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Meet your Match! A Conversation with the Kerners

Mike and Karen Kerner are longtime volunteers, supporters, and friends of SBP. They believe wholeheartedly in SBP’s mission of shrinking the time between disaster and recovery, and we asked them to tell us more.

Mike and Karen: Tell me about your experience with SBP– what inspired you to volunteer and to donate so generously?
We've volunteered to rebuild several homes for SBP clients over the years. Knowing what each family has gone through before they meet SBP– some have waited years – and that their homes can be rebuilt and made more resilient to future extreme weather, that means a lot to us. Some of these homes had been in their family for generations, so restoring that place of safety and financial security, it has a deep and long-range impact.

After seeing the work for ourselves and meeting the staff and leadership, we are confident that our donations will be used efficiently and effectively to help people who need and deserve it. SBP has very high ratings on Charity Navigator, and we know Zack, Liz, and the team are also working to change the systems that are failing families – training the government appointees who distribute federal relief dollars, advocating for policy changes that will eliminate or lessen the need for SBP in the long-term.

What inspired you to offer this match challenge now?
Leverage. We want to inspire folks to give to SBP before a storm hits and maximize our support. Supplies are getting more expensive and storms are getting stronger and more frequent. SBP is often the ‘last group standing’ – we saw this happen in New York and New Jersey after Hurricane Sandy, and it is happening in Houston and Kentucky right now, with groups referring more and more clients to SBP. So we want to help get resources in place to preposition supplies, attract foundation and corporate donors, and establish operations as quickly as possible.

Donate: https://sbp-donate.funraise.org/