July, 2021
The Delaware KIDS Fund and Harvey, Hanna & Associates pitched in during the summer with officers from New Castle County Behavioral Unit & Community Services Unit presenting bathing suits to members of the Surratte Pool at Surratte Park in New Castle County.
The Delaware KIDS Fund and Harvey, Hanna & Associates pitched in on Monday, December 21, 2020 by donating ShopRite food baskets for 35 families ahead of the holiday weekend. Wilmington resident and communitarian John Robinson coordinated the community event through his non-profit, Our Watch.
Many of the parents and guardians of the students at Warner have experienced economic hardships due to the on-going pandemic. Many of these parents and guardians also work in the service industry which has been impacted more than most industries because of the pandemic. Thanks to a collaborative effort, several local families were able to celebrate the holiday season with toys for the children and food for the families.
The Delaware KIDS Fund and Harvey, Hanna & Associates, Inc. partnered with the Food Bank of Delaware on Tuesday, December 22, 2020 to help feed over 150 families just ahead of the Christmas Holiday weekend. The pop-up/drive-thru format mobile food pantry was hosted at Banning Park and designed to assist families in the Richardson Park area.
Harvey Hanna & Associates, Inc., along with its in-house 501c(3) Fund, The Delaware KIDS Fund, successfully concluded its 4th annual “Camping out for Coats” fundraiser, the proceeds of which will purchase 2,600 new Operation Warm Coats for 2,600 local elementary students at various local Delaware schools including Highlands, Marbook, and Richey Elementary schools in the Wilmington, Delaware, area.
Notwithstanding COVID-19 challenges, this was the most successful coat campaign in the “Camping Out for Coats” program’s four-year history. Over 80 campers slept out overnight across 30 different campsites in 13 different towns across Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and North Carolina with an attempt to experience those harsh elements that homeless children in Delaware experience this time of year.
Launched in 2017, The Delaware KIDS Fund “Camping out for Coats” program is an annual challenge- based fundraising campaign providing brand new Operation Warm coats for every student at select schools ahead of the winter season.
The event was streamed live at www.campingforcoats.com in November. The live stream included a live virtual check-in with participating campers, virtual fire-side chats with guest speakers, live music with Sam Smick, Billy Pierce, and the popular Wilmington duo of Skinner and Spadola. The virtual event also featured an on-line silent auction and various camp inspired video presentations.
To accelerate monetary donations and strengthen awareness for local children in need, several members from the community traditionally camp out overnight at a designated site in downtown Newport, Delaware. This year, the annual campout was hosted remotely in a safe and socially distant format to help meet current CDC guidelines regarding live events. Coat distribution began in November and will continue into 2021 as organizers align with COVID-19 impacted school calendars.
Since 2017, The Delaware KIDS Fund, founding partner Harvey, Hanna & Associates and Operation Warm, a non-profit coat manufacturer, have collaborated to deliver over 8,600 coats to 8,600 local children at 15 different Delaware schools experiencing extraordinarily high poverty rates.
The Delaware KIDS Fund is also pleased to acknowledge two generous year end gifts towards the campaign from Michael Nemeroff, a Philadelphia entrepreneur and philanthropist, and his Rush Order Tee’s for $10,000 (Philadelphia, PA) and the Ellice and Rosa McDonald Foundation for $10,000 (Wilmington, DE). Wilmington, Delaware entrepreneur and philanthropist, E. Thomas Harvey, III also issued a fundraising donation match challenge which resulted in $11,830 additional funds collectively donated.
Over the past two years, The Delaware KIDS Fund has funded two school food pantries in partnership with the Food Bank of Delaware (Richey Elementary and Richardson Park Elementary). When schools were ordered to close in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic access to these pantries became impractical. Furthermore, the need to access food became greater and thousands of Delaware families were forced to quickly adapt in this new climate. We reached out to the Food Bank, listened to their needs and realized there was an opportunity to help.. Simultaneously, the Movies on Tap organizers were identifying ways they could raise funds in a safe and healthy format for the community during this extraordinary time. Movies on Tap is a local fundraising series collaboration between local craft breweries, local non-profits while celebrating classic movies on the big screen. Due to social distancing regulations, the series was put on a brief hiatus with the routine venue temporarily closed (Penn Cinema). Together we agreed to raise COVID-19 response funds for local at-risk children.
On Saturday, April 25 Movies on Tap held their first ever virtual Netflix Watch Party. Nearly 80 donors enjoyed Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark from the comfort and safety of their own home. By the end of the evening, $4,600 was raised. The Food Bank of Delaware has already turned 100% of those donations into 13,800 Backpack program meals for KIDS across the state! As a reference, with the Food Bank’s purchasing power, they can help provide 3 meals for every $1 raised. The virtual fundraising effort would also not be possible without the support of Spur Impact allowing us to utilize their local crowdfunding web platform at DEGives.org. This software added to the interactive/virtual spirit of our fundraiser.
The Delaware KIDS Fund would like to thank Movies on Tap for coordinating, Bellefonte Brewery for offering beer discounts to donors (21 and over) and most importantly all of the donors who turned this evening into a success! We loved seeing your participation online. Here are some of the highlights from the Movies on Tap Facebook Page.
