Aging & Family Services struggled to decide whether we would hold our 25 Days of Christmas fundraiser in 2020. In these tough times, we realize our supporters are facing many financial challenges. But, we believe the exposure from those donations can help local businesses garner customers as they open up their shops. Here is a copy of the letter that was mailed out to previous 25 Days of Christmas supporters:
Dear Business leader:
Together, we are facing a truly extraordinary situation. The coronavirus pandemic is affecting all of our families, our businesses, our communities, and our way of life. During this time, I wanted to reach out and update you on how we’re approaching these circumstances at Aging & Family Services (AFS). First and foremost, our hearts go out to anyone who’s been impacted by the virus, either directly or indirectly. We are truly inspired by the selfless individuals around our area who are on the front lines working untiringly to care for people in need.
AFS continues to provide care for the Aged and Disabled and their families. Although our senior centers are closed for congregate meals, we are finding unique ways to provide the frailest of our citizens a hot, nutritious meal each day.
Your past support of AFS’ 25 Days of Christmas Fundraiser Raffle shows your concern with meeting the needs of this population. While it may not be the same as previous years, we want to offer you the chance to participate in this fundraising effort for our Meals on Wheels program. In the fall, we will sell raffle tickets to the general public, not just seniors, with a goal of selling a minimum of 1,000 tickets. Last year, we received business prize donations totaling over $7,000 in value.
As a past supporter, would you consider donating towards our raffle prize packages? Past donations have included homemade crafts, cash, gift cards, etc. If gift certificates have expiration dates, please date for sometime in 2021. With the events occurring in 2020, this would be a great opportunity to generate new customers for your business while supporting a vital program to our elderly.
For each donation, businesses will receive maximum advertisement coverage as our thank you for participating. All ticket sheets sold will list the donors’ business name. Our AFS August and December newsletters will highlight all donors, reaching over 4,000 households. In addition, we will publish a list of donors in the Daily News Tribune. On our Facebook page and website, we will feature all donors. Each Friday in December until Christmas Eve, we will draw the name of a winner who purchased a ticket.
We greatly appreciate your participation in this fundraising event. I know it’s been a tough time with attention focused squarely on the COVID-19. You may even be impacted by the pandemic yourself – I hope you and your family are safe. Your donation will help us continue providing Meals on Wheels to our homebound elderly. Please complete the donation form below and return it to our agency.
