READY TO GO BIG
Go Big Give raises funds for more than 100 nonprofits
Posted: Tuesday, May 3, 2016 9:25 pm | Updated: 10:07 pm, Tue May 3, 2016.
By Harold Reutter
Things started out briskly for Tuesday’s Go Big Give, a 24-hour online giving event that supports the work of nonprofits in Hall, Hamilton, Howard and Merrick counties, and only picked up steam from there.
Participating nonprofits are located not only in Grand Island, but also in Aurora, Cairo, Central City and Doniphan, with the list going from A almost all the way to Z. This year, more than 100 organizations are participating, compared to 83 in 2015. The annual event is organized by the Heartland United Way and Grand Island Community Foundation to grow philanthropy in the four counties served by the Heartland United Way.
One of the centers for Tuesday’s activities was the Conestoga Mall in Grand Island, where Heartland United Way staff and volunteers helped people make donations, which could come in the form of cash, checks or online contributions to the nonprofits of their choice.
Bonnie Westfall, Heartland United Way development director, said some people were lined up at the mall waiting for the doors to open at 9 a.m. so they could contribute. By a little after 10:30, she said, the total giving had exceed $150,000, which was provided by 1,250 donors. In 2015, the event attracted 2,871 donations, for a total of more than $511,000.
Westfall said more than 25 nonprofits were scheduled to be at the Conestoga Mall Tuesday afternoon with displays to show people what their organizations do. Each of the tables could be connected to electrical outlets, so all of the participating groups could hook up computers, which also could be used to accept online donations as part of Go Big Give.
An opportunity to educate the public was one of the primary benefits Hope Harbor was seeing as part of Tuesday’s Go Big Give, Executive Director Aaron Ross said. That organization serves homeless and near-homeless families, women and children by providing a transitional shelter with safe housing and meals.
Hope Harbor also provides supportive case management for its residents via classes that teach financial responsibility, parenting, problem solving, coping skills, job-hunting techniques and more. Hope Harbor also works with adults on reducing personal debt and improving savings. Other requirements for adults living at Hope Harbor are to assist with meal preparation for fellow residents, perform cleaning and maintenance chores and seek employment.
Ross said visitors who came to Hope Harbor on Tuesday included donors who had never toured the shelter even though they were supporting its work. There were also first-time visitors who perhaps had never made a donation to Hope Harbor but were curious about its work.
People were given 20- to 30-minute tours of the transitional shelter. One common reaction from people who received their first tour was, “I never knew the building was this big,” Ross said.
He said visitors got to see the storage areas for hygiene items for adults, children and infants; household items such as bedding, towels, kitchen utensils, silverware, plates, pots and pans; and also food.
Ross said the reaction of some people was, “Oh, I can bring some bedding to the shelter.” Some people also saw opportunities for volunteer service.
Tish Guerrero, Hope Harbor assistant service coordinator, said one newcomer came to her wanting to volunteer after she went on a tour.
Guerrero said she directed that person to Development Coordinator Liz Mayfield because the woman’s desire for volunteer service fit more into Mayfield’s area.
“The woman wanted to do Bible studies,” she noted.
Hope Harbor served visitors a midday meal of barbecued hot dogs, chips, brownie and drink. Visitors and residents sat together to eat, with Ross noting that, for some visitors, that opportunity perhaps broke down stereotypes about Grand Island’s homeless, especially when they saw a mother sitting down with her children for a meal.
By 10 p.m., the total was closing in on $370,000 that had been contributed through Go Big Give as a result of more than 2,700 donations