Lots to celebrate about Ky Gives Day

By Amy Joseph Landon

Source: The News-Enterprise
May 16, 2021

Kentucky Gives Day is a time to celebrate generosity.

In the program’s first nine years, the effort established and coordinated by the Kentucky Nonprofits Network has raised more than $3.5 million in just a single day each year.

When midnight rolled around and the 24-hour emphasis ended, this year’s donations totaled $721,385.

Each year, it serves as a dramatic demonstration of just how kind and giving Kentuckians can be.

Kentucky Gives Day is a time to celebrate the charitable sector of our community.

Everyone may care about kids but who is making a difference? It’s nonprofits such as Girls Scouts of Kentuckiana, CASA of the Heartland, Wesley Hilltop House, Sunrise Children’s Services and Mission Hope for Kids – just some of the youth-based initiatives involved in the fundraiser.

The community at large may have a deep concern about the homeless but it’s Kentucky Gives participants like Warm Blessings Community Kitchen, Helping Hand of Hope and Feeding America, Kentucky’s Heartland that are standing in the gap.

Organizations representing health care, trauma recovery, pet care and library services all were represented. Other organizations representing quality of life in our community were spotlighted including Bernheim Forest, The Lincoln Museum, the Kentucky Railway Museum and the Stephen Foster Drama Association took part.

It’s hard to imagine where our communities and our region would be without these 501c(3) tax-exempt entities and others who scrape together nickels and dimes to combine with the hard work and sweat equity of volunteers to improve our part of the world.

And finally, Kentucky Gives Day is a time to once again celebrate St. James Regional Catholic School.

The Elizabethtown parochial school once again topped all fundraisers – not just regionally but across the entire state.

St. James raised $32,970 online and secured $35,000 in matching donations to bring their 24-hour total to $67,970.

It’s not the first time St. James has topped the leaderboard and its a testament to their quality work, donor loyalty and devotion to the institution.

Kentucky Gives Day is over for another year. The needs and work continue daily. Support a nonprofit entity that’s dear to your heart.

And while you’re celebrating all this good news, say a kind word to the folks at Central Kentucky Community Foundation who sponsor this event locally and the Kentucky Nonprofits Network for creating a way to showcase giving in all its forms.

This editorial reflects a consensus of The News-Enterprise editorial board.

 

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