Thomas House raises more than $75,000 for Homeless Services
Thomas House Family Shelter raised more than $75,000 as part of an effort to help end homelessness in Orange County. The shelter partnered with the Orange County Community Foundation (OCCF) on Wednesday, April 25 to host Help Them Home, a giving day for Orange County’s homeless. Help Them Home is an annual, 24-hour online effort aimed at raising critical funds for more than 16 local organizations, including Thomas House, that provide shelter and supportive services for the more than 4,400 individuals who are homeless in Orange County.
“Help Them Home is a wonderful opportunity to not only raise money, but to raise awareness in the community about Orange County’s homelessness crisis, the number of which rises every year,” says Natalie Julien, Executive Director, Thomas House Family Shelter. “We’re thrilled to have been given the chance to collaborate with OCCF and the other 15 OC organizations who make such an impact on the lives of those in need.”
Help Them Home is part of a bold campaign initiated by OCCF to boost the capacity of local nonprofits to meet the community’s needs through a series of Collaborative Giving Days throughout 2018. OCCF empowers local organizations involved in the Help Them Home campaign by providing seed funding to support the marketing assets, campaign resources and collaborate partnerships.
“We were excited to empower aligned nonprofits to work together to maximize impact,” said Shelley Hoss, president, OCCF. “We were thrilled to provide these groups with the resources they needed to be successful, including a marketing toolkit and a robust online fundraising platform.”
Led by Thomas House Family Shelter, Families Forward and HomeAid Orange County, the 16 participating organizations aimed to collectively raise $500,000 to help end homelessness in Orange County. The campaign-wide goal was exceeded and garnered $743,700.
Thomas House Family Shelter is a Garden Grove-based nonprofit shelter that houses families with children and helps them transition into an independent, sustainable lifestyle through financial education, counseling, youth support and more. The shelter seeks to fulfill its mission of providing a safe, supportive environment and the resources necessary for homeless families with children to remain together, while empowering them to become independent and self-sufficient.
Though Help Them Home had a collective goal among the 16 nonprofits, Thomas House had an individual goal of $50,000 as part of the campaign. In addition, multiple match donations were generously offered to help the shelter reach its goal, including a $15,000 match donation from Western Colloid and a $7,500 match donation offered by Wahoo’s Fish Tacos. All money raised during the campaign on behalf of Thomas House directly benefits the shelter, which has an 80 to 90 percent success rate for helping families find work and move into a home of their own.
“We’re overwhelmed at the positive response Help Them Home received, and the willingness of others to help the countless individuals who are homeless on any given night,” says Julien. “At Thomas House alone, this campaign helps support nearly 40 families, or roughly 150 adults and children, each year.”
