YOUR LOCAL

MetroWest Challenges the Community to Support Edgewood Children's Ranch This Fall

Through sponsorships and gift card donations, organizers hope to fill the fundraising gap left by COVID-19.

By Kimbra Hennessy

Despite these challenging and uncertain times, the community can still help at-risk children and families find hope by supporting the Edgewood Children’s Ranch and participating in the MetroWest Master Association’s 2020 Community Charity Challenge.

Now more than ever, Edgewood Children's Ranch (ECR) is needed to help make a difference in the lives of children across Central Florida. The faith-based nonprofit provides children and their families a safe environment to change negative behaviors and the direction of their lives. ECR’s residential program allows children to attend school onsite and live with others in a family-style unit emphasizing responsibility, accountability, selfcontrol and self-reliance.

Since 2014, the MetroWest Master Association (MWMA) has organized a successful communitywide Charity Challenge that resulted in a large quantity of food and other important necessities being donated to ECR at MetroWest’s annual WinterFest event. Due to the pandemic, WinterFest has been cancelled and the format for this year’s Charity Challenge had to be modified to keep participants safe.

MWMA is still seeking donations from residents; however, they are asking that the community donate gift cards from local businesses that ECR can use for ranch and school supplies, family night events, student recognition and other special occasions/needs.

Examples of gift cards that would be the most useful include Sam’s Club, Walmart, Publix, McDonalds, Chick-fil-A, Josie’s Pizza, Marco’s Pizza, Pizza Hut, Office Depot and, of course, Visa or MasterCard.

In addition, MWMA is asking local businesses to help sponsor the Community Charity Challenge. Sponsorships are available in increments of $2,500 and $1,000. So far, FirstService Residential, BrightView Landscape Services, GardaWorld and Critical Intervention Services have committed to sponsorships. MWMA also has donated this space in MetroWest Lifestyle to ECR.

“Due to COVID-19, this will be the first time in 37 years that we are unable to host our annual Country Round-Up Dinner and Auction,” says Bruce Jordan, Edgewood Children’s Ranch Executive Director. “This has been our major fundraising mechanism, so we are hoping that this year the community will step up and help us by donating gift cards and businesses will sponsor the Community Charity Challenge.”

Donations (in any amount) will help ECR continue to provide a safe and loving environment where kids can learn to thrive and succeed in life and where families can find healing. ECR relies on community support, sponsors and individual donors to keep the program affordable for families in need.