Photo courtesy of Dwight Sandlin
Dwight and Sandy Sandlin
A Hoover home builder and his wife have started a new charitable foundation aimed at multiplying the efforts of nonprofits to serve struggling Hoover children and families.
Dwight Sandlin, the chairman of the board for Signature Homes, and his wife, Sandy, have launched the Sandlin Foundation for Kids and Kindness after being moved at the needs of families in Hoover.
Sandlin, a Ross Bridge resident who has lived in Hoover for more than 25 years, said his company sells homes mostly to affluent people and he never really realized how many people there are in Hoover who struggle to make ends meet.
The median family income in Hoover is about $102,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, but 34% of the students in Hoover City Schools qualify for free or reduced-price meals based on their family income, school officials say.
“I had no idea,” Sandlin said.
He learned more about the extent of problems that people face by talking with David Bannister, the founder of Neighborhood Bridges Hoover, a nonprofit that provides aid to families in need through connections in Hoover schools.
Sandlin said there are several organizations like Neighborhood Bridges already doing amazing things to help people in Hoover, but they could use more resources. Sandlin and his wife have been donors to groups like the YMCA in western Hoover but wanted to do more.
Bannister had the idea to set up a new foundation, with Sandlin providing the seed money to get it started. The goal is to encourage others to donate as well and build an endowment that will be a recurring source of revenue for several Hoover nonprofits.
The Sandlins met last week with groups that have agreed to be community partners with the foundation, including Neighborhood Bridges, Hoover Helps (food insecurity), Family Connection (youth in crisis), Hope for Autumn Foundation (childhood cancer), Ady’s Big Army (adults with disabilities), Hoover City Schools Foundation and the YMCA in western Hoover.
Things are still in the early stages of development, but Bannister — who agreed to help set up the foundation for the Sandlins — already has made a lot of progress, Sandlin said.
An initial donation by the Sandlins will provide a new playground for the YMCA in western Hoover, and in future years, other nonprofits will be recipients of funds, Bannister and Sandlin said.
The goal is to specifically target needs in Hoover, Sandlin said. Organizations like the United Way and American Red Cross do great work, but the Sandlins want to direct their efforts specifically toward Hoover families, he said.
All donations to the Sandlin Foundation for Kids and Kindness will go directly to aid because the effort is entirely driven by volunteers, Bannister said. There will be no paid employees, he said.
To get involved, visit the foundation’s website at sfkak.org.
Image courtesy of Sandlin Foundation for Kids and Kindness
