Blog

Dear Friends,

I’m not usually one to make blanket statements, but I’m going out on a limb and saying the year 2020 hasn’t exactly gone the way any of us expected when we turned the page on our new calendars January first. In fact, I’d go a bit further and say none of us could have imagined the challenges 2020 would present both personally and professionally. 

As an organization whose entire mission is to offer hope, help and change to the people of Georgetown County, performing this task in the midst of a full-blown pandemic has proven to be a huge challenge because everything we do requires human interaction. We touch people’s lives and strive to better their situations. To do so requires contact, so we have been adjusting our services from day one to help, while keeping everyone safe. We’ve been forced to come up with different ways to do what is necessary to accomplish our goals.

We were even forced to find an alternative for fundraising! There was no way to have our traditional in-person Gala, so that was tabled, and I was tasked with creating the first ever Socially Distanced, Mask Free Virtual Gala. I wanted to encourage people to invest in Helping Hands without leaving the safety of their home, so I hoped putting together a fast-paced evening of entertaining information and fun would be the ticket. 

First, our talented team of volunteers and staff put together short videos to showcase each area of outreach we provide. Then, our Executive Director Brendon Barber reached out to the uber talented Alexis Jordan (American Idol semi-finalist) and she graciously signed on as our featured performer. Next, our fearless leaders were cajoled into sharing their secret talents with you, and lastly, I threw in some interactive Trivia Tidbits and prizes to be won. Our first ever (and hopefully, our only) Virtual Gala was complete!

I’ll admit branching out into the unknown was super scary, but it did prove to be successful. We raised $53,289.50! The generosity of our supporters astounds me and seeing the efforts of all our team come together for such a wonderful result was exhilarating. My sincere gratitude to you all!

Please join me in hoping the 2020 Virtual Gala was truly a “Once-in-a-Lifetime” event and we can return to our traditional in-person Gala for 2021.

Sincerely yours,

Renee Davis