2009 Christ Church of Arlington Turkey Trot Starting Line
The support we receive from our community is often humbling. As the Special Events Coordinator, I have the great fortune of working with community members to plan events that benefit the families we serve in our shelters. We are fortunate to have a variety of donors and supporters ranging from individuals and corporations to faith and community groups. Many of these organizations coordinate and host various 3rd party fundraisers at no cost to Doorways. Due to limited staff and financial resources, 3rd party fundraisers are critical to our fundraising efforts and bring awareness of the services we provide without the expense!
Events vary in size and scope and I am amazed at the creativity that community members come up with to promote our work and raise much needed funds. Arlington restaurants have hosted evenings where proceeds go to Doorways, corporations have held supply and gift card drives and community groups have held happy hours in honor of Doorways. Last holiday season the Potomac Harmony Chorus held a holiday concert and sing-a-long which was free to the Arlington Community and guests made donations to Doorways. They raised over $1,000 thanks to this effort with no cost to us!
One example of an amazing fundraiser that we have had the benefit to see grow over the past four years is the Turkey Trot organized by Christ Church of Arlington. The first Trot was in November of 2006 and had 300 participants and raised $ 4,200. However over a three year period the Trot has grown to over 2,000 of participants in 2009 and raised a whopping $33,000 ($13,454 total for Doorways!)
Another example of a corporation coming together and raising funds is our Corporate Ambassador, Crate & Barrel. Crate & Barrel employees donated $5 in order to receive a “Jean’s Day” pass and the employee was able to wear jeans on any work day that they wished.
Third party fundraisers are an important part of Doorways’ fundraising. Contact me to learn more about different opportunities you have to get involved!
~ Lara Lukaszek, Special Events Coordinator
Contact: LLukaszek@doorwaysVA.org or 703-522-8858 x 13
Caroline Jones
