Our Work
“The smallest things can make the biggest difference.”
The Sunstone Project works with a variety of different organizations to work on projects ranging from small acts of kindness to large-scale partnerships. We organize these different types of projects into three different categories:
Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3
Tier 1
Gray and Danielle complete three Tier 1 projects per week. This makes Tier 1 projects our most frequent project! Tier 1 projects are typically smaller-scale projects such as making diverse book donations or paying for a family’s groceries. See below to learn more about the Sunrise work we do!
Tier 2
Gray and Danielle complete between one and two Tier 2 projects per month. These projects are larger than those in Tier 1 and smaller than those in Tier 3. These mid-level projects include event partnerships, program sponsorships, and much more!
Tier 3
Gray and Danielle complete at least one Tier 3 project per quarter. These are our largest-scale projects that require much more planning and preparation, which is why they happen less frequently that Tier 1 and 2 projects. See the Sunset work we have done below!
2024 Q1
THE FINAL CHAPTER FOR THE TRAVEL PORTION OF GRAY AND DANIELLE’S THE SUNSTONE PROJECT, RENAMED TO
THE TRIP AROUND THE SUN
TIER 3 PARTNERS
TIER 2 PARTNERS
-
![]()
TURNING THE PAGE
WASHINGTON, DC
Mission: “Turning the Page engages Washington, DC and Chicago parents as educators in resource-rich programming, sharing opportunities for parents to become active participants in their child’s education. We aim to build a community of parents, caregivers, public schools, and community partners, leading to improved academic performance and social-emotional well-being.”
-
![]()
TREE HOUSE BOOKS
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA
Mission: Tree House Books is on a mission to grow and sustain a community of readers, writers, and thinkers in Philadelphia. A Giving Library and Literacy Center in North Philadelphia, our vision is to make sure that every child has access to books and every opportunity to fulfill their dreams and explore their passion.
-
![]()
BORN TO READ
BEAUFORT, SC
Born To Read Inc. promotes oral language development and early childhood literacy in the Lowcountry. Since the inception of the program Born To Read volunteers have made more than 18,000 visits to new parents in the local birthing centers serving Beaufort, Jasper and surrounding counties. The mission of Born To Read is “to promote early childhood literacy and language development, while helping new parents understand their critical role as their child’s first and most important teacher”.
-
![]()
DEEP CENTER
ATLANTA, GA
Deep Center’s mission is to empower Savannah’s young people to thrive as learners, community leaders, and agents of change. Through creative writing, cultural production, and art, Deep creates platforms for the city’s youth and the village of support around them, including their families and adult allies, to share stories, engage in debates, and make Savannah a more just and equitable place.
-
![]()
READING IS FUNDAMENTAL PITTSBURGH
PITTSBURGH, PA
“Nearly two-thirds of low-income families do not own any books for their children. Reading Is Fundamental Pittsburgh addresses this critical need by providing children with access to self-selected books, creating positive environments that motivate children to develop a lifelong love of reading. By providing nearly 84,000 books and services to our city’s most economically disadvantaged children, RIF Pittsburgh is dedicated to reducing the literacy gap in our community and fostering a lifelong love of reading in the children we serve.”
-
![]()
A GIFT FOR TEACHING
ORLANDO, FL
“A Gift for Teaching is the glue that connects it all, serving as Central Florida’s primary provider of free school supplies to teachers for their students who need them most. Our Mission is to provide educational resources that empower teachers to inspire future leaders.”
-
![]()
BOOKS BETWEEN KIDS
HOUSTON, TX
Books Between Kids is a non-profit organization serving Houston’s at-risk children by providing them with books to build their own home libraries.
-
![]()
YOUNG, BLACK, & LIT
Young, Black, & Lit’s mission is to increase access to children’s books that center, reflect, and affirm the experiences of Black children. Young, Black & Lit provides children’s books featuring Black characters to youth at no cost to the youth or the families. This is done through monthly donations to schools and organizations serving youth, partnerships with organizations seeking to make an impact, and pop-up community book fairs.
-
![]()
WHERE LOVE GROWS
TAMPA, FL
“Where Love Grows maintains a ZERO TOLERANCE for childhood hunger. Proper nourishment should never be denied to any child. Nutrition is critical for a child's development, affects their future, and the community as a whole. Our programs address the immediate needs of hungry children, while implementing long-term positive impacts. We achieve these goals through our family dinner night events and cooking programs, looking to break the cycle of hunger for children and their families in Tampa.”
