Hidden Gems: Meet Christina Berra of DRIVE R & E Family Foundation

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christina Berra, Foundation Coordinator for DRIVE R & E Family Foundation.

Hi Christina, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
Dan Jaraczewski (sole proprietor of R&E Automated, est.1999) has always had a passion for helping others. After volunteering and contributing for more than 20 years on various projects within in the community, Dan and his family felt that more could be done to improve the lives of local children in need. 

As community involvement and volunteerism have always been a part of the R&E culture, it was decided that the best way to make a greater, positive impact would be to form a nonprofit organization that was solely focused on supporting local children. 

On March 23rd, 2019 – after many months of research and planning – DRIVE was established and presented to Dan as a surprise birthday “gift” from his wife and children! 

Once DRIVE was established, a volunteer board of directors was quickly formed to ensure proper focus was placed on developing the foundation. The DRIVE board is comprised of R & E Employees as well as family and friends of said Employees. Each of our board members has individually expressed a passion for supporting local youth and are heavily invested in the success of the foundation. In addition, all board members are completely uncompensated for their work with DRIVE which allows any funds donated or raised to go directly toward improving the lives of local children in need. 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As with everyone else, covid was a struggle for us… in our first real year of taking action (2019 was a lot of planning), we had to cancel many fundraisers, which caused us quite a bit of delay on getting things off the ground. We did manage to push through and have a reasonable year in 2020, but it was not as successful as we could have been otherwise. 

The biggest struggle that we have currently is finding effective ways to connect with the community outside of our personal/business contacts. We know there are thousands of non-profits in our area, and we want to show the community what we are doing, how, why, and have them become passionate about our mission and believe in DRIVE as much as we do! 

We also could use some help with engaging volunteers outside of our local high schools. We receive wonderful support from the schools, but the students’ hours are quite limited, and we need assistance sometimes during school hours. 

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about DRIVE R & E Family Foundation?
DRIVE is a 100% Volunteer Operated 501c3 Non-Profit Organization. Being strictly volunteer-operated means that every dollar given via donation, fundraiser, grant, etc., goes directly towards improving the lives of local children in need. Our team is passionate about our mission of supporting children within Southeast Michigan, and our ultimate goal is to provide them with the everyday essentials that many take for granted such as food, clothing, school supplies, hygiene items, and more! 

Since 2019 DRIVE has established 4 core initiatives that we strive to improve upon and grow each year. 

1. Elementary Eats! – DRIVE provides weekend meals to over 230 food-insecure students within 3 local elementary schools every week from September – June. The three schools currently supported are ROBERTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (Shelby Township), WASHINGTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (Washington Township), and HAMILTON PARSONS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (Leonard Township). Our goal is to continue to add schools whenever possible and hopefully support 500 students by 2025!

2. Christmas Cheer – DRIVE provides clothing, winter gear, household supplies, holiday gifts, and more to local children living at or below poverty level. Over 265 children were served with this program in 2022!

3. Back 2 School – DRIVE provides local children with new backpacks, school supplies, lunchboxes, reusable water bottles, and shelf-stable lunch foods prior to each new school year! 300 Children were served with this program in 2022!

4. Community Assistance – DRIVE provides local children with everyday essentials such as clothing, personal care products, medical expenses, and more, as requested and approved by the board.

Pricing:

• DRIVE can provide weekend meals to 1 child for an entire school year for just $140
• DRIVE can provide 1 child with a Winter Coat, Boots, Gloves, Hat & Scarf for just $75
• DRIVE can provide 1 child with a brand-new backpack filled with school supplies for just $30
• DRIVE can provide 1 child with a Marshalls tote bag FULL off lunch box-ready snacks, a new lunch box, and a reusable water bottle for just $25

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.driveforchildren.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drivefamilyfoundation/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DRIVEFamilyFoundation/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/DriveFamily
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHWSBaVuGDHUwg6tyMb-_XA