Creative Fundraising Focused on Fun Written by: Kory Campbell, Top of Virginia Regional Chamber
Amazing things can happen when people join together to have a little fun while putting their mind to a mission. That is why amazing things are happening at Cheers! to Charity, a Winchester-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The community can join together, have a drink (however you choose to enjoy the event), and share a smile to bring extra fundraising power to other local charities.
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The Cheers! group formed officially in January of 2021, but have a storied history together raising funds in the area that were averaging about $50,000 annually. Realizing that community needs were not stationary problems, and that families face different types of crises depending on such things as the economy around them, Cheers! to Charity saw the need to support a deserving non-profit yearly, but
rotate the support to other organizations as the community needed extra support in those areas. “We like to be able to support low-staff groups to raise awareness and generate donations as they are usually stretched so thin,” said Jeanne Mezzatesta, an officer in the group of twelve. Blue Ridge Area Food Bank is the recipient of 2021 efforts as they saw a 20% increase in food insecurity in the area while partnering with more than 200 shelters or ^ Cheers! to Charity assists customers as they donate food pantries. “About 16% of all visits to to local charities while purchasing daylilies at Digging Daylilies on Marple Road in Winchester pantries were made by people who had not accessed the food assistance network before,” according to Mezzatesta. Top Right: Volunteers join owners Sage and Derek The 10in10 campaign set a goal to raise $10,000 over the course of the ten weeks spanning from March 1, 2021 to May 15. They were able to hit $8,200. Blue Ridge Area Food Bank is able to convert $1.00
Olah at Digging Daylilies. Center: Shawn Armstrong helps a daylily customer. Bottom Left: Jeanne Mezzatesta, Caroline Pardue, Shawn Armstrong, and Georgia Dearing work to clean local roads. Bottom Right: Kim Rhodes, Kami Tenney and Shawn Armstron prepare meals for CCAP in Winchester Photography courtesy of Cheers! to Charity
