— Photo by Free-Photos / Pixabay
Newport Beach-based organization Orange County Community Foundation partnered with a dozen local nonprofits earlier this month to host “Love Is” Giving Day in an effort to support healthy teen relationships.
The 24-hour event raised $117,918 with participation from 421 donors, officials confirmed in a Feb. 13 OCCF press release.
Held during Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, the funds will benefit local organizations working to educate youth about the value of respect and the characteristics of healthy and unhealthy relationships.
“Thanks to the dedicated work of local nonprofits and our compassionate community, teens throughout Orange County will be more empowered to foster respectful, healthy relationships,” OCCF President and CEO Shelley Hoss said in a prepared statement. “We’re thrilled with the success of the first collaborative Giving Day of 2020, and congratulate the efforts of our valued nonprofit partners who are tackling the most important issues facing our county.”
The 12 nonprofits that participated in the Love Is Giving Day included Casa de la Familia; Find Your Anchor; Human Options; Laura’s House; LGBTQ Center OC; OC Pride; Orange County Women’s Health Project; Planned Parenthood of Orange & San Bernardino Counties, Inc.; The Priority Center; Tilly’s Life Center; the UC Irvine Initiative to End Family Violence; and Women’s Transitional Living Center.
The Collaborative Giving Day is the first of year and the latest in a series launched in 2018 by OCCF to boost the capacity of nonprofits through collective giving, according to officials. The eight Giving Days held throughout 2019 raised more than $1.6 million to benefit local organizations, OCCF reported.
According to officials, OCCF first challenged Orange County residents to “give where their heart lives” during the inaugural i ♥oc Giving Day in 2015, raising more than $1.8 million for 347 participating nonprofits in just 30 hours. OCCF nearly doubled those results in 2016, receiving contributions totaling $3.2 million for 418 participating nonprofits. In 2018, OCCF restructured i ♥oc as an expanded opportunity for nonprofits to connect with one another in support of their shared missions.
In total, the Giving Days held to date have raised more than $8 million for Orange County nonprofits.
For more information, visit oc-cf.org/iheartoc.
