For Richard and Kimberly Sisisky, it’s all about making lives better
When you ask Richard and Kimberly Sisisky to reflect on their philanthropic efforts in the Jacksonville community and why they devote so much to help others, their answer is really very simple: “To make someone’s life better.”
Sisisky, who serves on the board of the directors of Baptist Health, and his wife, who serves on the Women’s Community Advisory Board at Baptist, want to let the people they help know that someone cares about them and the issues they may be facing.
“We likely will never meet directly the recipients of our charitable giving, but seeing the participants of programs we do support and learning the progress the agencies do in making lives better, this is a particularly good feeling,” said Sisisky who was recently named Trustee of the Year by the Florida Hospital Association for his work with Baptist Health.
Sisisky was also instrumental in the recent affiliation between Baptist Health, Flagler Hospital and Southeast Georgia Health System. In addition, he currently serves as chair of Baptist Health’s comprehensive fundraising campaign, Securing Tomorrow Together, which has a goal of raising $100 million.
The Sisiskys are long-time donors to Baptist Health and supporting various programs and initiatives, including funding the annual lecture series which bears their name, the Sisisky-Kleppinger Lecture Series. The series, started in honor of Kimberly’s parents who spent their lives working toward specialized care for women, focuses on women’s health issues.
Sisisky says he and his wife’s drive to help others stems from the values their parents incorporated in their upbringing and which they hope to pass on to their children.
“We were blessed with wonderful parents and grandparents who, in word and deed, always demonstrated to us our responsibility to help those whose lives were not as easy as ours,” said Sisisky. “So I guess seeing and hearing this all of our lives made it become a habit…indeed a good habit and one we are very fortunate we can share. “We hope our legacy is that we tried in some small way to help alleviate the burdens many deal with on a daily basis,” he added. “In my faith tradition, if you save one life, it’s as if you saved the world. Just because you alone cannot help alleviate all the pain and suffering in the world, does not mean you should not do anything,” said Sisisky.
