I cannot believe we will celebrate our ten year anniversary this May. From day one I have said the opportunity to form the Sugar Bear Foundation was an absolute gift. I knew when Mario died there was still so much more he wanted to do with his life, both in the military and beyond. I also knew he wanted more for us should he not make it back. He made that very clear to me.

For me, I did not want his death to define our lives nor place any type of limitations on our future. So the foundation was the perfect way to continue his lifelong goal of service and giving back, especially to my fellow Gold Star and Surviving Families. The foundation has completely transformed my life for the better, and we seek to provide the same to the families we serve. The goal is simple: to offer programs that provide a new path of stability after losing their service members. We do this through our Financial Education Employment Program, Virtual Education Program, and other offerings that we know are needed for our community, and Sugar Bear himself considered important.

We believe, and we are seeing through our work, these areas ARE transforming our families’ lives. Our incredible Team is purposely small, and we always strive to provide personal connections and individualized attention. This will always be the goal!

In honor of our anniversary and a few other upcoming special days, I invite you to check out our Giving Campaign and our Honor Wall. The campaign helps us provide all of our programming and the Honor Wall is our why! Sugar Bear will always be our inspiration, but so are ALL of these heroes and the families they leave behind. Our team and I know too well what life after loss looks like, and we remain committed to providing hope, tangible resources, and the support they deserve.

As always, I thank you, our Team, our Board, and the inspirational families we serve.

Jennifer Carazo
Gold Star Wife/President