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Season for Sharing hits $2.6 million
Season for Sharing hits $2.6 million
Connie Cone Sexton, The Republic | azcentral.com | January 22, 2015 (link here)
Donors raise $2.6 million for Season for Sharing annual campaign, which helps agencies serve children and the elderly, and provide domestic-violence services and education and literacy.
Ernesto Vigil finished off a plate of baked chicken, mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables on a recent morning at a dining hall in El Mirage.
The 51-year-old Surprise resident put down his fork. "This is keeping me alive," he said. Vigil is one of the regulars who stop in every weekday to visit the dining hall, one of five such sites in the Valley set up by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
Feeding the hungry is at the heart of the organization, which is one of 190 agencies across the Valley that have applied for funding this year through Season for Sharing, the annual fundraising campaign run by Republic Media — The Arizona Republic, 12 News and azcentral.com.
To date, this year's campaign has raised $2.6 million. The goal is to raise money to help local programs and agencies care for children and the elderly, provide domestic-violence services and education and literacy.
"After 15 years in this community, I shouldn't be amazed by the support given to area non-profits," said John Zidich, publisher and chief executive officer of Republic Media. "That support should never be taken for granted. And it should be a source of community pride.
"This year, we celebrate the generosity of our readers and viewers by distributing $2.6 million through Season for Sharing to those in need," Zidich added. "For 21 years, Season for Sharing has provided over $55 million to local non-profit agencies that improve the lives of Arizona's children and most vulnerable residents. On behalf of Republic Media, thank you."
Donations are matched 50 cents on the dollar until reaching $800,000, thanks to support from the Gannett Foundation and the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. None of the donations or matching funds is used to cover administrative or fundraising costs.
Donations for this year's campaign will be accepted through Jan. 31 and may be given online at sharing.azcentral.com or by calling 602-444-8661. Donations received after that will count toward the 2015-16 campaign.
A committee will review grant applications and is expected to distribute to selected agencies in March. Last year, 130 agencies received funding.
After going through difficult economic times in the 2010s, many fundraising groups have been pleased to discover that donors continued their support, wanting to make their community a better place, said Robert Ashcraft, executive director of the Lodestar Center for Philanthropy & Nonprofit Innovation at Arizona State University.
Although his department has not done a recent study, Ashcraft said he has heard that fundraising campaigns seem "to be pretty resilient."
Shannon Clancy, chief development officer for St. Vincent de Paul, is grateful for Season for Sharing donors. She said the $30,000 the organization received in 2014 translated into serving an additional 6,000 meals and distribute 3,000 more food boxes. "Season for Sharing is a wonderful program that really allows the community to be a part of what we do," she said.
On average, more than 4,400 meals were served every day in 2014 across the five St. Vincent sites, about 400 more a day than the previous year, El Mirage manager Jerry Castro said. Along with serving walk-ins, St. Vincent provides meals to small non-profit agencies that serve the poor but don't have kitchens.
On average, about 100 people a day show up between 9:30 and 11 a.m. at the El Mirage location to grab a meal. It's often the only meal they will have that day, Castro said. .
Sun City resident John Kemp has been a volunteer for about 18 years for St. Vincent's. On Wednesday, he helped serve the day's meal at the El Mirage location. "We take care of people and bring them their meal at their table, instead of having them walk in line," he said. "It's rewarding to me. It's a most basic need: Feeding the poor."