Camarda Realty Investments

"The Camarda Charitable Foundation contributed more than $650,000 to area groups last year and we hope to continue to support the community in the future," said Paul Camarda, the president of Camarda Realty Investments, which is based in Carmel, N.Y. "We're trying to help support organizations ranging from the Boy Scouts and Putnam Arts Council to emergency services which improve the quality of life in the community. We believe it is our corporate responsibility to contribute to the communities where we make significant financial investments and foresee a long-term relationship."

Organizations receiving grants (and amounts received) during the fourth quarter were:

Camp Wilbur Herrlich: $5,000
Carmel Volunteer Ambulance Corps: $10,000
Carmel Troop 1, Boy Scouts of America: $100
Carmel Fire Department: $25,000
Carmel High School varsity baseball (Friends of Carmel Baseball & Basketball): $150
"Mend a Heart" with Stitches of Love: $100
Patterson Baptist Church: $6,780
Patterson Recreation Center: $5,000
Putnam County Arts Council: $1,000
Putnam Family and Community Services: $1,000
Putnam/Northern Westchester Women's Resource Center: $100

The Camarda Charitable Foundation had previously made a $500,000 donation to the Putnam Hospital Center's "Campaign for Tomorrow" capital campaign that will help fund the construction of a new 111,000-square foot building to be called the "Camarda Care Center."

The foundation also made a $100,000 donation to support sports activities at Mahopac High School, which had to cut public funding for athletics because of an austerity budget.

The Camarda Charitable Foundation will support organizations that are fully certified IRS 501(c)(3) not-for-profit entities and will provide monies for operating support, start-up support/seed money, organizational capacity building or technical assistance. The Foundation will give preference to grant requests that relate to the following areas of focus: