On Saturday, September 27, 2014 in celebration of the ideals of local philanthropist George Eastman, the George Eastman House hosted their annual 5K walk/run and invited all area nonprofits to fundraise on their own behalf for the event. And once again, TEAM ABVI was in the top 5 fundraising teams out of the 70 teams participating!
The team grew from 42 people last year to 58 this year due to the support of local businesses including employees from Spectracom, Rochester Optical, Visionary Eye Associates, and Leo J. Roth Corporation.
“Running the 5K was the culmination of several events that Spectracom employees have participated in to support the important work of ABVI-Goodwill. The only thing brighter than the beautiful fall Linden trees lining our route was the enthusiasm of my fellow colleagues. Whether it has been helping to organize the Gala to holding bake sales and makeover parties, the Spectracom team loves being able to work with such a well-organized group of professionals at ABVI to raise funds that enable exceptional services for the blind and visually impaired in our community,” noted Lisa Withers, Spectracom President and CEO and an ABVI board member.
With the hard work of these team members along with ABVI staff, friends and family, TEAM ABVI raised over $6,500 to support ABVI’s mission.
“It was nice to see more people from the community supporting ABVI. Of course, what I like best is that this is a great way for us to raise funds for mission and make new friends. I liked seeing that the participants of TEAM ABVI seemed to really enjoy themselves, even those who are non-runners,” said Tracy Schleyer, ABVI's Vice President of Development and a TEAM ABVI team member.
We’re grateful to those individuals who walked, ran, and fundraised on our behalf and all of the generous donors who supported them. Also thanks to local artist Joe Guy Allard who loaned us a tent so TEAM ABVI could proudly claim its spot as one of the top fundraising teams along the finish line.
Meanwhile, ABVI staff member Matt Smeltzer was training for a very different race in support of ABVI. Matt ran 50 miles in the Can Lake 50 to raise money for the ABVI Empowerment Fund. This fund focuses on children’s programs and transportation to critical appointments for those who are blind or visually impaired. And because long-time ABVI volunteer Shirley Preston believes in empowering others, she is matching all donations to the Empowerment Fund up to $100,000.
This means that the $1,789.0that Matt raised will go twice as far to support the work that ABVI does!
Thank you to all the generous donors who gave to Matt’s amazing effort!