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Yahoo
03-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Day of Giving event Friday has year-round impact
CHEYENNE — The 20th annual Cheyenne Day of Giving will take place Friday, but the support the fundraiser provides for the community lasts all year long. 'The work we do outside of May is every bit as important as the Day of Giving itself, because both instances, the event and the work throughout the year, helps fill the gap between what agencies need and what they have the money for,' said Greta Morrow, founder of the Day of Giving. On Friday, volunteers will collect physical donations like food, personal-care items and craft items. In addition, Day of Giving collects monetary donations that are used to purchase items for the 16 community organizations partnered with Day of Giving throughout the year. One hundred percent of the donations received go back into the community, Morrow said. The monetary donations are never given to these organizations as raw funds. Instead, the nonprofits submit their needs to the Day of Giving board each quarter to request certain items to be purchased with the funds they have been allocated. Morrow said this is done so she knows the donors' money will not go to pay administrative costs, but directly support local nonprofits. One of the beneficiaries of the year-round efforts as part of Day of Giving is COMEA House and Resource Center, the local homeless shelter, which provides housing, free meals, case management and some transportation to those in need. 'Day of Giving is a year-round benefit for us. I mean, it's such a blessing,' said Robin Bocanegra, executive director of COMEA. She said one of the current needs at the shelter is a new washing machine and dryer, after both have stopped working recently in the family shelter. COMEA is typically allotted between $1,100 and $1,300 each quarter to request items for purchase by Day of Giving. Most of the year, those funds are used to pay for items COMEA is in need of but may not have the budget for at the time, like a washing machine or a snow blower. During the holiday season, those funds are often used to purchase gifts for the COMEA residents. Bocanegra said she and her staff ask residents to put items like clothes or hygiene products on a wish list, and COMEA will purchase it using Day of Giving funds. 'Some of them tell us, 'I don't want anything. Just being able to have shelter is enough for me.' So, then we'll go out and buy them something,' she said. 'We make sure everybody has a brand-new hoodie at Christmas time or a backpack and things like that. So yeah, that money is very helpful.' Of the 16 nonprofits that benefit from Day of Giving, 12 receive support year-round. Morrow said the amount each organization receives every quarter is calculated based on the funds available and the size of the need for each nonprofit. 'We have established a percent, and it's very fungible, you know, we can move things around if an agency needs extra help one quarter,' Morrow said. She added that because an agency may need less funds doesn't mean it's any less important. Needs Inc., which provides food, essential items and resources to Laramie County residents in need, typically receives the most funds each quarter because of the size of the nonprofit and the number of people it serves. Morrow said Needs Inc. has used the funds from Day of Giving in the past to purchase things like Hamburger Helper or large orders of food from the Rocky Mountain Food Bank. Another beneficiary of the Day of Giving donations is Magic City Enterprises, which provides support to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Morrow said the funds have been used to pay the balance of the cost of special glasses not covered by insurance for some clients, to purchase a bed for a Magic City client who could not afford it, and supplies for clients to do crafts and make gifts. Each year, Day of Giving spends around $70,000 on its year-round work. Morrow said she would happily spend more on the community if they received more donations. Two pledges cover all event and administrative fees not donated so that 100% of the funds received can go toward meeting the organizations' needs. Going into its 20th year, Morrow said the work Cheyenne Day of Giving does is only possible because of the support from the community. 'It's not because of the board, because all we do is organize,' she said. '... It's the community that makes Day of Giving successful. It's the people that understand there's a hidden population, a huge hidden population, in our community that cannot provide for their families' life necessities without some help.' Donations can be made to Day of Giving on its website or by check to P.O. Box 192, Cheyenne WY 82003, year-round.
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Cancer survivor's journey sparks 20 years of Cheyenne Day of Giving
CHEYENNE — If Greta Morrow could go back in time more than 20 years and tell herself that her battle with cancer would lead to the lasting legacy of Cheyenne Day of Giving, she's not sure her younger self would believe it. What she does know is that even two decades ago, she felt called to support her community. Morrow survived Stage 4 leukemia and lymphoma thanks, in part, to a bone marrow transplant. During her battle with cancer, Cheyenne's First Presbyterian Church, where she was a deacon, had a blood drive and bone marrow donor registration drive to support her. 'The next year, I thought it would be neat if we could get the whole community to come together and give blood, register bone marrow donors, and maybe we could ask them to bring food to donate,' Morrow said. Though Morrow's newfound understanding of the need for blood and bone marrow donors helped kickstart the event, her nearly 30-year teaching career also inspired her to include basic needs in the fundraising event. Partnered with Needs Inc., COMEA House and Resource Center, and The Salvation Army, the first year of Cheyenne Day of Giving in 2006 saw 1,500 pounds of food donated. Last year, that number reached a record high of 29,305 pounds of food donated, along with items in other categories. 'It continued to grow, and the community continued to support us, and we added ways to give,' Morrow said. 'So now it's what takes up the whole (Kiwanis) Community House, and we have lots of different ways to give. It's been an amazing show of support by the community.' Though the event no longer includes a blood drive due to a lack of participants, the first Day of Giving included the option to give blood and register to be a bone marrow, organ or tissue donor. The event has grown in ways to give, the number of congregations and businesses supporting it, the number of donations and the number of agencies helped through the years. 'It's very humbling because we just took it one year at a time,' Morrow said. 'I did it on my own for like a week, and then there was a committee. People just really wanted to help, and that was great. Gradually, over the years, the community has learned more and more.' Caroline Veit is one of those who has been with the Day of Giving since the beginning, though she doesn't consider herself a true founder. When Morrow was just starting out, Veit had just moved to Cheyenne from Virginia. Having worked for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, she, too, felt passionate about creating awareness about blood cancers and bone marrow donors. 'Often, when people get to the end of blood cancers, the only option is a bone marrow transplant,' Veit said. '... Greta is a blood cancer survivor because of a bone marrow transplant, survived it, and continues to survive and thrive.' While the focus on the bone marrow registry and blood cancer awareness is still a part of the event, Veit said the Cheyenne Day of Giving has always really been about helping those who are sick or in need. That has extended from major illness to disability or dire financial situations. 'The biggest change is the awareness,' Cheyenne Day of Giving Board Treasurer Kristal Wood said. 'More and more people are aware of what we are and what we do. For a long time, it amazed me how many people had never heard of Cheyenne Day of Giving, but now I think our name is out there a lot more than it used to be.' Day of Giving has expanded over the years, helping organizations with a myriad of needs. Whether it's food, personal care items, craft supplies, medical supplies, cellphones, housewares, furniture or financial donations, volunteers find a place for all contributions. People can even bring in leftover prescription medication, which the Wyoming Medication Donation Program will take in and either redistribute to those in need or properly dispose of. No matter how the Day of Giving grows, the generosity of the local community grows along with it. 'One of my mottos when I was teaching was, 'If everybody does a little, nobody has to do a lot,'' Morrow said. '... If we can educate the public about the needs in our community — and it goes all the way from food and personal care items (to) all the different ways we have to give and address needs in the community — if we can educate them about that, and they understand that, they'll respond. It's been shown to be true every year.'
