Before dissolving, Lazydays foundation gives final large donation to longtime beneficiary

The Lazydays Employee Foundation – a nonprofit funded and run by employees of Tampa-based Lazydays RV, which was acquired by Campers Inn Holding Corp. late last year – voted to make its final largest donation to a Tampa Bay charity the foundation has supported for over 16 years.

The foundation donated $300,000 to A Kid’s Place of Tampa Bay, and specifically to the Building a Brighter Future capital campaign the charity has underway, prior to dissolving the foundation due to Lazydays’ acquisition.

“It was a no-brainer for our board to make the largest donation to A Kid’s Place when we were closing our doors,” said Kathy Rainey, who was president of the Lazydays Employee Foundation and worked for Lazydays for over 37 years. “A Kid’s Place was the recipient of the first significant donation we made – $350,000 to build the Lazydays home on their campus in 2009 – and it’s an organization we’ve been very proud to support over the years.”

In total, the Lazydays Employee Foundation donated $1.4 million to A Kid’s Place over the years – roughly one-third of all the funds raised by the foundation.

“We are so grateful to the Lazydays employees for their unbelievable support over the years – from sponsoring our Lazydays House and therapy room in our upcoming activity center to the annual contributions and this final generous gift to our capital campaign,” said Samantha Mellen, development director of A Kid’s Place. “Even though the foundation has been dissolved, everyone’s contributions will continue to have a huge positive impact on the lives of the kids in our care far into the future.”

A Kid’s Place of Tampa Bay provides a safe, loving and nurturing home to up to 60 local children in foster care at a time and focuses on keeping sibling groups together. The nonprofit launched the public phase of its capital campaign in late 2024, with the goal of raising $8 million. The campaign will fund construction of the new MacKinnon Family Activity Center, which broke ground in April 2025, in addition to expanding other needed services.

“We are fortunate and grateful to have so many generous supporters in the community – individuals and corporate donors – who have already donated to Building a Brighter Future,” Mellen said. “We encourage anyone who wants to make a difference and invest in the lives of local foster kids to donate to the capital campaign.”

To date, the Building a Brighter Future capital campaign has raised $6.5 million.

Nearly 5,000 children are in foster care in the Tampa Bay area. Since 2009, A Kid’s Place of Tampa Bay has served over 1,700 children and nearly 800 families. The average length of stay at A Kid’s Place is 429 days, and the longest length of stay for a current child living at A Kid’s Place is seven years. Children in foster care in the Tampa Bay area have been removed from their homes due to abuse, abandonment or neglect.

To learn more about the Building a Brighter Future campaign, call Samantha Mellen at (813) 381-3839 or visit akpcapitalcampaign.org/.

About A Kid’s Place of Tampa Bay

Since 2009, the mission of A Kid’s Place of Tampa Bay has been to provide a safe, loving and nurturing home for foster children. A Kid’s Place provides residential services to children from Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties who have been removed from their homes due to abuse, neglect or abandonment. A Kid’s Place provides a variety of services to meet the social, educational, medical and psychological needs of each child, with a primary focus on keeping sibling groups together in a safe, stable, home-like environment. A Kid’s Place also offers housing and support services for youth ages 18 to 22 who have aged out of the foster care system. Since inception, A Kid’s Place has served more than 1,700 foster children and nearly 800 families. For more information, visit www.akidsplacetb.org.