Gene Deems roped me into this amazing event. And I thank him for doing it.
About 9 months ago, I was having lunch with Gene somewhere (probably Mission BBQ) and he told me with excitement that he was going to co-chair the Great Give this year. I vaguely recognized the name of the event from years past but I quickly asked him for more detail and explanation. He told me that it was a 24 hour fundraising event for Anne Arundel County nonprofits. Last year all of these nonprofits had raised about $675,000 collectively. I told him that one of my goals was to get even more involved in the community that I grew up in. Being a part of the Great Give seemed like a great match.
The next time Gene and I met for lunch he asked me if I would be interested in being on the Planning Committee for the Great Give. Without a second thought I said “Yes, of course.”
Many months went by and many planning meetings went by. I enjoyed attending the nonprofit video making session put on by Doug Wirth, Stephanie Goldberg and Julian Jaques. Josh Davidsburg of Eye Candy Productions heroically helped with filming the Great Give despite a leg injury. The nonprofits produced some high quality videos which surely drove more donations for them. Congratulations to STAIR of Annapolis, a program that helps second graders who are having reading difficulties, for winning the Great Give video contest! Here is their video.
When the Great Give started at 6 pm on May 5th, there was a lot of social media buzz (go to #ggaac on Twitter to see it) going on all around Anne Arundel County. (There were multiple donation stations set up at restaurants across Anne Arundel County.) That first hour brought in the most money for the Great Give. I previously talked about the Great Give Happy Hour that I attended here. Thanks again to Sam’s on the Waterfront for hosting us and enabling us to get donations for our station.
That night I went to bed worried since it didn’t seem like we were close to our goal of $750,000. I woke up worried because the number hadn’t change too drastically over night. I got out of bed and went to Chevys Fresh Mex Restaurant where the Samaritan House was hosting a “Burritos for Beds” Breakfast Club fundraiser. The Breakfast Club is an award for the most donations for a nonprofit in the breakfast hour from 8-9. With Margo Speciale, Kevin Washington and Lea Hurt’s passion, energy and enthusiasm, the Samaritan House was able to win the Breakfast Club and secure an extra $1,000 for Sam House. (Samaritan House also ended up raising over $72,000! This number more than doubled their total from 2014.) Key School gave them a challenge for the Breakfast Club award but lost that battle. (Subsequently, Key School won the overall money award with about 6 big donations at the 11th hour. Key School has won the award for most money raised the last two years.) Donna Cole of Annapolis Creative was supporting an impressive amount of nonprofits, including Samaritan House, the Key School, the Ballet Theatre of Maryland and Sustainafest.
The money being raised was steady throughout the day but no significant jumps. #GGAAC was trending on Twitter from all the social media buzz and chatter that the 186 nonprofits were contributing too.
I got to the Great Give party at the Loews Hotel in Annapolis right at 5pm. I immediately saw Gene Deems there with a Great, Great Give Tie on. He whispered to me, “We did it!” Meaning that we had surpassed our $750,000 goal. This was great news!
Gene also told me of how he just met a woman from a nonprofit who began to cry when she found out how much money was raised for her nonprofit and how much that money would positively influence her nonprofit. He had made a big impact on her life.
After a technical hiccup, we found out that the Great Give had really surpassed all of our expectations and had raised $907,997.00 for 186 Anne Arundel County nonprofits.
Having the opportunity to meet and help all of these nonprofits in the county I have grown up in means so much. Anne Arundel County is the best place to work, play and live.
The Anne Arundel County Community Foundation has accomplished so much under Bess Langbein’s leadership as the Executive Director there. Bess stepping down is a huge loss for Anne Arundel County and I can only hope someone can come close to filling her shoes. I have known Bess since high school. She was the fearless Captain of the field hockey and lacrosse teams at that time. We are going to sorely miss her leadership at the helm of the Anne Arundel Community Foundation. Thank you, Bess!
I’m excited to be involved in this magnificant event for years to come! 🙂
It was so much fun helping with the Great Give Happy Hour at Sam’s on the Waterfront tonight. We were able to get some donations to the Great Give and successfully get the word out about the 24 hour fundraising campaign for Anne Arundel County nonprofits. I learned about the nonprofit Friends of Quiet Waters Park who was there at our donation station. Their mission is to essentially help out Quiet Waters Park. Julie Crudele and Andy Loftus were there enthusiastically representing FQWP. I also bumped into the always ebullient Lea Hurt who was enjoying the Waterfront at Sam’s.
During the Great Give Happy Hour, Lea and Margo Speciale made a wonderful video for Samaritan House’s Great Give drive. Samaritan House is a State-certified (ADAA) level 3.1 residential, nonprofit substance abuse treatment program and one of only three in Eastern Maryland. Their mission is to provide a safe and secure environment in which men can be redirected to become responsible, independent, productive members of the community. Margo Speciale was a natural at videomaking. (She pretty much runs the Annapolis Film Festival.) Allison Porter, my counterpart on the Great Give Planning Committee that was in attendance, was our team’s Macgyver and competently setup Wifi for our group so we could get some nice sized donations for Anne Arundel County Nonprofits. A highlight of the Great Give Happy Hour was that we were able to get a $500 donation.
To think that there were many other Happy Hour Great Give locations with donation stations spread across Anne Arundel County was something pretty neat. The social media buzz for the county was so great that the hashtag #ggaac was trending. I can only hope that this kind of buzz leads to the largest single fundraising event in Anne Arundel County history.
Fingers crossed.
Scott
Related articles across the web
I’m looking forward to the Anne Arundel County Great Give this year on May 5-6th. The Great Give is a 24 hour fundraising and awareness drive for Anne Arundel County Nonprofits. Last year over 675,000 dollars was raised. It is a big reason why Anne Arundel County is one of the best counties to live and work in in the nation.
When I was asked to be on the planning committee, I was immediately excited to help out all of these worthy nonprofits in Anne Arundel County. I prefer to call what is legally classified as a “nonprofit” organization as a “for purpose” organization. (I’m a nerd.) Being involved in the Great Give benefits Anne Arundel County on a widespread level.
I would encourage everyone out their in cyberspace to consider supporting a non profit on May 5-6 (or any day for that matter).
Mark your calendar to join us right here at www.greatgiveaac.org on May 5th & 6th to support your favorite local organizations with a donation. (You can search for your favorite organization by name or by category!)
And be sure to tell your family, friends and co-workers, so they can too.
All the best,
Scott
This is embarrassing. I scream like a baby girl in this video. But, what can I say, it’s for a good cause!
Here is more information on this public awareness challenge.
http://youtu.be/LATvd7fVXd4
The Maryland State Bar Association Young Lawyers Section had a fantastic meal at Wit & Wisdom in Baltimore this past Tuesday. Lacy Durham of the American Bar Association was our guest of honor. Judge Reed of the Baltimore City Bar and Judge Brown of the Maryland Bar were in the house as well. Executive Chef Zach Mills greeted our table and we enjoyed many delicious creations of his. A fun night was had by all!
I’m looking forward to participating in the Anne Arundel County Homeless Resource Day for the second year in a row! I’m committed to helping my client and the community at-large.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwkAro3q9js