Tampa, FL – What does the CEO behind an autonomous personal rapid transit system at SNAAP and the Vice President of Raymond James Operations Risk & Control have in common? Both Chamber Members are super fans of the Little Saint Nick Foundation (LSNF) in Tampa Bay and Founder Ray Mohler, Jr. and Chief Giving Officer Wil White. The foundation brings smiles to children at local hospitals and not just during this season of giving!
Mohler is a New York transplant. The 25-year-old started the foundation in his hometown of Lynbrook on Long Island after his own hospital stay during the holiday season. He was 6 years old.
(Photo Courtesy Mohler Family: Ray Mohler, pictured here in the front row, was in elementary school and running the Little Saint Nick Foundation.)
“I got to go home with my parents. Other kids didn’t,” recalls Mohler. As a college student at the University of Tampa, he met White during his junior year. That was the spark that started the two UT students on a mission to bring toys to kids in Tampa Bay area hospitals, and ultimately, the creation of LSNF in Tampa Bay.
It’s a story about two young entrepreneurs that’s earned the support and admiration of Raymond James Vice President Bill Murray and SNAAP Transportation CEO and Co-Founder Andrew Cary. Both Chamber Members have rallied their teams to support LSNF, which joined the Chamber earlier this year.
“Associates were excited at this unique cause and the chance to come together across workstyles and worksites to pack the anti-anxiety bags,” explains Murray, referring to the foundation’s gift bags with toys to distract kids from the worries of being sick. How excited where Raymond James employees? Very! Raymond James teams in Memphis, Tennessee; Southfield, Michigan; and St. Petersburg, FL packed a grand total of 435 bags! The foundation was their very first hybrid volunteer event – with employees participating in their office location or from home. At Raymond James’ Feather Sound campus in St. Petersburg, employees comprised the largest participating team with 60 people packing a total of 295 toy bags during events held in March and July.
(Photo Courtesy Raymond James: RJ employees in the office and those remote working both love the camaraderie of packing gift bags for LSNF.)
“We wanted to ensure we included all associates no matter their workstyle (resident, hybrid & fully remote),” said Murray of fundraising, bag packing, and handwritten cards Raymond James employees did for the foundation. Calling it among the “easiest events to pull off”, the busy VP said “LSNF takes care of all the logistics such as setting up our dedicated fundraising site, allowing associates to easily donate via the online portal. LSNF orders the supplies needed once the funds are raised and delivers to our sites for the packing event and they join us to enable our associates to personally connect with the organization we are helping.”
Murray also pointed out the 360 degrees of positive impact – from the pediatric patients on the receiving end, the employees on the giving end, to the leaders benefitting from the team building! “It was a great activity to strengthen associate engagement and morale in our organization,” said Murray. So far this year, Raymond James employees have raised more than $4,000 for the foundation, and that’s not counting monies raised during this holiday season.
“We did it together. No convincing needed. It is part of our corporate DNA to give back to our communities,” said the Raymond James executive. He says the foundation makes it easy to do that.
(Photo Courtesy Raymond James: In the heat of July, RJ employees in St. Petersburg got into the "holiday spirit' to pack gift bags for LSNF.)
For Andrew Cary at SNAAP Transportation, his support of the foundation also includes mentoring. He met Mohler at UT where Cary is an Entrepreneur in Residence at the Lowth Entrepreneur Center. The Chamber Ambassador, Mentor in the Minority Business Accelerator, and Workforce Development Committee member says the intangibles of Chamber Members coming together to support each other and the community are priceless. “Funny isn’t it. The Tampa Bay Chamber is a 5-Star Chamber. Look at who it draws in and nurtures. These types of connections do so much more than just add jobs and revenue,” said Cary, proud of mentees Mohler and White. “They become part of the culture of the city and bind us together. It’s what makes up the quality-of-life indicators that we look for and are judged by.”
(Photo: Ray Mohler, Founder/Chairman/CEO of Little Saint Nick Foundation and Andrew J. Cary, Co-Founder/CEO of SNAAP Transportation)
Looking beyond the 2023 holiday season, Cary is hoping 2024 is the year LSNF finds a “corporate home” in Tampa Bay. The master connector hopes other local businesses will engage with the foundation “through practical corporate contributions, community engagement and human resource opportunities (PTO Optional Days) to give back.” Having a “corporate home” here takes that to the next level, said Cary. “There is a fundamental difference between corporate support and a corporate home. A ‘home’ is the place where the foundation has a launching pad. It’s not necessarily defined by a door and four walls,” explained Cary. “A corporate home can include, but is not limited to activities throughout the year, not simply seasonal.”
“As a business owner, you try, in some way, to make that business like a second home, a good place to be because you’re spending so many hours together,” said Cary. “Part of that company culture is to have shared experiences. Increasingly, the culture of giving back is part of that with volunteering, payroll deductions, and the like. This foundation is one that adults, their children and even multi-generational involvement can participate year-round.” That’s music to the ears of Mohler, who is seeing the foundation continue to blossom to the benefit of countless children. It's an impact far greater than anything he could have imagined during his days in elementary school visiting other kids in NY hospitals.
(Photo courtesy Mohler Family: Ray Mohler pictured here during a visit to kids in the hospital when he was just a boy himself.)
“In 2023, we’ve worked with 20 different healthcare facilities in the U.S. and Canada, distributing 10-thousand gift bags… Kids empowering other kids, that’s still the mission of the Little Saint Nick Foundation. We have students of all ages getting involved to host supply drives, pack gift bags, make get-well cards and fundraise every day of the year. Our scalable model around the globe is largely based off experiences and partnerships that we have built and are building right here in Tampa Bay.”
Since the foundation’s launch in Tampa Bay in 2018, it has distributed approximately 5,000 gift bags to pediatric patients at Baycare Health System hospitals, the Ronald McDonald Houses of Tampa Bay, and soon-to-be at Tampa General Hospital. The TGH connection is part of another great trifecta - TGH, the Girl Scouts of West Central Florida and LSNF. This December local Girl Scouts will be fundraising to pack gift bags for the foundation, as part of their badge program with TGH. Local girl scouts will be packing the LSNF gift bags at the University of Tampa.
The Chamber's membership is proudly comprised of more than 100 community organizations and non-profits our region. In this season of giving, if your company or organization is looking for nonprofits to partner with, we encourage you to visit the directory of Chamber Members in the non-profit space. These community groups serve our region year-round.
