Volunteers, staff, and partners gather in front of Camp Sunshine to celebrate the launch of the first summer camp for children with hearing loss, showcasing their dedication and compassion.

We are so pleased to announce that this week the TramutoPorter Foundation, in partnership with Camp Sunshine, kicked off the first summer camp for children and their families who have experienced hearing loss due to a life-threatening illness.

In his opening remarks on Monday to the children and their parents, Donato said it was impossible not to be overwhelmed with emotion, as this new program holds not just importance but personal significance—a meaning etched deep into the fibers of his being. He then shared –

At just eight years old, I found myself grappling with a medical condition that would forever alter the landscape of my existence. I was thrust into an uncharted territory, faced with profound hearing loss that none of my peers could imagine.

Suddenly the world felt quieter–intensely so. Classroom lessons faded into a faint whisper, the laughter of my friends turned into distant echoes, and conversations became labyrinths of frustration.

There was no Camp Sunshine!

And so as I gazed upon the bright-eyed children this week wearing their very own hearing aids, my own heart swelled with inspiration and gratitude for the amazing commitment and compassion shown by the Camp Sunshine staff and volunteers as they embraced these amazing young children.

Children at the newly launched TramutoPorter Foundation and Camp Sunshine summer program proudly display their hearing devices, symbolizing resilience and community support.

This program we have inaugurated this week is a beacon – to foster acceptance, to build a community, and to ensure that the children have every tool at their disposal to thrive. And to the parents, they are indeed the unsung heroes whose strength often goes unnoticed and whose love and compassion serves as a reminder that in each small victory, we build a bridge from fear to possibilities.

Thank you Camp Sunshine!
~ Donato Tramuto

Ogunquit, ME., October 11, 2023 — The TramutoPorter Foundation, a non-profit organization with the goal of making the world more compassionate and kind by making resources available to individuals and communities in need, is proud to announce the TramutoPorter Foundation Ogunquit Playhouse Human Rights Endowment’s collaborative partnership between the Ogunquit Playhouse and The Center for Grieving Children.

For over 91 years, the Ogunquit Playhouse has been the artistic gateway to Maine’s southern seacoast, self-producing world-class Regional Theatre, delivering inclusive Arts Education programs, and creating memorable shared experiences for all ages. This power coupling of The Playhouse with an idyllic seaside village offers visitors and locals a wealth of fabulous experiences. Ogunquit is a destination within a destination for vacationers and theatre lovers from around the world.

The Ogunquit Playhouse is proud to offer the Center for Grieving Children access to tickets for Tootsie, currently playing on the Mainstage. Deborah Warren, Managing Director says “Theatre has the power to heal hearts and unite communities. Through our partnership with the Center for Grieving Children and thanks to the TramutoPorter Foundation Human Rights Endowment Fund established in 2018 at the Playhouse, we aim to bring a sense of joy into the lives of those who need it most. Together we can create unforgettable experiences.”

The Center for Grieving Children provides a safe space, loving peer support, outreach, and education to grieving children, teens, families, and the community. The Center offers hope as well as support the resilience of grieving individuals through a peer support family model. Thanks to the generous support of the community, the Center’s no-cost services are led by dedicated and highly-trained staff and volunteers in-person and online.

Held in Portland, Sanford and online, the Center offers three distinct peer support programs:

• Bereavement provides grief support for children, teens, their parents and caregivers, young adults, bereaved parents, and widows/widowers/partners;
• Tender Living Care (TLC) provides support for children, teens, young adults, parents, and caregivers through the changes that come with a family member’s diagnosis of serious illness; and
• Intercultural creates healing communities for children who have resettled in Portland from countries that have experienced war, violent conflict, and natural disaster. Participants have experienced a myriad of loss such as family death, loss of culture, and loss of place, to name a few.

Of the event, the Center’s Executive Director, Anne Heros, said, “We’re beyond thankful to the TramutoPorter Foundation and The Ogunquit Playhouse for giving us the opportunity to join with families and our amazing facilitators for a day filled with joy. We hope it’s an opportunity to spread the word about Center services.”

Volunteers are truly the heart of Center services. Their critical work would not be possible without the dedication of volunteer facilitators. Facilitators receive training in the Center’s peer support model for working with children, teens and families, commit to at least one year of volunteering, and are available one evening per week, virtually or in-person in Portland or Sanford. Currently, there is a great need for volunteers in York County, online, and in our Intercultural groups in Portland.

“To see the extraordinary level of collaboration and innovation – or “co-lab-ovation” as we like to say, from these two Maine-based organizations warms our hearts and is a true testimonial to our notion that innovation and collaboration must come together in order to have sustainable results,” said Donato Tramuto and Jeff Porter, Founders of the TramutoPorter Foundation.

Interested in learning more? Visit https://www.cgcmaine.org/get-involved/ or email our volunteer coordinator Sara Reddick at volunteer@cgcmaine.org.

