Bigger and Better

Organizers for Big Give McCook were hoping the second annual 24-hour fund-raiser Thursday would be bigger and better. It was definitely bigger, raising more funds than last year and involving more non-profit groups. And the Community Chest committee hopes it was better for both donors and the local organizations which benefitted from the philanthropic event.

Although the final contributions are still being confirmed, preliminary results show more than $110,000 in donations, according to Community Chest co-organizers Lisa Felker and Melissa Stritt. Through these donations - whether large or small - the community has shown a commitment the long-term stability and growth of McCook.

The total includes matching grants and sponsorship funds, along with donation from the eight in-person giving stations around McCook and online donations at biggivemccook.org.

Even more impressive were the 655 individual donations in just one day. The hundreds of donations ranged in size from one dollar into the thousands, but all were vital to a successful event. Organizers hope to create a culture of giving in McCook and the area and the community turned out in force to support those charities they are passionate about.

The non-profits involved this year included the Community Chest and its’ agencies: Adult Basic Education, Community Action Partnership of Mid-Nebraska, Domestic Abuse/Sexual Assault Services, Ed Thomas YMCA, Family Resource Center, Live Y’ers, Lutheran Family Services of Nebraska, Prairie Plains CASA, Salvation Army and TeamMates Mentoring Program. Other participating organizations were Community Hospital Health Foundation, Fox Theatre, Hillcrest Nursing Home Foundation, McCook Arts Council, McCook Art Guild, McCook Community Foundation Fund, McCook Humane Society, Share the Heat, Southwest Nebraska Habitat for Humanity and St. Patrick’s School.

Totals for each organization, along with information about their intended use of the funds, is available if interested.

The giving stations were also busy throughout the day and included McCook National Bank, which served as base camp for the day, Pinnacle Bank, First Central Bank, Great Western Bank, Horizon Bank, Hillcrest Nursing Home; Community Hospital and the YMCA, which had the first in-person donation at 5 a.m. and wrapped up at 10 p.m.

Each of those giving stations also had a “power hour,” where the donations were matched 1:1 up to a $1,000 thanks to generous business donors. Big Give McCook non-profits will also receive bonus funds, provided by sponsors including McCook National Bank, Graff Charitable Foundation, Deveny Motors, Parker Hannifin and Great Western Bank.

Community Chest is a a sub-account of the McCook Community Foundation Fund, which provided the initial grant to have the Big Give McCook website developed as well as funding to keep the website maintained.

The Community Chest committee will take time over the next few weeks to finalize totals and take a breather after a whirlwind day. But because McCook has shown their generosity, as well as a desire to invest in their community and to make southwest Nebraska a great place to live, plans are already underway for the 2018 Big Give McCook.

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