Gill Foundation sees overwhelming generosity in the time of COVID-19

By JEN COWART
Posted 9/3/20

It has been a difficult year for all. Families are struggling, businesses are struggling and nothing is as it once was. Traditions that normally would have taken place during the spring and summer months have been rescheduled, canceled or

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Gill Foundation sees overwhelming generosity in the time of COVID-19

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It has been a difficult year for all. Families are struggling, businesses are struggling and nothing is as it once was. Traditions that normally would have taken place during the spring and summer months have been rescheduled, canceled or turned virtual whenever possible.

For the Gill Foundation, a Cranston nonprofit organization which aims to not only keep the legacy of their son, PS3 Ronald A. Gill Jr. alive, but to also help struggling students who are heading off to college afford their tuition, this has been a difficult year to host events and to ask for donations from those who are struggling to stay afloat or who are personally dealing with illness and loss.

Yet, despite all of that, the Gill family and their foundation have been blessed by the generosity of their family, friends and long-time sponsors and contributors to their annual events. Each event that the Gill Foundation would normally host in the spring and summer months has had to be canceled, much to the dismay of the family and to those who normally look forward to these traditions which not only help local students, but also give everyone a chance to gather together to remember Ronnie Gill.

In April, the foundation’s annual spring event and fundraiser, “Ronnie’s Ride,” a 100-mile roundtrip motorcycle run which normally hails 300 bikers for the run and then the dinner and silent auction afterwards, always held by the Cranston Country Club, a local supporter of the Foundation events, was canceled as Rhode Island was in the thick of the pandemic and closed down completely other than for necessities. Each year this event can bring in $10,000 to $12,000 a year, not necessarily from the tickets to the run itself, but also from the sponsorship of the event, as well as the donation of items used for the raffles and silent auction that take place at the dinner following the ride.

“That is where we make most of our money, with the silent auction and the raffles during dinner,” Ron Gill Sr. said. “We knew we had no choice but to cancel the event, but we weren’t sure how we’d be able to offer students their scholarships this year.”

Gill appealed to those who had registered for the event, and to those who normally make donations and sponsor the event. He asked them to consider a donation to put towards the student scholarship fund.

“We were so surprised by how many people and companies gave so generously,” he said.

As the summer months approached, the Foundation began their planning for the annual golf tournament, normally held in July in honor of Ronnie’s birthday. The event was scheduled to bring 144 golfers to the Cranston Country Club, and then 225 were slated to attend the dinner at the club afterwards, participating again in a silent auction and raffle. As spring turned into summer, the Foundation opted to take a chance and move the event to mid-August, hoping for a change in the outlook for the pandemic and a move into phase four of reopening. However, as Gov. Gina Raimondo came to the stage and announced that the state would stay in phase three as the case numbers were continuing to rise, she also put a 15-person limit on social gatherings.

The Gill Foundation had no choice and announced that the golf tournament would have to be canceled. Knowing that the event normally generates $12,000 to $15,000 a year, again they asked their supporters to consider making a donation and to cover the cost of the event polo shirts which had been made in advance so that the money to pay for them would not have to come out of the Foundation’s scholarship fund.

“There were some people who couldn’t do that, many people are struggling,” Gill said. “But again we were so overwhelmed by those who did. Some people covered the cost of their shirts, others donated their whole ticket amount even though the event was not taking place. Some covered all of it and more. One of Ronnie’s friends and shipmate, Josh Yarger, traveled here from North Carolina to spend time with us even though we had canceled the golf event. During such a difficult time, despite the fact that we have had to cancel now two of our annual events, this was all really overwhelming. We really are surrounded by good people.”

The Gill Foundation was especially thankful to Herb Chambers Honda of Seekonk, Shaw’s Supermarket in Chapel View, The Lopes Companies, Twigg’s Automotive & Towing and the Nardolillo family as they continued to support both events despite their cancellation. Their generosity combined with that of so many others, allowed the Gill Foundation to still be able to hand out scholarships to several 2020 graduates this spring.

“In the end, we were able to give more than $15,000 in scholarships out for students heading off to college this fall,” Gill said.

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