About Us
For over 15 years the members of Star Duck Charities have volunteered at St. Joseph’s Children’s Home located on Frankfort Ave. in Louisville, Kentucky. Originally, members volunteered their time and effort every second Saturday in August to operate the “Duck Pond” booth at the Home’s annual fund raising picnic. Now, its members have formed Star Duck Charities as a way to do more for needy children in the Greater Louisville area year-round. With six founding board members and over fifty volunteers, Star Duck Charities aims to provide much needed items and services to some of Louisville’s youngest in need.
At Star Duck Charities, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, 100% of all funds and donated items will go directly to children in need; none of its members or volunteers profit from donations. Perhaps our most important program is our monthly birthday party. Each month we take those children at St. Joe’s who have a birthday during that month to Gatiland for pizza and games. Afterwards each child gets a $100 shopping spree to a store of their choice.
In addition to our birthday party program, annual school supplies drive, and other community outreach we will continue to work with our founding corporate sponsor Cambridge Construction. With our 16 years of service to St. Joe’s through the Duck Pond, we have raised over $36,000 and been the source of countless smiles at the annual picnic. As opportunities arise and we expand our efforts, we will always be preparing for our involvement with the booth that is our namesake, the “Duck Pond”.
If you are interested in volunteering or donating to our efforts please contact us at info@starduckcharities.org. Or if you would like to know more about us, you are welcome to explore our website or browse the photo gallery of our many winners.
Board of Directors
Jon Heck began volunteering at St. Joseph’s Children’s Home in 1993 running the annual fundraising picnic’s duck pond booth. In 2007 he becam a founding member of Star Duck Charities and acts as the charity’s Chairman. In addition to volunteering his time with Star Duck Jon is Louisville area attorney.
Andrew Winkler has a long history of volunteering in the greater Louisville area. Whether piloting a student community service program during his time at St Xavier High School, joining a service fraternity at Bellarmine, or co-founding StarDuck in 2007, Andrew has sought out opportunities to contribute to the well being of children in need. As a founding board member, and Outreach Coordinator for StarDuck Charities, Andrew is committed to finding new ways to do more for children in need.
Ryan Potter is a Louisville native having graduated from both Trinity High School and Bellarmine College. He, along with his father and brother, is a part owner of a family business which provides cleaning systems to the package printing industry across North America. His family has a long history of commitment to St. Joseph’s Children’s Home and he is excited to be continuing this tradition. Ryan, a married father of one has been involved with the St. Joe’s Picnic for twenty years and is a founding board member of Star Duck Charities.
Mick Sullivan is a Louisville native and founding member of Star Duck Charities. Like the other members of the charity’s board Mick spent several years volunteering at the St. Joseph’s Children’s Home annual picnic. In addition to his service with Star Duck, Mick works at the Frazier History Museum and is a professional musician who regularly performs in the Louisville area.
Robert Woodford is a veteran St. Joseph’s picnic duck pond volunteer turned newest board member. Robert is an 2003 undergraduate of Bellarmine University. He is employed by the Historic Homes Foundation as the caretaker of Whitehall Historic Homes and also serves as the Restoration Manager for the Olmsted Parks. He enjoys most anything outdoors and baking bread.
Joe Burchett, a founding board member, hails from Johnson County in eastern Kentucky, where he was a part of many community organizations. His first experience helping with the St. Joe’s picnic was in 2001 after being recruited by Jon, his band-mate at the time. Becoming involved with St. Joseph’s Children’s Home strengthened his ties to the Louisville community, and the Star Duck mission remains dear to his heart though he has relocated to New England. Joe is a graduate from the University of Louisville and is currently pursuing his doctorate in astronomy at the University of Massachusetts – Amherst, but he remains involved in the charity whenvever possible, including maintaining the website.