Sunshine Haven Inc. is holding its third annual donation drive-thru this Saturday, Sept. 17, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Brownsville Event Center. 1 Event Center Blvd.
Sunshine Haven is a nonprofit group in Olmito that provides end-of-life care on a donation-only basis. It was founded by the late Lois del Castillo, the first registered nurse in Brownsville, and began operations in 2000. The donation drive-thru “wish list” includes necessities such as paper towels, trash bags of various sizes, hand soap, bottled water and printer paper (see the full list on Sunshine Haven’s Facebook page).
Also welcome are gift cards from businesses such as H-E-B, Walmart and Home Depot, as well as cash and checks. All the money goes toward patient care.
Veronica Lucio, the organization’s executive director, said the idea for a drive-thru event was conceived during the height of the pandemic so people could donate items but not have to leave their cars. The concept has been well received by the public, she said.
“In the last couple of years we’ve had anywhere from 150 to 200 cars that drive through,” Lucio said. “It’s a tremendous help to stock us back up with household essentials.”
The plan is to make it an annual thing, she said.
“That’s the hope,” Lucio said. “It’s really positive. People have smiles on their faces as they drive up and they have smiles on their faces as they drive out. You can just feel the vibe. You really can.”
The Brownsville Junior Service League provides volunteers for the event to welcome donors, unload items from vehicles etc., though BJSL also helps out Sunshine Haven on a regular basis, she said.
“They’re here once a month, every third Saturday, to help clean the yard and wash windows outside,” Lucio said. “They’re wonderful.”
The volunteers will also be taking down information from those donors interested in receiving proof of in-kind charitable donations for tax purposes, in which case it’s a good idea to bring receipts, she said.
Lucio made a point of spotlighting a large donation from Laurie Howell, a founding board member of Sunshine Haven, personally invited to join by Lois del Castillo herself, and Howell’s husband, Darrell Mangham. The couple’s donation of $20,000 marks the launch of a two-month campaign to match that donation, with Saturday’s drive-thru event serving as the official kick-off, Lucio said.
In 2020, Howell donated $10,000 to be matched over a five-month, $100,000 campaign the Sunshine Haven undertook when its annual fund-raising gala in November was canceled due to the pandemic, Lucio said. Things snowballed from there, with the Mitte Foundation stepping in with its own $10,000 match grant and other donors coming forward as well, she said.
Sunshine Haven closed out 2020 with a $20,000 match from OmniTRAX Inc., bringing it just $3,000 shy of its $100,000 goal. Now Howell is back, with her husband this time, with a grant double in size. Lucio said it will be “incredibly helpful” since Sunshine Haven won’t be able to hold its November gala this year either.
“They’re some of the most humble people that I have worked with when it comes to donors of their capacity,” Lucio said.
