Staurolite

About Us

What the name means.

A staurolite is a rock that grows in the shape of a cross.

The name staurolite comes from the Greek words stauros for cross and lithos for stone. The stone cross signifies the core mission of the foundation, which is built upon the Rock of Jesus Christ and signifies the hope we place in His sacrifice on the cross.

We selected the name because it represents the cross to us — the cross where Jesus the Christ was crucified for the sins of the world so we would not be separated from God the Father throughout eternity.

“For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

Ephesians 2:10, NLT

How we got here

Our first hunt was in 2013. We hosted three hunters on an elk hunt in the mountains of northern New Mexico. The next year, the second hunt, we reached a new level of difficulty. We had four guys and four working legs. It was a grand time. We learned pretty quickly we had not even scratched the surface of what God had planned for The Staurolite Foundation.

We have served vets who were blown up at twenty-three years old, helicopter pilots shot down on rescue missions, Marines on overwatch, EOD techs blown up when, as he put it, “…the bomb went off before I was ready…”, and men paralyzed from a variety of injuries and maladies. We have had several Vietnam vets who came home to be criticized and demeaned for serving.

Mike and Cheryl Smith founded The Staurolite Foundation. We are an IRS approved 501(c)(3) nonprofit. At this time, we have no paid staff. No one who volunteers, including the founders, board members, and partners, gets paid anything.

Board of Directors

Founders