For more information on the Ogunquit Playhouse, please visit ogunquitplayhouse.org or email Carol Chiavetta, Director of Marketing and Communications at
cchiavetta@ogunquitplayhouse.org.

NEW YORK (Dec. 13, 2018) – Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights (RFK Human Rights) will launch a national workplace dignity and inclusion initiative with the support of a grant from the Tramuto Foundation, an Ogunquit, ME nonprofit organization founded by Donato Tramuto, a recipient of the 2014 RFK Human Rights Ripple of Hope award and a member of the board of RFK Human Rights and Chairman of its Leadership Council.

During last night’s Ripple of Hope Gala, Tramuto pledged $1 million to support the development and implementation of a groundbreaking national initiative to institute and nurture workplace dignity and inclusion that will provide companies of all sizes with strategies and tactics to ensure employers are providing safe, inclusive and fair work environments. This year’s gala honored President Barack Obama, Discovery President and CEO David Zaslav, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and Humana President Bruce Broussard.

NEW YORK, NY – DECEMBER 12: Donato Tramuto speaks onstage during the 2019 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple Of Hope Awards on December 12, 2018, in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights

Tramuto is a recognized innovator, healthcare activist and business leader with more than 35 years of healthcare industry experience, a deep commitment to global healthcare access, steadfast focus on patient outcomes and a keen understanding of digital solutions. He founded and led numerous healthcare companies and non-profit organizations and is currently Chief Executive Officer of Tivity Health, a leading provider of fitness and health improvement programs, including SilverSneakers®, the nation’s leading community fitness program for older adults. Tivity Health is a publicly traded company with approximately 500 colleagues.

Based on his decades of experience in the workplace, Tramuto identified an urgent need for a focused, research-driven effort to address workplace bullying and other issues that lead to hostile and unproductive workplace environments. Tramuto and the Foundation have committed to deploy the first pilot of the Workplace Dignity and Inclusion initiative at Tivity Health.

“Workplace bullying of all kinds is a serious issue – paramount to the health of today’s worker. Dignity is fundamental to well-being and to ensure that employees and their organizations can thrive,” said Tramuto. “Wise business leaders understand that a strong culture is essential to a productive, fruitful and resilient business. Workplace bullying diminishes employee engagement and impacts a company’s ability to succeed. Promoting human dignity in the workplace is consistent with the mission of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights and demands our attention in today’s workplace more than ever. Since its founding in 2001, this is the largest award the Tramuto Foundation has ever made. It is a strong statement by our board that it is committed to making the workplace a gentler, more compassionate environment.”

“Our hope is that the Robert F. Kennedy Workplace Dignity and Inclusion Program will be a globally recognized symbol of human rights at work – a referenced standard on how to do business and how to reassert the right to a respectful and fair work environment for all,” said RFK Human Rights President Kerry Kennedy. “This new program will establish a respectful and fair work environment by exposing toxic cultures, advocating on behalf of those in abusive work relationships, empowering those that are marginalized or held back and training employees at every level on behaviors that support a healthy and respectful workplace culture.”

According to the 2017 US Workplace Bullying Survey, conducted by the Workplace Bullying Institute:

• 60 million U.S. workers are affected by some form of workplace harassment
• 2/3 of perpetrators are men, and 2/3 of the targets are women
• 60% of the time, culprits are bosses
• 40% of those harassed suffer from adverse health impacts
• 71% of cases go unreported

Low levels of emotional and physical well-being due to abuse in the workplace lead to low engagement levels, which hamper productivity and performance and impact business profitability and results.

According to a Harvard Business Review poll of 800 managers and employees across 17 industries, employees who have reported an incidence of workplace abuse experienced the following impact on engagement:

• 47% decreased their time spent at work
• 80% lost work time worrying about the incident
• 66% said their performance declined
• 76% said their commitment to the organization declined
• 25% admitted to taking their frustration out on customers.

Highlights of The Workplace Dignity and Inclusion Initiative

The Workplace Dignity and Inclusion initiative will have the support of an advisory council. The advisory council will be comprised of ten of America’s most prominent corporate leaders as well as experts and influencers who will participate in the ongoing development of the program, advocacy, and communications campaigns.

The program will provide employers with a full range of resources tailored to that company, including the following core components:

• education and training in the workplace to prevent bullying – for employees and employers
• a national social media campaign to raise awareness
• online training
• audits and assessments, including deep evaluations of company practices
• advocacy training and workshops; and
• support for human resources managers, including an online toolkit

“The time is now to leverage the success of RFK Human Rights’ programs already deployed in schools around the nation that address bullying and enable students to ‘Speak Truth to Power.’ The workplace dignity program will empower those in the workplace to speak their own truth to power,” Tramuto explained. “This is an emerging crisis in our country, exemplified by the #MeToo movement and by a general decline in civility in society and in our workplaces. It now demands a response that is worthy of the very values exemplified by Senator Kennedy.”