-
![]()
EMMAUS HOUSE
ATLANTA, GA
Emmaus House non-profit organization that provides emergency shelter and develops affordable housing in the Lower Merrimack Valley to help families and individuals facing homelessness rebuild their lives.
TIER 1 PROJECTS
-
![]()
OLIVIAS HOUSE
YORK, PENNSYLVANIA
-
![]()
READ A BOOK, EARN A BOOK
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA
-
![]()
BLACK CHILD DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE (BCDI CAROLINAS)
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA
-
![]()
PROMISING PAGES
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA
-
![]()
TIME OUT YOUTH
CHARLOTTE, NC
-
![]()
AN OPEN BOOK FOUNDATION
WASHINGTON, DC
-
![]()
HOPE AT HAND
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA
-
![]()
READ 2 SUCCEED
ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA
-
![]()
LITERACY TOGETHER
ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA
-
![]()
STEM LIBRARY LAB
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
-
![]()
DRAWCHANGE
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
-
![]()
DEEP CENTER
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
-
![]()
LOVE OF LEARNING
VIRGINIA
-
![]()
BOOK GIVE
DENVER, COLORADO
-
![]()
START THE ADVENTURE IN READING (STAIR)
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
-
![]()
READING CONNECTIONS
GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA
-
![]()
FOSTER THE LOVE
BROUSSARD, LOUISIANA
-
![]()
BATON ROUGE BOOK DROP
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA
-
![]()
READING READY
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA
-
![]()
CHILDREN READ
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
-
![]()
READ AND FEED
CARY, NORTH CAROLINA
2023
Q3 AND Q4
TIER 3 PROJECTS
Governor’s Early
Literacy
Foundation
The Sunstone Project partnered with GELF in Nashville, TN, a nonprofit that not only works to eliminate the transportation barrier when providing books/resources to underserved communities, but also helps other literacy nonprofits build mobile libraries to start their own Book Bus programs. GELF offers Book Delivery, Home Library, and Caregiver Engagement programs, as well as the Book Bus program that Sunstone partnered on. GELF is a leader in the early literacy community in Nashville and is doing amazing work helping to spread their mission across the state of Tennessee and beyond.
Gray and Danielle were able to visit GELF in Nashville with one of our partner organizations, Book Give, to learn more and see the Book Bus transformation in person! Book Give was midway into their reconstruction process which included adding shelving for books and other features to make the new book bus student ready. We are so excited to see this network of Book Busses GELF is helping to create grow in the future!
Make Way For
Books
Make Way for Books is an early literacy nonprofit that provides proven programs, services, and resources to more than 30,000 young children, parents, and educators throughout southern Arizona each year. Make Way for Books provides programs to children birth to 5 to ensure children discover the joy of books, develop critical emergent literacy and language skills, and start school ready. Make Way for Books works strategically and creatively to provide programs and strategies that meet the diverse needs of young children, families, and educators.
The Sunstone Project partnered with Make Way for Books to sponsor events in their Story Project and Story School programs including Family Literacy Events and Workshops. Learn more about the different programs Make Way for Books offers and see how you can get involved!
The Assistance
League of
Los Angeles
The Sunstone Project was very excited to partner with a non-profit foundation operating for over 100 years, the Assistance League of Los Angeles in California. The mission of Assistance League® of Los Angeles is to improve the lives of impoverished children and young adults in our community through philanthropy, dedicated service, and compassionate programs. The Sunstone Project partnered with Assistance League on one of their programs in Operation School Bell, Wheels Day. Wheels Day is a day of free resources in which students can get free school supplies, books, clothes, shoes and other necessities.
Wheels Day is a day of free resources in which students can get free school supplies, books, clothes, shoes and other necessities. Gray and Danielle got to visit Assistance League in Los Angeles to see their programs in person and learn more about their mission. Assistance League LA has been a leader in the non-profit world for over a century, and has grown to a nation wide organization. Learn more about Assistance League and see how you can get involved!
Lambert
House
The Sunstone Project was very excited to partner with Lambert House in Seattle, Washington. Lambert House empowers lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth ages 10-22 through the development of leadership, social, and life skills. Lambert House offers a variety of resources to queer youth, including support groups, LGBTQ+ dances, a daily drop in center, and much more. Sunstone worked with Lambert House to sponsor incoming 2024 projects including teen events (Inclusive Prom, etc.) and queer library expansion.
