Friday, December 04, 2009
Project Give: One-stop donating
The Roanoke Civic Center will be the site to drop off items for four nonprofits.
Stephanie Klein-Davis | The Roanoke Times
Gena Kepley, a volunteer, fills bags of cat food at the Roanoke Valley SPCA, one of four agencies collaborating for Project Give, a one-stop charity option being held Saturday at the Roanoke Civic Center.
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About three months ago, Suni Heflin, marketing manager for Goodwill Industries of the Valleys had an idea.
Heflin, trying to find a way to make donating easier for people during the holiday season, thought: one day, one place and all types of donations. This is how Heflin described the beginning of Project Give.
Project Give is a one-stop donation opportunity for Roanoke Valley residents. Donations of all kinds will be accepted including: food, clothing, computers, housewares, furniture and pet food. Four nonprofit organizations have collaborated to collect these donations at the Roanoke Civic Center parking lot on Saturday. The nonprofits are: Goodwill Industries, the Roanoke Valley SPCA, Habitat for Humanity in the Roanoke Valley and the Southwestern Virginia Second Harvest Food Bank.
Heflin said she searched out these agencies because they each held their own niche in the donation market. The SPCA regularly needs pet food, the food bank has a pantry to fill, Habitat for Humanity is always looking for construction materials and furniture, and Goodwill needs toys, clothing and housewares.
As organizational meetings progressed, Heflin learned that the other agencies involved struggle this time of the year, too.
"Our donation cycles are different each year but we certainly have a need around the holidays," Heflin explained.
Heflin added that the overall goal for those involved in Project Give is to receive 400 donations from 400 vehicles. Despite this shared goal among the four agencies, each organization carries its own goals into this event.
Jeremy Butterfield, public relations coordinator for the food bank, said, "I don't necessarily have a goal for this event, because it is the first year ... but I can tell you that if we receive just one can of food, we appreciate that donation."
Betsy Whitney, deputy director for Habitat for Humanity, simply hopes this event will help the organizations involved help more families this holiday season.
Kathy Perdue, director of marketing and special events for the SPCA, said her goal is to increase the donations of dry cat and dog food and awareness of the need for this product.
"We have been told that being able to receive the pet food has prevented their [the animals] being released to the pound," Perdue said. "Keeping pets and people united is the ultimate goal of the Pets Eat Too program."
While planning this event, Heflin was impressed most of all of the collaborative efforts made among the four agencies. She explained that the logo for Project Give was even designed with this in mind -- four figures standing together with their arms raised. She added that when she first called the help of these organizations to turn her idea into a reality, she was surprised with the lack of hesitation.
She said, "There was no question from anyone as to whether they wanted to do this or not."
About Project Give
When: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday
Where: Roanoke Civic Center, Parking Lot A
What: A collaborative community donation drive. Bring your gently used or new furniture, clothing, housewares, toys, food and pet food to one location -- a one-stop donation.
Send us your news: Your Community, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, VA 24010 or e-mail yourcommunity@roanoke.com.
