This week’s Hometown Heroes, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, are Gary and Janine Elefante, who are working tirelessly to raise money for the SKJAJA Fund.

When the couple — who have lived in Chapel Hill since 1993 — heard about the SKJAJA Fund, an organization that funds extracurricular activities for kids in the community in exchange for pay it forward projects, Gary said it spoke to them both directly.

“There was just an immediate draw for both me and Janine like, ‘Hey, this is something we could get ourselves involved in,'” he said.

Gary and Janine have taken it upon themselves to launch what is one of the largest fundraising campaigns in the history of the SKJAJA Fund.

“We’re aiming to raise $100,000 by Christmas Day,” Gary said. “Janine and I have contributed $20,000 and we’re reaching out to clients, friends, family members to give this a go.”

With a few weeks to go, they’re already more than halfway to that goal. This amount of money would be significant for the SKJAJA Fund.

“We’ve had a lot of things that we want to do and really reaching into the community and finding more kids and families that could use SKJAJA,” said Charlotte White, the co-founder of the SKJAJA Fund. “So it would be a game changer.”

To learn more about the SKJAJA Fund and to contribute towards the fund, visit their website.

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