The Tallies are in: Unitus Holiday Drive Brings in $10,000+ for Homeless Kids in PDX

The final tallies from Unitus’ annual Holiday Drive are in. Altogether, Unitus employees and members, in partnership with nonprofit Gotta Have Sole, achieved a significant number of donations:

• A total of $9,934 raised for charity through employee fundraising efforts and corporate giving
• 240 pairs of new shoes, 861 pairs of new socks, and 256 cold-weather items including gloves, hats, and blankets for children living in shelters across Portland
• A $581 donation to Busia Compassionate Centre, an orphanage in western Kenya which provides essentials for overlooked children such as clothing, food, and shelter in order to help them live, learn, and grow into healthy adults
• 20 holiday shoeboxes for children and teen residents staying at the Good Neighbor Center during the holiday season. Boxes included items both essential and fun, including toothpaste, combs, books, movies, action figures, and candy.
• 103 care packages for patients at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. Packages included basic toiletries and hygiene items such as bottled water, toothbrushes, hand sanitizer, and shampoo/conditioner.

Giving their time

In addition to donations of dollars and goods, Unitus employees gave their time. They collectively donated 286 hours across 19 organizations during the month of December. That’s equivalent to providing seven full-time 40-hour weeks for charity, in the month of December alone.

Unitus members make it possible!

“I consider myself lucky to be surrounded by a team of employees who bring their full selves, including their passion for the community, to work every day,” said Aimee Berg, Community Development Officer at Unitus. “We couldn’t do this without the amazing relationships formed with schools and nonprofits through our community partnership program. And we couldn’t do this without our members who enable us to make these positive impacts in our communities.”

Posted By: Jacob Schnee

About the Author: Jacob joined Unitus as Marketing Specialist in March 2015 and transitioned to Marketing Communications Specialist in March 2017. His experience has spanned hospitality, business development, consulting, and marketing in various industries along the east coast, west coast and in between.

When he is not developing internal and external communications for Unitus, he is engaging in recreational fitness, studying personality types and exploring the outdoors with his wife, dog, and baby.