Aug 30

Sponsor Spotlight | Patra Proud

Patra was founded in 2005, and provides back-office support for insurance brokers. Patra CEO and Founder John Simpson created the company's philanthropic arm, Patra Proud in 2015 with a heart to support military families. To date, Patra has continued that mission by donating more than $300,000 to benefit children of military families and other local youth focused charities. The company's employee giving campaign works to invest in the communities where employees live, work and serve.

Pictured above: Patra employee Lisa Boyer and coworkers attend the 2024 Hands4Hope Youth Recognition Event.

A 2024 Gold Program Sponsor, Patra has supported Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference since 2019, when they first sponsored the Hands4Hope Youth Board fundraiser "Seeds of Hope" benefiting local teens in crisis. Patra was introduced to Hands4Hope through the Misso family, who are long time supporters of Hands4Hope and parents to an alumni.

The partnership between Hands4Hope and Patra continues to grow under the guidance and passion of Carl Tarant, Patra's Director of Public Charity, "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."

Hands4Hope is incredibly grateful for Patra's giving of financial support but also time and resources. Lisa Boyer, a long time Patra employee, joined co-workers to attend the 13th Annual Hands4Hope Youth Recognition event in July and cheer on many of the youth who completed a total of over 14,700 hours of service in the 2023 - 2024 program year.

"None of us had any idea what to expect of the event but were all blown away by the young people accepting their awards," said Lisa. "It was incredible to see the amount of time and energy these youth put into the program. The level of engagement and the number of opportunities offered to youth was impressive. I love to see how they stepped up and learned to be the next leaders in the community."

In late July, Patra took the support of leadership development to the next level when the Hands4Hope Middle School Leadership Camp was held for two days at the beautiful, high tech Patra Corporation conference facility in El Dorado Hills. "The youth enjoyed the professional space that was roomy, air conditioned, and tech-ready," said Lori Whittle, Hands4Hope Education Program Coordinator. "Using Patra Corporation's conference room, kitchen, and dining areas gave the training a more professional feel that helped the Youth Board Executive Committee and Education Program Coordinators impress upon the young teens the importance of professionalism in leadership and leading their peers. The technology enabled leaders to engage in college and career ready skills."

Lily Hinkle, Hands4Hope Youth Board Vice President and Ponderosa High School Junior, agreed, "As a leader of Hands4Hope I was truly impressed with the facility of Patra Corporation. The space was well organized and the staff were helpful and friendly, attending to any needs we had. It was a great place to smoothly run our activities and to teach our new leaders about what it means to be involved in Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference!"