Carl Tarrant, Director of Public Charity for the Patra Corporation, learned about Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference through personal connections. A Patra employee shared with him that their daughter was involved in Hands4Hope, and later a business partner also shared about their involvement and their daughter’s involvement. As he learned more about Hands4Hope from them, he found that he liked what the organization offered to the local community. Now, Patra Proud is in its second year as a program sponsor for Hands4Hope. Read on to get to know more about Carl and Patra Proud’s work.
Tell us about Patra and Patra Proud.
Patra was founded in 2005, and provides back-office support for insurance brokers. The Patra CEO wanted the company to have a philanthropic arm and asked me to join Patra back in 2015, based on my charity background. We created Patra Public Charity, a.k.a. Patra Proud, and hosted our inaugural golf charity event in 2016, raising more than $10,000. Since then, the golf tournament has grown and this year’s 7th annual event raised more than $65,000 to distribute to the charities that Patra Proud supports.
How do Patra Proud’s values align with Hands4Hope’s mission to empower and inspire youth in leadership and service?
Patra Proud’s mission is helping kids of military families. The mission was created by the CEO wanting to support the military and myself wanting to support kids. In 2015 there were no charities doing this, but now there are many. I would call us a trend setter. I say this because I feel Hands4Hope is also trend setting. This organization is a first of a kind to me; having youth leading the efforts to do projects and raise money to help their community. This is near and dear to my heart. Bottom line, we both want to help kids, simple as that.
What benefits do you feel Hands4Hope offers to our youth, adults, and community?
What I know of Hands4Hope is the way it empowers youth to not only be involved but also take on leadership responsibilities. I love seeing the passion in these young people. I tried the same thing when I was involved with my youngest daughter’s travel softball team. I managed the team with a goal of them learning and growing. Being part of a team, helping your teammates, always giving 100%... those were the lessons I hoped would last a lifetime. I feel Hands4Hope is the same thing, giving these kids real world experience is what it’s about. Helping and sharing within the community, making a difference is what it should always be about.
What is your impression so far of our youth and organization?
I’ve only had one interaction with the youth participants and was overwhelmed by their knowledge, leadership skills and more importantly to me, their communication skills. “Impressive” is all I can say. I’ve had some interaction with Jennifer Bassett, and she too is an impressive leader. The organization is exactly what I would envision a youth development and leadership organization to be. It’s a blessing having someone like Jennifer Bassett build such a successful organization impacting many youth and families. Kids can grow and build skills that will benefit them forever.
Is there anything else you want to share?
I will close by saying Hands4Hope is such a great organization that reaches so many families in our community. This group teaches the reasons to help others and lets our youth lead the efforts. I was so encouraged to meet them, hear their stories, and share what they want to do. I truly hope Hands4Hope can grow into a regional organization and beyond. Get involved, get your kids involved, see what these kids are doing to help our community.
Pictured above: Hands4Hope Executive Director Jennifer Bassett, Carl Tarrant, and Hillary Brewer at the Patra Proud Charity Golf Tournament in September, 2023.