Saundra Lane and Gerry Lane Enterprises
01/09/2009
A Driving Force in Giving Back to Children and the Community
Ask Saundra Lane of Gerry Lane Enterprises, why her family’s company is so involved in Baton Rouge area charitable organizations, and she’ll state simply, “It’s what you are supposed to do. It’s what the good Book tells you to do, and it goes back to the law of reciprocity -- If you get, you have to give back.”
Although Our Lady of the Lake Children's Hospital is only one of more than 400 area charities touched by Gerry Lane Enterprises each year, Our Lady of the Lake Foundation President John Paul Funes says, “I am continuously amazed at the commitment and dedication on our behalf of the Gerry Lane team, from Mr. & Mrs. Gerry Lane to Saundra and everyone at their company, not to mention the success of its fundraising efforts.” A perfect example of that success is the annual OLOL Children's Hospital Halloween Ball, hosted by Gerry Lane Enterprises.
“I totally made up the idea for a Halloween Ball,” says Lane, noting that after many years of partnering with OLOL Children's Hospital, she decided in 2002 that it was time to invest more energy into such a worthy cause and why not have fun doing it? And she knew just who to turn to in order to get the job done- - her good friends in the well-known Mardi Gras Krewe of Apollo, who just happen to be experts in putting on such events. Judging from the Ball’s success on all fronts, everyone’s efforts have paid off. “Since we started, it is really catching on,” says Lane. “We’ve gone from 175 people in attendance our first year, to a sell out of 450 this past October.”
Throughout the years, says Lane, “We at Gerry Lane have just come to love Children's Hospital, because of the simple fact that it helps children. There is nothing more terrible than to see a sick child who really hasn’t even had a chance at life yet. So, it is very fulfilling to know our fundraising efforts with OLOL Children's Hospital help to provide the equipment, research, medical staff and medicine to give these kids a fighting chance.”
Overall, Saundra Lane and Gerry Lane Enterprises have been partners with OLOL Foundation for over ten years, and in that time, have raised more than $300,000. But even when reflecting on the financial success of Gerry Lane’s fundraising and charitable efforts, there is something much more valuable that comes from giving back to your community, says Lane. “This year, at the Halloween Ball,” she remembers, “Our Lady of the Lake Foundation presented me with a framed picture that had been drawn by a nine-year-old child who had been helped by Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital. I truly felt touched. There’s nothing better than the warm, fuzzy feeling that you get inside when you know that you may have made a difference in someone’s, particularly a child’s, life.”
Profiles in Giving
