Meet Rich Lewis

Rich was born and raised in Herkimer, NY, and still calls his childhood home his own. With deep roots in the community, Rich has spent his adult life giving back through coaching, volunteer work and local leadership.   While raising his two children, both proud graduates of Herkimer High School, he began coaching youth sports and serving on athletic boards, eventually expanding to coaching high school and travel programs. His commitment to local families led to his election to the Herkimer Central School District Board of Education, where he served 4 years getting hands on experience with school policy, budgeting and grant support for community growth. Rich’s passion for charitable work grew when he was introduced to 315K for the Cure, a local organization supporting Galisano Children’s Hospital in Syracuse NY. As someone who spent much of his childhood at this hospital managing a rare bleeding disorder, Rich has fond memories of the joy brought by entertainment programs, visiting athletes and moments of escape during difficult treatments. Learning that 315Ks mission was to fund those exact programs made the charity deeply personal for him. Over the years Rich has organized craft days at Galisano, being involved in food pantry drives, packing lunches with the Boy Scouts. He discovered a talent for event planning specifically with golf tournaments and 315s signature event Halfway to St Patrick’s day, which grew into one of the charities largest fundraisers capping at a $20,000 plus event. His mission is simple: to help create moments of joy, comfort, and connection for children and families facing the worst days of their lives, as others once did for him.