Palm Beach County Charities Put $1.5 Million to Work in the Community

Palm Beach County Charities Put $1.5 Million to Work in the Community Following Great Charity Challenge, Presented by Fidelity Investments

On Saturday, February 4, 2017, Palm Beach County residents rejoiced as the Great Charity Challenge, presented by Fidelity Investments® (GCC), distributed $1.5 million to local non-profit organizations at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) in Wellington, FL. The GCC has become a highlight of the 12-week Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF), organized by Equestrian Sport Productions, and has distributed $10.8 million to over 200 local organizations in eight years.

What does $1.5 million at work truly look like?

Over the last six weeks, the 48 benefiting non-profit organizations from this year’s GCC have submitted their fund use reports, detailing how the funding received that evening will help them further their mission.
The final numbers are in: 196,627 lives will directly be impacted from this year’s fundraising efforts. With grants ranging from $1,000 to $150,000, funding will assist with everything from brick and mortar needs, to starting up new programs in the community, and bridging the funding gap between government grants and fundraising.
To view the full fund use report, please visit: www.greatcharitychallenge.com

Here are a few examples of the funds at work:
Adopt-A-Family of the Palm Beaches had a fairy tale evening. Selected as a wildcard that night, team sponsor the Patten Family and corporate sponsor H5 Stables competed for the randomly drawn organization and took homesecond place, gifting Adopt-a-Family with a $125,000 grant. The agency expects to assist 2,100 children with the funding.

Achievement Centers for Children & Families has been serving Palm Beach County’s most vulnerable children and families since 1969. Their goal as a non-profit social services agency is to provide affordable quality care to children whose parents otherwise could not maintain their job or go to school without their help. Sponsored by Swede Ventures and the Benjamin Family, Achievement Centers for Children & Families will be assisting 800 children and their families through the $55,000 grant they received that evening.

Funding from the GCC also assists with basic costs, such as in the case of Grandma’s Place, an organization that serves 100 abused, neglected, and/or abandoned children that come to their shelter each year.

The Light House Café Ministries of the Glades received $28,000 thanks to team sponsors Hollow Creek Farm and the Shaughnessy Family. The funds will not only support general operations, but also repair and improve theirkitchen, which will enable them to continue serving 54,000 individuals this upcoming year.

Megan Keenan Clemmons, Executive Director of YMCA of South Palm Beach County, Inc., whose organization received two grants that evening (one for $5,000 from the Grand Prix Society’s Ziegler Family Foundation and $7,500 as a randomly drawn grant) sums it up: “THANK YOU for being there for your community’s charities. Because of you we can serve more than ever before.”

More information on the competition, full charity fund use report, and a complete list of donations made to date can be viewed by visiting www.greatcharitychallenge.com.
All benefiting organizations will be reporting their progress quarterly for the upcoming calendar year. Please follow their progress via the event Facebook page: www.facebook.com/greatcharitychallenge.

Suzanne Ashton

Suzanne Ashton, Founder of Everything Horse (Est, 2012), has a BA Hons in Marketing Management and a Diploma in Equine Science. Suzanne has ridden and owned horses all her life and has twelve years of experience in marketing, writing, design, SEO, and website creation.