Gray and Danielle got to visit Lambert House in Seattle and got tot take a tour of their impressive 3,000+ title queer library and learn more about their programs, work, and history. Sunstone is truly inspired by Lambert House’s journey as the first registered LGBTQ+ non-profit and their goals for the future of their organization. Learn more about Lamber Hou and see how you can get involved!
TIER 2 PROJECTS
PENCIL
Location: Nashville, TN
Date: July 2023
Impact: PENCIL is a nonprofit that, among other community resources, provided a retail space for educators is filled with classroom essentials such as pencils, crayons, copy paper, notebooks, book bags, glue sticks, hand sanitizer, and so much more. The Sunstone Project provided grant funding for PENCIL to purchase core school supplies for underserved students in Nashville, Tennessee.
KID
smART
Location: New Orleans, LA
Date: August 2023
Impact: The Sunstone Project provided grant funding to support KID smART’s annual Best Fest as a Presenting Sponsor. Best Fest is a free event for students which includes book signings from local authors, Drag Queen Story time, free books, and much more! Sunstone also provided over 1,000 books to be distributed at Best Fest and KID smART’s literacy programs.
Gray and Danielle were able to visit with KID smART in person while we were in New Orleans to see their programs in person and drop off some of our favorite titles!
BATON ROUGE
BOOK DROP
Location: Baton Rouge, LA
Date: August, 2023
Impact: The Sunstone Project provided 1,200+ books to Baton Rouge Book drop to be spread throughout Baton Rouge, Louisiana via Little Free Libraries, community partners, etc. Danielle and Gray were able to visit Anne Thomas from Baton Rouge Book Drop in person and help deliver books to the YWCA Greater Baton Rouge. Learn more about how you can get involved!
FOSTER
THE LOVE
Location: Broussard, LA
Date: August, 2023
Impact: The Sunstone Project provided grant funding to support Foster The Loves’ First Night Closet where, whenever a child in foster care comes to the center, will be able to choose clothing, toiletries, personal items, etc to fill their first night bag. Sunstone Project also provided a large diverse children’s book donation (600+ titles) for each child to pick out themselves for their First Night Bag. Gray and Danielle were able to visit with Born to Read and do some volunteering while we were in South Carolina!
CHILDREN’S
READING
ALLIANCE
Location: Las Cruces, New Mexico
Date: August, 2023
Impact: The Sunstone Project grant funding for Children’s Reading Alliance to purchase 2,000+ books for over 1,000 underserved students in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Danielle and Gray were able to visit Children’s Reading Alliance while we were in New Mexico and we were able to deliver books in person to a local elementary school and help the students in each classroom pick out the best books for them to bring home. Thank you to Children’s Reading Alliance for including us in such an amazing experience, learn more about how you can get involved!
READY
SET, READ!
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Date: September, 2023
Impact: Ready, Set, Read! provides children with new, bilingual books to build their home libraries; and provides parents with the knowledge and skills to lay the foundation for their children’s early learning and literacy. Ready, Set, Read works to ensure Los Angeles children ages 0-5 have access to literacy rich environments at home and at school. The Sunstone Project provided grant funding to purchase over 12,000 diverse books to be distributed throughout Ready, Set, Reads’ programs including their Read Aloud Program. Learn more about how you can get involved with Ready, Set, Read!
I HAVE
A DREAM
- LOS ANGELES
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Date: September, 2023
Impact: The "I Have A Dream" Foundation Los Angeles works to ensure that all children have the opportunity to pursue higher education, fulfill their potential and achieve their dreams. IHADLA empowers our Dreamer Scholars to graduate from college by equipping them with the skills and knowledge to succeed in postsecondary school, as well as tuition support to help remove financial barriers. IHADLA works with Dreamer Scholars during school, after school, on the weekends and throughout the summer, over the course of 10+ years, developing long-term relationships with our students and their families. The Sunstone Project provided grant funding to sponsor IHADLA’s After School Program, College Visit Program, as well as a large donation of diverse children’s books (500+ books). Learn more about how you can get involved!
READING IS
FUNDAMENTAL
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Location: Southern California, CA
Date: September, 2023
Impact: Reading is WHAT? FUNDAMENTAL! The mission of Reading is Fundamental Southern California is to promote literacy and motivate children to read by providing new books to create home libraries for underserved children in Southern California. The Sunstone Project provided grant funding to sponsor 50+ Motivational Reading Events where each child (~60 students per school) receives three brand new books to build their home library. Reading is Fundamental visits each of the 277 participating schools three times per year.
