Liberty Fruit raises $480,000 for charity

09/25/2012 5:18:48 PM
Greg Johnson

Greg JohnsonLiberty Fruit Co. continues its philanthropy with an annual golf tournament, raising $480,000 for charities Sept. 24. Members of the Caviar family present the check. KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Liberty Fruit Co. raised $480,000 for charity at its annual golf tournament.

The Sept. 24 event was the Kansas City, Kan.-based company’s 13th edition and brings its total to about $1.8 million raised for charity in that time, said chief operating officer Scott Danner.

The biggest recipient is Children’s Mercy Hospital, which received $350,000 this year.

Other charities receiving funds are:

• Armourdale Renewal Association, $30,000;

• Little Sisters of the Poor, $30,000;

• Drumm Farm, a center for troubled youths, $25,000;

• Jewish Family Service, $25,000;

• Midwest Classic golf tournament, $10,000; and

• Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy, $10,000.

In addition to thanking Liberty Fruit and the Caviar family, Kathryn Harvel, director of major gifts for Children’s Mercy Hospital, said Liberty Fruit will be named 2012 Business Philanthropist of the Year by the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ MidAmerica Chapter.

Harvel said the hospital nominated Liberty Fruit, and the ceremony is scheduled for Nov. 1 in Kansas City, Mo.

The golf tournament, at Tiffany Greens Golf Club in Kansas City, Mo., attracted 144 players.

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Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics was honored to nominate The Liberty Fruit Company as the 2012 Business Philanthropist of the Year and are proud to be the primary recipient of the annual Liberty Fruit Golf Tournament. We join Liberty Fruit and the Caviar family in grateful thanks for the incredible support of their tournament sponsors. Liberty Fruit sources its produce from growers across the country, and have many well-established corporate connections; friendships from which our hospital and the thousands of children we serve annually benefit from. Over the 13 years of the tournament, sponsors have come from 24 states and two Canadian provinces. It is an honor to visit with them each year and feel the genuine pride that they take in supporting the event and the great things made possible for our patients. And some of these children may come from their own communities; as one of the top pediatric specialty centers in the US, last year we served children from all 50 states and abroad.

The tournament has funded a wide range of needs notably including medical equipment, the creation of an innovative Abdominal Pain Program that has become a national model, and the creation of the Bountiful Harvest Research Fund to support new cures and treatments in Gastroenterology and Liver Care.

Our city is fortunate to benefit from the Caviar family and the fruits of their labor. Along with their awesome colleagues at Liberty Fruit, they have quietly created an impressive business model that values the commitments they make to their customers, their employees, and their community. Liberty Fruit deserves this award not only for what they do, but how they do it – generously and modestly and without hesitation.

For information on the Association of Fundraising Professionals MidAmerica Chapter's National Philanthropy Day celebration on November 1st, 2012, please visit http://midamerica.afpnet.org/
and click on the icon for National Philanthropy Day on the homepage.

For more information on Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics, please visit us at www.childrensmercy.org.

Our sincere thanks to The Packer for featuring this great story!