Match Day Raises $122,000!
Posted on June 5, 2009
Thank you! St. Clair County donors made the Community Foundation’s Match Day an extraordinary success. Together, we made community history and showed how powerful philanthropy can be.
During Match Day, which was held June 4th, 350 people made donations to 19 local nonprofits providing assistance with basic human needs such as food, shelter, clothing and medical care.
More than $122,000 was leveraged, including public donations of $81,000 and matching grants from the Community Foundation totaling nearly $41,000.
Pete Schulte was nearly speechless when he learned that St. Vincent DePaul/Ecumenical Food Pantry of St. Clair would be receiving over $28,000. “We just finished a food drive and the shelves are still half empty,” Pete explained. “These funds couldn’t have come at a better time. We are so thankful for the generosity of this community.”
Mary Gave, director of Down River Helping Hands in Marine City has seen demand for food and household items double this year. “We are struggling. These funds will help us feed and clothe people for months.”
Many local organizations worked hard to take advantage of the matching grant opportunity. The Rotary Club of St. Clair did a three-day fund drive at Neiman’s Market that raised thousands for St. Vincent DePaul and Kids In Distress Services.
“We weren’t sure what to expect,” said Lynn Borg, vice president of the Community Foundation. “We knew we wanted to leverage the dollars we had available for grant-making and highlight the work that is being done by the nonprofits in our community. The response was incredible, and a testament to the generosity of the people in our county. I haven’t stopped smiling yet.”
Match Day Funds will be distributed at the Community Foundation Annual Dinner on June 11, 2009. The Community Foundation will celebrate its 65th Anniversary in June and will also honor Jim Acheson with a lifetime achievement award for his dedication to philanthropy at the Annual Dinner.
Participating Match Day organizations included:
- American Red Cross, St. Clair County Chapter ($517)
- Blue Water Habitat for Humanity, Inc. ($3,842)
- Blue Water Community Food Depot ($3,562)
- Blue Water Developmental Housing ($75)
- Catholic Social Services ($2,812)
- Community Action Agency of St. Clair County ($1,099)
- Council on Aging ($2,627)
- Downriver Community Services, Inc. ($1,237)
- Down River Helping Hands, Inc. ($2,482)
- Kids In Distress Services ($14,770)
- Mid City Nutrition Program ($14,406)
- People’s Clinic for Better Health ($9,739)
- Safe Horizons ($9,780)
- Salvation Army ($10,575)
- Sanborn Gratiot Memorial Home ($4,755)
- St. Vincent DePaul/Ecumenical Food Pantry of St. Clair ($28,929)
- The Harbor/Wings/Cypress Place Street ($1,170)
- Trinity United Methodist Church Food Pantry ($1,990)
- Visiting Nurse Association & Blue Water Hospice ($7,747)