SHADOW
PROJECT
Location: Colorado Springs, CO
Date: September, 2023
Impact: The mission of The Shadow Project is to make school more accessible and engaging for K-8 students with learning challenges like dyslexia, ADHD, autism and trauma. The Shadow Project partners with schools to increase educational opportunities for the 1 in 5 students with learning and attention challenges. Using Shadow Project programs, students develop strong academic habits, master social emotional skills, and gain up to two years in their reading ability. The Sunstone Project provided grant funding to sponsor a brand new Sensory Space, new sensory tools/activities for the Shadow Store, and a diverse children’s book donation of 700+ books. Learn more about how you can get involved!
FIRST GEN
SUCCESS
Location: Charlotte, NC
Date: October, 2023
Impact: First Gen Success aims mission to close the gender disparity gap by inspiring young girls (high school seniors) through nurturing, advancing, and celebrating the potential of high-performing, underserved high school girls seeking to become first-generation college students and leaders in their school, workplace, and community. First Gen Success offer academic support with comprehensive college counseling, test preparation, study skills, leadership training, access to career professionals, and ongoing support through successful college graduation. The Sunstone Project provided grant funding sponsor 16 scholars through the 2023-2024 First Generation Success Program. Learn more about how you can get involved with First Gen Success!
CHILDREN’S
LITERACY
CENTER
Location: Colorado Springs, CO
Date: December, 2023
Impact: Children’s Literacy Center provides free one-to-one tutoring to elementary school children reading below grade level. Children’s Literacy Foundation works to help build a life of success through a foundation of literacy one child at a time. The Sunstone Project provided grant funding to support Children’s Literacy Center 1 on 1 Tutoring Sessions and a diverse children’s book donation of 800+ books. Learn more about how you can get involved!
PEAK
EDUCATION
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Date: December, 2023
Impact: Peak Education’s mission is to ensure that all scholars are empowered to take ownership of their educational journey and receive the support and mentorship to overcome any barriers that impede them from reaching their full potential. With programming lasting from 7th grade through college graduation, Peak Education supports students through 1) social-emotional education and career-readiness development, 2) mentoring programs, 3) service-learning & civic engagement opportunities, and 4) college and scholarship counseling. The Sunstone Project
ADDITIONAL TIER 2 PROJECTS
HOPE CENTER (DENVER, CO)
FAMILY TREE (DENVER, CO)
CHILDREN’S CABINET (NEVADA)
NEVADA KIDS FOUNDATION (NEVADA)
SAFE PASSAGE (COLORADO)
LIVE AGAIN FRESNO (FRESNO, CA)
PAGE AHEAD (WASHINGTON)
READ TO ME (NEW MEXICO)
LITTLE READ WAGON (OKLAHOMA)
START THE ADVENTURE IN READING (NEW ORLEANS, LA)
BOOK ‘EM (NASHVILLE, TN)
FOSTER PANTRY (WILMINGTON, NC)
TIER 1 PROJECTS
NORTH CAROLINA
Literacy Together (Asheville, NC)
Read 2 Succeed (Asheville, NC)
Little Free Libraries (Asheville, NC)
Healing Gardens of St. Ambrose (Raleigh, NC)
MISSISSIPPI
Cavalry Cleveland (Cleveland, MS)
Big House Books
Little Free Libraries (Cleveland, MS)
OKLAHOMA
Little Read Wagon (Norman, OK)
NEW MEXICO
Reading Quest
Children’s Reading Alliance
Little Free Libraries (Santa Fe, NM)
CALIFORNIA
Children’s Book Project
Little Free Libraries
OREGON
SMART Reading (Portland, OR)
Little Free Libraries (Portland, OR)
WASHINGTON
Page Ahead (Seattle, WA)
Lambert House (Seattle, WA)
Little Free Libraries (Seattle, WA)
ARIZONA
Books Save Lives
Little Free Libraries (Phoenix, AZ)
MONTANA
Watson Children’s Center
Little Free Libraries (
NEVADA
Spread the Word Nevada
Little Free Libraries (Las Vegas, NV)
COLORADO
Precious Child
Book Give
Children’s Literacy Center
More Books in Children’s Hands
Kids Crossing
Little Free Libraries (Denver, CO)
UTAH
Shelter Kids
Sharing Place
Kids on the Move
Little Free Libraries
MISSOURI
Lead to Read
Little Free Libraries
2023
Q1 AND Q2
TIER 1 PROJECTS
BANNED BOOK PROJECT
#SpreadBannedBooks
Gray and Danielle, along with the Sunstone Project, support equality, freedom, and the right to feel safe, happy, and celebrated in your own skin. We also believe that all children and people regardless of gender, race, culture, or sexual orientation should have access to books that showcase characters that look like them. As Gray and Danielle planned the Sunstone route through Florida in January of 2023, we knew could not ignore the book banning, attacks on queer and especially trans rights, and so much more. This inspired us to start our Spread Banned Books project where, beginning in Florida, we fill up every Little Free Library we can along our route with banned books (along with bilingual, queer, and other diverse books).