In the increasingly complex world of global public health, the health care leaders of tomorrow are taking innovative approaches to wellness – identifying and addressing not just the physical determinants of one’s health, but the critical social determinants that can often pre-determine an entire population’s wellness or disease.

To further the advancement of this revolutionary work and empower a new generation of leaders in the healthcare industry, the Tramuto Foundation has partnered with the Jefferson College of Population Health (JCPH) to create the first-ever endowed scholarship for promising students in need.
JCPH, led by Dean David B. Nash, is the first college of its kind in the nation. The College is dedicated to identifying the impact of critical social determinants on health outcomes, with an eye toward recommending innovative solutions to today’s complex public health issues in the US and across the globe.

Graduates are equipped with the expertise and global vision necessary to shape future health systems and policies addressing the promotion and protection of human health, social justice, human rights, the dignity of individuals, and the integrity of communities.

The Tramuto Endowed Scholarship will help ensure that highly qualified students who may face challenging life or socioeconomic circumstances have the ability to pursue their passion for population health and take with them the skills and knowledge they acquire to help improve the lives of their communities. The College will match the scholarship funds to double the impact for its student body.

As part of their education experience, JCPH students complete a capstone project where they demonstrate their ability to make an impact in the real world. Students also have an opportunity to participate in community-based research at one of JCPH’s two Centers for Population Health Research (one in rural Pennsylvania and one in Philadelphia). These learning laboratories provide our students with a deep, rich understanding of the complexities and challenges inherent in improving population health.

“We’re proud to partner with JCPH to support the next generation of global healthcare leaders,” Donato said. “When I imagine the future of healthcare, I see a world where we take a holistic approach to wellness, ensuring people are healthy in mind, body, and spirit, where we break down traditional barriers to ensure that every human being has access to care. Through this scholarship, we can help ensure that those who share that passion and that vision are able to deliver on their promise.”

As a young boy who had lost most of his hearing and, gradually, his ability to speak clearly, Donato Tramuto sought refuge in the books written by and about his hero, the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy. Donato found inspiration and encouragement from his speeches and memorized passages that would later become the cornerstone of his own speeches as a company executive and philanthropist.

In 2017, Donato was honored by a Boston-based social service agency founded 50 years ago by his friend and Tramuto Foundation board member, Phil Johnston. Phil, who had been working on Robert Kennedy’s presidential campaign when the Senator was assassinated in 1968, created a juvenile justice agency committed to Kennedy’s legacy of unwavering responsibility to the poor and disadvantaged. Today, the Robert F. Kennedy Children’s Action Corps (RFK Children’s Action Corps) is one of largest private child welfare and juvenile justice organizations in New England, guided by a core belief that all children have the right to grow up in a safe and nurturing environment.

Donato was honored to receive the RFK Children’s Action Corps’ distinguished Embracing the Legacy award in recognition of his longstanding commitment to social equality and philanthropy. Not one to simply receive an award and walk out the door, Donato wanted to see for himself what the RFK Children’s Action Corps was about. Soon after receiving the honor, Donato visited the agency’s Lancaster Residential Treatment Campus where he personally met several students living and attending class there. The goal of the residential programs in Lancaster is to help children and adolescents address the challenges they face as a result of living in unstable, dangerous or abusive environments while helping them return home to their families and communities when appropriate. The campus provides multiple levels of residential treatment, emergency assessment, respite care, and special education services.

Donato was impressed with everyone he met at Lancaster – the teaching staff, the administration, the clinical staff and especially, the kids. Following that visit, he decided that these dedicated professionals, who deal with the emotional and psychological scars of kids who have endured more tragedy and tough times than most of us could imagine, would benefit from ongoing trauma-informed care training.

The Tramuto Foundation board members agreed that the RFK Children’s Action Corps would be a worthy recipient of a four-year grant, which will allow the agency to integrate the most relevant trauma-informed care principles into all programs offered on the campus.

In addition, over the coming year, the RFK Children’s Action Corps’ Leadership Institute members will collectively read Donato’s book, “Life’s Bulldozer Moments: How Adversity Leads to Success in Life and Business,” and incorporate examples from the book in their daily interactions with students.

RFK Children’s Action Corps CEO Ed Kelley explained that examples of how Donato dealt with his significant ‘bulldozer moments’ will serve as a roadmap for how their students can successfully overcome adversities in their own lives.

“There is no doubt that Donato and the Tramuto Foundation are committed partners in our ongoing work to support disadvantaged children. The Robert F. Kennedy Children’s Action Corps could not be more grateful to be associated with this caring and accomplished man and the dedicated men and women who serve on the Foundation’s board,” Kelley said.