Clark County’s annual midnight-to-midnight giving spree, Give More 24!, aims to raise $1 million for local charities on Thursday.
Last year, 2,362 unique donors gave 3,639 gifts that raised more than $695,000 for local causes during the 24-hour period; it fell short of the $750,000 target set by the Community Foundation for Southwest Washington, the host and marketing power behind the giving holiday.
Thursday, people will be donating money online at giving stations around the county, or anywhere they can access the internet. The minimum donation is $10. Donations will be tallied in real time on Give More 24!’s website. People can search for agencies by name, cause or county (most are Clark County-based, but there are also Cowlitz and Multnomah county, Ore., organizations). The website — www.give-more-24.org — and social media are a big part of Give More 24! Likewise, online presence has become a big part of nonprofits efforts to reach potential new donors, particularly young adults.
There are more than a dozen $1,000 prizes, nearly $145,000 in matching gifts and a $72,000 “stretch pool” that local nonprofits will be trying to earn.
This year, the main hub of Give More 24! will be set up from 1 to 7 p.m. at Vancouver Mall, at 8700 N.E. Vancouver Mall Drive. The event features crafts and games for children, as well as entertainment from Hello Vancouver! at 4 p.m. Adults can also get beer and cider tastings. For more information, contact Chrissy Trammel at 360-694-2550 or chrissy@cfsww.org.
Grabbing attention
Give More 24! is a chance for nonprofits to put on eye-grabbing events or stunts that get people to learn more about what they do. This year, a few are doing marathons of one type or another.
The Clark County Food Bank is taking on an ambitious task: visit 24 grocery stores in 24 hours. The food bank will visit area Wal-Marts, Albertsons, Fred Meyers, New Seasonses, Targets, Safeways and QFCs, which participate in the food bank’s Fresh Alliance program that recovers food from grocery stores. The food bank will set up a table near the entrance to each store and stay there for 30 to 40 minutes encouraging people to donate money to help end hunger locally. For the schedule, call 360-693-0939.
Similarly, the Clark County Historical Museum will be doing all 12 Vancouver neighborhood tours starting at 9 a.m. at Esther Short Park. While the tours are free, there will be fundraising goals every hour or so. If they aren’t met, Curator Brad Richardson said, he will stop the tour. “It’s a stunt, but it’s a stunt that teaches people about history,” he said.
As the history museum was approaching the end of the tour season, “I made a joke: To raise funds, I should do a walkathon. It became a real thing.”
Check the museum’s website, www.cchmuseum.org, next week for the Tourpocalypse schedule.
The School of Piano Technology for the Blind is bringing back its midnight-to-midnight jam session where musicians take turns playing piano for 24 hours.
“The goal of Play More 24 is to raise awareness of the school’s mission to provide training in piano technology to blind individuals and, at the same time, to raise much-needed funding to replace the school’s aging and leaky roof,” said Cheri Martin, executive director.
The school looks to fill a number of performance slots. Interested in playing? Contact the school at 360-693-1511, email cherim@pianotuningschool.org or visit www.pianotuningschool.org.
Events
There will be other festivities around the county to encourage charitable giving.
• Mill Creek Pub, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. at 1710 S.W. Ninth Ave., Battle Ground: The Mill Creek Pub will host a giving lounge, including giving stations, food and a dunk tank. People will be “dunking for dollars” throughout the day. Contact Angel Escobedo at 360-567-1085 or director@leadershipclarkcounty.com for more information.
• Umpqua Bank, 1 to 3 p.m. at 1400 Washington St.: Umpqua Bank will be encouraging giving and celebrating National Ice Cream Cone Day by doling out free ice cream at its Washington Street branch.
• Kiggins Theatre, 5 to 10 p.m. at 1101 Main St.: Great Western Malting and 10 Vancouver breweries will raise money for local nonprofits through a free showing of “Strange Brew.” Beer sales will benefit nonprofits. Contact the Kiggins Theatre at 360-816-0352 or info@kigginstheatre.com to learn more.
• Sifton Elementary School, all day at 7301 N.E. 137th Ave.: Teach One to Lead One is organizing a service day where volunteers can spruce up the school, staff can get car washes and students can get haircuts and food. Contact Marc Logan for more information at marc.logan@T1L1.org or by calling 360-828-1402.
• Second Step Housing, 8 to 9 a.m. at 2500 Main St.: Pacific Perks will have a free coffee cart at Second Step Housing’s Vancouver offices to encourage charitable giving. Contact Mary Hopkins for more information at 360-719-4073 or mary@secondstephousing.org.
• Boomerang, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 808 Main St.: Light lunch and refreshments will be served at Boomerang, which will also have shopping and giving stations. Contact Peter Johnsen at 360-952-8127 or peter@generosityreturns.com for more information.
• Columbia Springs, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at 12208 S.E. Evergreen Highway: Learn about what bugs can reveal about water quality and why water flows through a hatchery during this all-ages guided hike. There will be door prizes, an art project and a chemistry activity during this special edition of Columbia Springs’ monthly guided hikes.
• Clark County parks, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.: City officials will swing at parks around Clark County to support the Parks Foundation. Learn more about the day’s “swing shifts” at www.parksfoundation.us.
The Columbian is the official media sponsor for Give More 24!
