Lighthouse Family Retreat Donor FAQs

Where is The Lighthouse?
The retreats are located in the Florida panhandle between Destin and Panama City Beach. We rent houses in several of the beachside communities like Seaside, Rosemary, WaterColor, and Gulf Trace. While the retreats are held in Florida, our office is in Marietta, Georgia – just north of Atlanta.
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What services do you provide?
We provide seaside family retreats for children with cancer. We also host an annual Christmas party in the Atlanta area for retreat families and volunteers. We have a family support team that makes visits to Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite and Eggleston Campuses. As requested, they are also available to pray for the retreat families and/or help retreat families find a Christian church home. We also have many fundraising events throughout the year as well.

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How do you select the families?
The majority of our new families hear about the retreat from other families who have been to The Lighthouse. To attend a retreat, families submit applications and must receive a referral and medical clearance from their oncology health care team. Click here, for more information.
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How much does it cost for a family to attend? And a volunteer?
There is no cost to the retreat families to attend. They are only responsible for their transportation to and from the retreat. Volunteers not only give a week of their vacation to serve our families, they also have a goal to raise $750 per volunteer. In the last 2 years our volunteers have brought in more than $125,000 annually from retreat support.
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Can I sponsor a family to attend or a volunteer to serve?
We would love to have all families and volunteers sponsored by a church, school, individual, business, or group – like a neighborhood, tennis team, Sunday school class, etc. The cost to sponsor a family is $2500. The cost to sponsor a volunteer to serve is $750.
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What is your annual budget?
Our annual budget is about $700,000. We are able to concentrate our funding on the families thanks to the generosity of those who donate our office space, furnishings, and the tremendous amount of volunteer support.
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What type of donations do you need?
We are looking for family and volunteer sponsors, donations of retreat housing and supplies, auction items, stock donations, and fundraising event support. Every financial donation is important to us and makes a difference in our ministry.
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Is my gift tax-deductible? How do you get your funding?
The Lighthouse is a 501c3 non-profit organization. We receive our funding from retreat volunteers, fundraising events (like our annual golf tournament at St. Ives and our summer concert in Seaside, Florida), and general donations from the public.
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What is the long term goal for The Lighthouse?
Our hope for the future is to have retreat venues not only on the Florida panhandle, but also to replicate The Lighthouse on other coasts, so that we can maximize the number of families that can experience The Lighthouse.
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Can I make a gift of appreciated securities such as stock or mutual fund to The Lighthouse ?
Yes. We have an account with Charles Schwab and will gladly receive such a contribution. Please contact us and we will provide you with the necessary information to initiate this transfer.
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What is the Tax ID for The Lighthouse?
The Lighthouse Family Retreat is non-profit 501(c)3 and has been issued 582509728 as our tax identification number.