As the pandemic was just starting to devastate fundraising activities in the spring of 2020, the Jonathan’s Place crew realized their annual A Chance to Soar fundraiser wasn’t going to happen. While the cancellation was a real downer, the organizers weren’t going to fold their fundraising tents for the next year. After all, 2021 was to be 30th anniversary of the organization’s founding to “provide a safe place, loving homes and providing futures, to children and teens who have been victims of abuse, neglect and sex trafficking.”
While an in-person event was still too iffy, Co-Chairs Cori Prager and Rachel Stephens along with Underwriting Chair Leigh Anne Haugh regrouped and embraced the pandemic world of virtual fundraising. The result was a two-week program — “Be The Tie” — in which “individuals were encouraged to lace up their shoes and #BeTheTie for abused and neglected children.”
With fingers crossed and shoelaces tied, the program ran from Monday, April 12, to Friday, April 30.
The goal was to raise funds to support local children who are in foster care or in one of the nonprofit’s six rehabilitation programs Foster Care and Adoption, Emergency Shelter, Girl’s Residential Therapeutic Program, Transitional Living Program, RESET – for victims of youth sex trafficking and National Safe Place.
The final tally is in and it not only met their original goal, it surpassed it with a total of $260,253.
* Graphic/photo courtesy of Jonathan's Place