Over the course of six weeks, The Sunstone Project worked to spread banned books all throughout Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. Gray and Danielle were able to…
…fill 49 Little Free Libraries
…with 1,590 banned, queer, bilingual, and diverse books!
We will continue this Spread Banned Books project throughout Tennessee, Mississippi, Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, and more as we travel towards the West Coast. If you know of any trans or queer support organizations that we should reach out to, please contact us here
MORE TIER 1 PROJECTS
Q1: JANUARY, FEBRUARY, & MARCH 2023
LOCATIONS VISITED: Asheville, Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro, and Cary, North Carolina AND Myrtle Beach, Charleston, and Columbia, South Carolina
PARTNERSHIPS: Literacy Together, Read2Succeed, Promising Pages, Time Out Youth Center, Saddle Up and Read, Backpack Beginnings, EdVenture Children’s Museum, Beyond our Walls, Happy Wheels, Read and Feed, and many more.
IMPACT: Sunstone spread over 2,500 brand new diverse children’s books throughout children’s literacy nonprofits in North and South Carolina! See more projects Gray and Danielle did throughout Q1 here
Q2: APRIL, MAY, & JUNE 2023
LOCATIONS VISITED: Charlotte and Cary North Carolina AND Jacksonville, Orlando, and Tampa, Florida AND Atlanta, Georgia
PARTNERSHIPS: Promising Pages, Read a Book Earn a Book, Raising a Reader, Time Out Youth, Read and Feed, Sanctuary on 8th Street, Books Like Me, Ideas for Us, Children Read, and more.
IMPACT: Sunstone spread over 1,800 brand new diverse children’s books throughout children’s literacy nonprofits in North Carolina, Florida, and Georgia! See more projects Gray and Danielle did throughout Q2 here
Time Out Youth in Charlotte, NC
Promising Pages in Charlotte, NC
Literacy Together in Asheville, NC
EdVenture Children's Museum in Columbia, SC
Read and Feed in Cary, NC
Beyond Our Walls in Myrtle Beach, SC
Books Like Me in Tampa, FL
A Gift for Teaching in Orlando, FL
Books Like Me in Tampa, FL
TIER 2 PROJECTS
MLK FREE BOOK FAIR
Partnership: Read and Feed (Cary, NC)
Date: January 21, 2023
Impact: The Sunstone Project provided over 300 children with copies of Who was Martin Luther King Jr.? by Lisbeth Kaiser, and Little Legends: Bold Women in Black History and Little Legends: Exceptional Men in Black history by Vashti Harrison. The entire Sunstone team and family attended the MLK event to help hand out books, thank you to Read and Feed for getting us involved in this event!
Born To Read
Location: Beaufort, SC
Date: February 28, 2023
Impact: The Sunstone Project provided funding to support Born to Reads’ Early Literacy Program where, whenever a child is born at one of their three local hospitals, a representative from Born to Read will visit the new parents and being them a resource bag. These bags include two baby books, a bib, materials to advise the parents on the importance of daily reading, a library card application, and a list of community pediatricians/resources, and more. Since the beginning of their program in 2008, Born to Read volunteers have made over 18,000 visits to new parents in Beaufort County. Gray and Danielle were able to visit with Born to Read and do some volunteering while we were in South Carolina!
The MindWell Meditation
Garden & Labrynth
Partnership: The Poe Center (Raleigh, NC)
Date: June 27, 2023
Impact: The Sunstone Project sponsored the MindWell Meditation Garden & Labyrinth at The Poe Center, a mental wellness sensory garden with all different types of textures and smells, and an activity library at the center. Thousands of children will be able to walk the Labyrinth each year! This beautiful exhibit opened up earlier this year in June, and Danielle was able to speak at the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony. Read her words in our spring newsletter.
