“It’s my mission in life to improve the lives of others through service,” shares Amy La Mere-Stoops, Healthcare Division Manager at JP Cullen and member of the Gilda’s Club Board of Directors.
JP Cullen became involved with Gilda’s Club in a major way when we were (literally) under water. More than 500,000 gallons of water poured into the clubhouse on August 20th, 2018. We reached out to the community to help us raise the $100,000 deductible for our $1 million flood insurance policy, plus the updates needed to prevent future flooding. We were overwhelmed by the response. Over 600 individuals, companies, and foundations stepped forward to support us.
Among them was JP Cullen, the superstars of making the restoration of our clubhouse possible. When we were at our time of greatest need, JP Cullen was there and willing to help us rebuild and provided the restoration work to the clubhouse at cost.
Since then, JP Cullen has become a critical partner to Gilda’s Club. Steve Landry, formerly of JP Cullen, joined our Board of Directors and eventually became Board Chair. As he changed professional roles, he approached Amy La Mere-Stoops about joining our Board of Directors and continuing their involvement in our volunteer leadership.
“I chose to become a board member so that I can support the organization’s mission of bringing care and compassion to those affected by cancer,” Amy shares.
Beyond their volunteer leadership, JP Cullen has also provided philanthropic support. In fact, that support goes all the way back to 2005, before the clubhouse even opened, when they provided several donations to help make Gilda’s Club Madison possible. More recently, they have sponsored many of Gilda’s Signature Events and have been Signature Events Sponsors for the past several years, including 2024.
The Young Leaders Division at JP Cullen has spearheaded their engagement in Gilda’s Run/Walk, surpassing sponsorship support through their fundraising efforts. “Everyone on the team is really determined to make a positive impact,” shares Amy. “It’s really inspirational to see younger generations doing that as well.”
Other JP Cullen team members continue to make sure that our clubhouse is in good repair by being on our Building Committee, and through their employees volunteering to make needed clubhouse updates.
We are so thankful to JP Cullen for all that they have made possible throughout our history.