Guest commentary: SanCap Cares celebrating milestone anniversary
Decades ago, when Southwest Florida did not have a dedicated children’s hospital, parents often had to drive their sick or injured children for hours to reach major metropolitan areas and the doctors who could provide specialized care.
That was the driving force behind SanCap Cares, a grassroots organization founded in 2001 by a group of concerned Sanibel and Captiva parents who wanted to bring world-class pediatric health care to local children. The group began supporting the life-changing work of Lee Health and became a driving force in what would someday become the Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida.
Since then, SanCap Cares has raised more than $18 million through its philanthropic efforts, which include the Annual Island Celebration charity event — historically one of the largest and most anticipated fundraising events on the islands.
Over the past quarter century, SanCap Cares has played an instrumental role in the construction of the state-of-the-art Golisano Children’s Hospital, which opened its doors in 2017. The hospital is a 300,000-square-foot, 128-bed facility that serves children from across Southwest Florida, offering specialized services in areas such as neonatal care, pediatric oncology and pediatric emergency medicine. Today, the Golisano Children’s Hospital is regarded as one of the top children’s hospitals in Florida, and its success can be attributed to the efforts of SanCap Cares and the many generous businesses, foundations and individuals that supported its development.
To this day, SanCap Cares continues to support the work of Golisano Children’s Hospital, and The Sanibel Captiva Trust Company has been a proud partner of SanCap Cares since the company opened its doors in early 2001, when Melissa Congress and Amanda Cross of SanCap Cares approached me to become a sponsor of the Island Celebration. As a new business owner, I made a commitment to sponsor as many community events as I could because I cared for this community and wanted to become part of its fabric moving forward. I said yes, of course, and that first event was fantastic.
Every year, the event has gotten bigger and bigger while the need for pediatric health care services continues to grow as well.
The impact of SanCap Cares extends far beyond its financial contributions. The organization has fostered a sense of community and solidarity in Southwest Florida, uniting residents, businesses and health care professionals around a common goal: ensuring that every child in the region has access to the best possible medical care. Its success has inspired other communities to come together in support of health care initiatives, demonstrating the power of grassroots movements to create lasting change.
I hope you will take the opportunity to support this year’s Island Celebration and SanCap Cares and join us on March 28. To do so, please visit LeeHealthFoundation.org/event/sancap-cares.
S. Albert D. Hanser is founder and chairman of The Sanibel Captiva Trust Company. It is a partner of SanCap Cares and has been a sponsor of the Annual Island Celebration since 2001. Hanser has served on the SanCap Cares board, and he and Sally Hanser were the honorary chairs for the 2024 event.