Donation campaign for LiftUp breaks record with $56,000 raised, thousands of pounds of food collected
Crediting the record-breaking total to a group effort and the community’s generosity, The Steamboat Group’s December LiftUp Food Bank Fresh Produce drive raised 40% more this year than it ever has before.
According to The Steamboat Group, the three-part campaign featured a produce drive, donation drive for December and a collaboration with Steamboat Springs Fire Rescue.
On Dec. 10, the produce drive was held at City Market, and Bridgett and Paul Ferguson collected more than 2,300 pounds of food.
Then The Steamboat Group learned Steamboat Springs Fire Rescue was also collecting food donations for LiftUp in December, and in one last push for donations, they teamed up for a Dec. 23 event at the fire station.
The collaboration brought in $8,500, plus another $1,748 at the event itself, according to The Steamboat Group, which added that the firefighters also collected about 500 pounds of food through their drive.
The Steamboat Group collected money throughout the month, with the hopes of raising $20,000, to which the group would match another $20,000. However, the effort ended up netting $56,000 for the LiftUp Food Bank.
“All of us at LiftUp are incredibly thankful to The Steamboat Group, to the helpful volunteers, to everyone who donated and to all who helped spread the word about donating to the LiftUp Holiday Produce Drive with The Steamboat Group’s $20,000 match,” said Sue Fegelein, director of Lift Up, in a news release. “Our community is truly amazing, and this effort has helped to ensure that our neighbors in need will have fresh produce every time they shop at our food banks. We are humbled and so grateful.”
Since 2016, The Steamboat Group reports having given back more than $500,000 locally with a goal of enhancing the reach by sharing more about many local nonprofits’ needs in their marketing.
In the release, the company credited the community’s generosity for the success of the December donation campaign.
“We continue to be stunned by how our community steps up to help those in need,” Jon Wade said in the release.
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