Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sarah Alsofrom. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Sarah, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

Charitable giving is part of who I am personally and professionally. My company, GL Homes, a Florida homebuilder, supports over 150 charities statewide with an emphasis on homelessness, hunger relief, education and children. Our company makes a difference in the communities where we live and work. That culture of caring is part of our ethos.

Whether we volunteer our time to make thousands of meals for Feeding South Florida in Boynton Beach or build a mortgage-free home for a Gold Star family in Port St. Lucie, GL Homes is engaged in and deeply committed to the community.

Sarah, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am the senior director of community relations for renowned homebuilder GL Homes, one of the largest private homebuilders in the nation. For the last seven years, I’ve have managed the philanthropic arm for this charitably-minded Florida company.

A West Palm Beach native, my background has been in corporate, nonprofit and government with prior jobs at WPTV-NBC Channel 5, the State Attorney’s Office of Palm Beach County, the Gunster law firm and the Hanley Foundation.

All of my education and entire career has been based in the Sunshine State. I earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida and law degree from Stetson University College of Law in St. Petersburg, on Florida’s west coast.

I feel lucky to work for such a great company and that word luck is at the heart of the company. The GL in GL Homes stands for good luck and that’s what the company strives to give to many organizations through monetary donations, time, volunteerism and compassion.

GL Homes helps the community through its own initiatives like Good Night’s Sleep, which provides furnishings and creature comforts to people who are transitioning out of homelessness. The Summer of Service initiative offers employees many opportunities to volunteer at a time when charitable giving is down. During the summer, many people take a vacation– but a nonprofit can’t take time off; the need is constant. GL Homes steps in to fill that gap.

One initiative that always brings smiles and joy is the GL Homes Passion for Playgrounds initiative. Each year, GL Homes selects one charity to receive a beautiful, new professional-quality playground. Normally, these projects take close to a year to build. Due to supply chain issues in 2021 and ongoing in 2022, the latest project with In the Pines, a nonprofit that provides housing in Boynton Beach for farmworkers, took more than a year.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Read as much as you can from many different sources and points of view–newspapers, magazines, books. Be informed about the world around you; not just the headlines but the details about why something happened and who it impacted. Armed with knowledge, both historical and current events help to make decisions when GL Homes tries to make life better for others. Be curious about the world and the people in it.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Our philanthropic direction has consistently focused on breaking the cycle of homelessness. During the pandemic, GL Homes expanded our charitable outreach to include hunger relief, education and children. We realized that to create a positive impact for more people, our company needed to address more of the daily struggles folks are facing, a full-spectrum of socially-relevant issues. Mental health was another key issue where we saw a tremendous need.

We quickly jumped in and reached out to many of our key charity partners. By listening to their needs, we were able to help them in the most effective ways possible.

In partnership with Gulfstream Goodwill Industries, we created a food pantry in Pahokee, an underserved community with limited access to healthy, fresh foods such as fruits and vegetables, lean meat and whole grains.

GL Homes purchased a new van for the Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Lucie County, which was used during the pandemic to deliver staples such as rice and vegetables from Belle Glade farmers to club members throughout the Treasure Coast.

Through our continuous outreach, we’ve created and maintained a statewide philanthropic footprint.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.glhomes and www.glhomesphilanthropy.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glhomes/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/glhomes
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/GLHOMES
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/glhomes
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/glhomes/

Image Credits

• LILA PHOTO
• MaryAnn Ketcham
• Sevin Bullwinkle Photography
• Tracey Benson Photography