JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Stellar, a fully integrated firm focused on design, engineering, construction, refrigeration and mechanical services worldwide, has been named one of Jacksonville Magazine’s 2022 “Companies with Heart.” This is the eighth year Stellar has been selected for the honor.
The “Companies with Heart” award program recognizes local businesses that contribute to nonprofits and give their employees the time and opportunities to improve the communities where they work and live.
In 2021, The Stellar Foundation donated time, money, and resources to more than 35 charitable organizations across the First Coast.
“While it’s our duty to be good corporate neighbors, the drive to improve our communities ultimately stems from the heart,” said Mike Santarone, CEO, Stellar. “This is where we live and where our children grow up. We want to help build up this community to be the best it can be.”
Supporting Organizations that Do Good
This past year, Stellar gifted $150,000 to UF Health Jacksonville and completed renovation work to give Jacksonville a more modern and efficient Hospital Incident Command Center. The center is central to the hospital and city’s emergency management planning, response and recovery for various scenarios, such as large-scale special events, hurricanes, pandemics, and other crises.
One of Stellar’s most notable programs is The Stellar Academy of Engineering at Nease High School, which provides students with a foundation of skills, knowledge and experience in engineering through coursework, guest lectures, and course-specific field trips. The success of the program is evidenced by the thousands of Suncoast students who enroll to attend the academy over their neighborhood school. In fact, approximately 20% of the program’s student body comes from outside St. Johns County where Nease High School is located.
The company also awarded a $10,000 grant to the Rodeheaver Boys Ranch in Palatka to support much-needed campus upgrades. The Ranch is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing a strong foundation for young men in need of a new beginning, including boys from unstable home environments and underserved communities.
In 2021, Stellar committed $100,000 to support the MOSH Genesis campaign at The Museum of Science & History (MOSH); supported the UF Health “A Night for the Heroes Gala” at the $25,000 sponsorship level; continued its tradition of supporting Food Brings Hope with a $10,000 donation; and dedicated thousands more to the I.M. Sulzbacher Center, Jacksonville Zoo, and the INK! (Investing in Kids) golf tournament, which raises funds for public education in underserved communities throughout St. Johns County.
Stellar is also proud to have sponsored and participated in the seventh-annual Tony’s Turkey Trot, which supports brain injury awareness and lifesaving care for traumatic brain injury (TBI) survivors in the Jacksonville community. In addition, the company continued its support of Community Hospice’s PedsCare program, sponsoring its “Kids Christmas” event to provide gifts for children in hospice and their siblings.
Providing for Those in Need
For the 2021 holiday, Stellar employees coordinated Thanksgiving baskets for Community Hospice, donating 45 baskets of food to local families in need.
Many also participated in Nestle’s PINK Week for Breast Cancer Awareness in October as well as decorated their vehicles and wore costumes to hand out candy to more than 250 children for the 2021 Trunk-or-Treat Halloween event hosted by Dreams Come True, the local nonprofit whose mission is to promote and enrich the lives of children who are seriously, chronically or terminally ill.
At the end of the year, Stellar employees helped raise more than $40,000 for Flagler Health’s Cardiovascular Care Fund and Heart Program during the hospital’s 10th annual “Skeet Shoot for the Heart.”
For more information, visit www.stellar.net.
