Raises more than $50,000 for Muscular Dystrophy Association
Sunshine Ace Hardware hosted its first Grill & Chill event on Saturday, March 18, featuring grilling demonstrations, special offers, giveaways, and fun family-friendly activities. During the event, Sunshine Ace Hardware presented a check to the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) for more than $50,000, raised by Sunshine Ace Hardware, its employees and the Southwest Florida community during MDA’s annual Shamrock program. The funds donated to the MDA will help send local children affected by muscular dystrophy and related diseases to a week-long, barrier-free MDA summer camp.
“Each year, our employees and customers spread a little more luck to MDA families around St. Patrick’s Day by purchasing MDA Shamrocks,” said Michael Wynn, Sunshine Ace Hardware president. “We are extremely thankful to the Southwest Florida community for helping Sunshine Ace Hardware make a difference in the community.”
Sunshine Ace Hardware participated in the 35th annual MDA Shamrock program, from Feb. 1 through March 17, helping to raise funds to support adults and children living with muscular dystrophy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and other diseases that severely weaken muscle mobility and strength. Since joining the annual MDA Shamrock program in 2011, Sunshine Ace Hardware has raised $176,000 to support Southwest Florida MDA. The largest St. Patrick’s Day fundraising program of its kind encourages communities to make contributions at local businesses in exchange for paper shamrock pin-ups, raising millions of dollars to help advance MDA’s mission to provide critical resources, support research and provide children with the opportunity to experience MDA Summer Camp at no cost.
The MDA Summer Camp provides thousands of kids living with limited muscle strength and mobility an opportunity to enjoy a weeklong life-changing experience in a barrier-free environment. Campers engage in a variety of activities such as adaptive sports, arts and crafts, camp dances, fishing, swimming and more. The MDA Summer Camp also provides parents and guardians with a brief break from roles of caregiver at no charge thanks to the MDA supporters who fund the camps.
“We can’t thank Sunshine Ace enough, as well as the generous community that has participated in this fundraiser,” said Erin Randall, Southwest Florida MDA executive director. “We wouldn’t be able to provide the direct services to our families as well as the research initiatives without the support of the Sunshine Ace family and the local community. On behalf of the MDA families that we serve in our local organization, thank you so much.”
MDA is the world’s leading nonprofit health agency dedicated to saving and improving the lives of anyone with muscle disease, including muscular dystrophy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neuromuscular diseases. It does so by funding worldwide research to find treatments and cures; by providing comprehensive health care services and support to MDA families nationwide; and by rallying communities to fight back through advocacy, fundraising and local engagement. Visit mda.org for more information.
About Sunshine Ace Hardware
Family owned and operated since 1958, Sunshine Ace Hardware serves Southwest Florida with seven locations in Collier, Lee and Charlotte counties staffed by a long-term, friendly and knowledgeable team. Focused on customer service, Sunshine Ace employees are best known for building relationships and going above and beyond to help solve a home repair or maintenance issue or to simply guide customers to the right tool for the job. For in-home support, Sunshine Ace provides a range of professional services such as rod-tip repair, screen, glass and equipment repairs. Free delivery and assembly is also provided on items such as grills, power tools, mulch, soil and more. Sunshine Ace offers a wide variety of products including plumbing, hardware and electrical supplies, houseware, fishing gear, power equipment, paint, painting supplies and more. Sunshine Ace proudly carries quality brands including Benjamin Moore paints, Scotts lawn and garden products, Craftsman tools, STIHL power tools, Weber and Big Green Egg grills, as well as Penn and Shimano fishing gear. In addition to serving residential clients, Sunshine Ace services commercial accounts, with flexible options to support contractors in managing and growing their business. For locations and hours, visit www.SunshineAce.com.
