
New to the Board we welcome Teresa Ryan as Recording Secretary - filling new Board positions - Leslie Coumans as Corresponding Secretary and Donna Madsen as Public Relations Manager
We also welcome Diane Hatfield & Teresa Sharer as supporting members focused on Web Site Management and Volunteer Management respectfully.
Who We Are
Why Spero & what it means--- Adding to what you wrote I would say that Spero was formed so we could have more control over raising money for causes that mean a lot for us and directing the money to stay locally. Our passion is to help fight cancer, support research & programs and be ready to support smaller causes as they present themselves. We also feel very strongly about building bridges with other organizations or companies thru volunteering our time & talents to them.
Why am I involved - after the Relay dissolved in Sierra Madre, I began to miss the camaraderie & team work that I had with the volunteer team that put on the event. Four other ladies felt the same, we gathered to talk about working on another special event and Spero was born. Spero is the best of both worlds for me.....helping others and re-connecting with friends. It is about developing relationships and giving back. It is about the hope we each have that what we are doing will make a difference.
Susan
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Why am I involved--- time to try to make a difference.
Our belief is that our message of hope will gain momentum and involve our community, our families, our friends, local businesses and. In 2000 my dear friend was diagnosed with breast cancer, by 2001 she was fighting for her life. During her valiant fight I was diagnosed with the same disease, and just after Mothers Day in 2001 I underwent surgery for stage two breast cancer, as I began chemotherapy, my friend lost her battle, leaving a young child to grow up without her mother. As I fought through the chemotherapy and radiation; I was determined to not let this illness take me from my husband or my children….for whatever reason, I was given a second chance--- I was given the opportunity to live. As I was recovering from my treatment I made myself a promise to support and encourage cancer patients that there is hope and that you can keep the demon at bay and that you are not alone there is a community behind you….
Several friends who had also been touched by Cancer became committed to making a difference in the lives of those in our foothill community. While we know we cant “wave a magic wand” and make cancer disappear we felt we could help by providing financial, physical and emotional support to those in need…. hope…..
Spero is a grass roots organization, which grew out of the compassion of a community of friends Spero – meaning hope- is a network of friends that want to make a difference.
Linda
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Why am I involved--- It fills a gap in my heart. It creates friendships and memories that make life meaningful, it is who I am. It is my passion to give back and support when I can. I have always believed that I would give to those who weren’t as fortunate as I. Simple, but true. It is why I am a Special Education teacher, why I train Special Education teachers.
Our belief is –that we all need to have to have HOPE that becomes a reality, and that we will do what we can to make it happen. Hope is big and it is little. Hope is sharing. Hope is a big thank you smile from a little girl who wasn’t sure what her Thanksgiving dinner would consist of and how she would write about it when she was back at school. Hope is the smiles on the faces of survivors as they applaud each other and march to say we are alive! Our belief lies in the faces of survivors, their families, the volunteers, and the people who donate money.
How we got started-We all had a common friend whose tragedy pulled us all together with a passion- the desire and the ability to draw together people and resources to help others. All acquainted in one way or another, became involved in Relay For Life after a special friend was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000. Watching her desire to do something and not let it take her down we joined with her in her battle 2001 one of our own had also been diagnosed Then my mom was diagnosed,. In May our friend lost that battle , two days later my mom had her mastectomy. The bravery and the fight that these women exhibited made us fight harder to let others know that HOPE was here to support them, be it financially, or with personal support..
When our participation as a group had been put on hold for two years,. We as a group decided to get back together and start to make a difference again. All of us had been touched by Cancer knew we have the ability to make something spectacular happen for this community. We decided that we could support others providing financial, physical and emotional support to those in need and make a commitment to making a difference in the lives of those in our foothill community.
We sat in a backyard and decided that SPERO Latin for HOPE is what we wanted to simple provided this community
We are enthusiastic, we are big thinkers, we each sincerely care about people, we think we can handle anything and we will give it a good try!
Heidi