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Local Non-Profit Senior Transportation Service Shifts Annual Fundraiser
By Bill McLaughlin
The three leading charities in Whiting have traditionally held their annual fundraisers around the same time each year, in the late autumn months, and therefore directly competing with the holidays, and each other, for the public's attention.
With that in mind, Somebody C.A.R.E.S. has changed its annual fundraiser from autumn to winter, October to February, to give residents a chance to spread out their giving and reenergize their charitable spirit.
Donations to the non-profit Somebody C.A.R.E.S. provides six vehicles for its Dial-A-Ride service in Whiting, a wheelchair accessible van, which transports patients in a 30-mile radius of their Whiting homes, as well as providing upkeep on the organization's buildings on Schoolhouse Road.
For as long as anyone can remember, the Whiting First Aid Squad has raised funds in May and the local fire company in September. Years ago, Somebody C.A.R.E.S. began holding its annual fundraiser in October, but the timing just wasn't right, according to Blanche M. Doran, the executive director of the allvolunteer group, who recently proposed a different approach.
"The change was my idea," Doran said. "I laid it out to the board. I know it's chancy. I said, 'Let's move our fundraiser to the beginning of the year.' "
Many residents had complained that holding the group's annual fundraiser in autumn just didn't leave enough time to recover from the fire company's event, and was also followed too closely by Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
However, opting out of their traditional October slot this year has given the impression there would be no fundraiser at all for the group, according to Doran, noting the charitable service organization is fully funded by community support.
"We're all volunteers here, except for the cleaning crew that comes in one night a week," Doran said. "And we also pay an accountant to prepare our quarterly filing reports."
The annual fundraiser appeals to residents of the Crestwood Villages and other senior settlements as security in their old age, said Doran. While most are self-sufficient and mobile now, someday they may need the services Somebody C.A.R.E.S. performs.
"We say, 'If not today, you'll need us tomorrow'" said Doran. "We'll be there with your support."
Residents have always been very supportive, she added, but this is the first year for a new direction and Doran and the executive board are worried that word just hasn't gotten out yet.
"We had two publications condense our
handout announcing the change," she said. "Unfortunately, in both cases, it seemed as if
we were not doing a fundraiser at all. We don't fundraise for the entire year, except for the one annual appeal."
So late in January or early February, donation requests will go out to the public via direct mail or as inserts in the Sun newspaper serving the senior community.
Doran is speaking to groups to explain the change, hoping the message gets out.
"Everyone we meet has received us well," she said. "We go to clubhouses to speak before or after meetings just to let people know."
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