TIER 3 PROJECTS
Book
Fairies
The Sunstone Project was very excited to continue and grow our partnership with Book Fairies in 2023 to sponsor multiple Community Book Fairs and Free Book Fairs in Title 1 elementary and middle schools in Long Island and NYC, New York. Book Fairies holds events in “book desert” neighborhoods with high-interest books necessary to increase literacy rates. Book Fairies collaborates with community members to understand the types of books, quantities, subject matters, and the diversity of characters and authors needed to engage children. Book Fairies recently surpassed 4 million books given and are well on their way to their 10 million book goal!
Members of our team were able to attend a Community Book fair in September of 2023 and had an amazing time seeing Book Fairies in action and helping to teachers select books to fill their classroom library with. The Sunstone Project looks forward to growing our partnership and attending many more book fairs in the future! Learn more about Book Fairies and see how you can get involved!
ReadyKids!
Florida
The Sunstone Project was very excited to partner with ReadyKids! in Pensacola, Florida to to sponsor two new ReadingPals rooms, a new Born Learning Trail with a Little Free Library, and new books/materials for existing programs! ReadyKids! is an established leader in the early literacy space for prekindergarten students in Escambia County. ReadyKids! focuses on mentoring students, engaging families in the education process of their prekindergartners, and supporting educators – all to maximize children’s potential through increased school readiness.
Gray and Danielle got to visit ReadyKids! in Pensacola to see their existing Born Learning Trails, see their ReadingPals program in action, and sit down with their Board to learn more about their mission and vision for ReadyKids. Thank you so much to Kristy Craig and the ReadyKids! team for the great work you are doing in your community. Learn more about ReadyKids! Florida and see how you can get involved!
2022
Tier 1 Projects
What We Do
Every week, Sunshine Specialist’s Gray and Danielle collect diverse mirror books ranging from kids picture books to young adult chapter books and set out in the Sunstone RV to deliver them to Little Free Libraries all across the Unites States!
Libraries Visited: 22
Diverse Books Given: 521
Little Free Libraries
The Education Initiative
Mirror Projects
The Education Initiative
What We Do
Sunshine Specialist’s Gray and Danielle collect diverse mirror books (ranging from kids picture books to young adult chapter books) and partner with local book banks, children’s museums, and other literacy nonprofit organizations all across the Unites States! We aim to not only spread new children’s books to book deserts around the country, but to make sure that those books are representative of all the different types of people that read them.
Organizations Visited: 11
Diverse Books Given: 850+
Penny Projects
What We Do
The Sunstone Project believes that the smallest acts of kindness can make the biggest difference, and Penny Projects reflect this message more than any of the other work that we do. Sunshine Specialist’s Gray and Danielle will visit large grocery stores, such as Wal-Mart, and walk around the check out aisle looking for people with large carts of groceries, school supplies, etc. After a bit of explaining (“yes we are serious…no really this is part of our job”), Gray and Danielle will offer to cover their purchase. We typically get to cover at least three families carts per trip to the store, and these interactions always feel the most rewarding. Most all of the people that we get to meet promise to pay it forward, and we truly believe that one small act of kindness can spread like wildfire, and make a big difference.
Penny Projects Completed: 4
Families impacted: 20+
Tier 2 Projects
Free Book Fair with The Book Fairies
Inaugural LGBTQ+ Symposium with Casa BruMar
Inaugural LGBTQ+ Symposium with Casa BruMar
Community Book Fair with The Book Fairies
Tier 3 Projects
The Education
Partnership
The Sunstone Project partnered with The Education Partnership to adopt six schools under their Adopt-A-School Program. This incredible program offers nonprofits, corporations, or just members of the community to adopt an elementary, middle, or high school with at least 70% of students enrolled in the Free Lunch Program. When you adopt a school, each student receives a homework kit filled with school supplies they will use throughout the year, as well as classroom supplies for the teachers.
Gray and Danielle got to visit The Education Partnership in Philadelphia to see their space and help put together homework kits for one of the schools that we adopted! Learn more about The Education Partnership and see how you can get involved!
On Point for
College
The Sunstone Project partnered with On Point for College to sponsor their FAFSA Completion Project, College Visit Program, and their The Student Clothing-Equipment Fund. On Point’s FAFSA Completion Project aims to help underprivileged/first generation college students complete their FAFSA forms for college applications.
Gray and Danielle also got to attend a FAFSA event at Onondaga Community College and a college visit to SUNY Oswego in New York!
