Building Something Bigger (ExtraGive 2020)

I don’t know all of you personally, but, if we could somehow sit down for coffee or tea or a box of caramels, this is what I’d want to talk with you about right now.

One of my favorite things about living in Lancaster is the Extraordinary Give.

I lived on the other side of the state for 10 years, and, when I moved back in 2015, this huge day of giving was such a blessing to me. I was able to look through a giant list of amazing organizations that were working hard right in my neighborhood to care for the community and lift others up.

I remember searching through the categories to find organizations that spoke to the causes closest to my heart and adding a small donation to my giving cart for each one. After so many years away, I immediately felt like I belonged here in Lancaster—that I was part of something greater than myself.

Did you know that cities all across the country hold giving days like ours, but that ExtraGive is exponentially larger? Last I checked, the national average for city-wide giving days was $1.5 million with 8,600 individual donors. Here? Over $10 million with nearly 25,000 donors in 2019! Way to go, Lancaster! I love this city.

It’s time to do it again!

The 2020 ExtraGive is next Friday, November 20, all day long. It’s our chance as people who have been blessed with extraordinary excess to pour out onto our community and help our neighbors. It may not be a specifically Christ-centered event, but I always feel the Lord’s specific presence with us during this day. I know He is pleased when we care for those around us.

This year, A Woman’s Concern is focusing on a theme of building strong families, which you’ll see emphasized in our LEGO-style graphics. For us, that starts with empowering a mother to recognize the life of her unborn child as precious, cherished, and worth protecting… and continues through that mother’s entire pregnancy, through helping the family to grow together in maturity and knowledge for the baby’s first year out in this world.

We want YOU to be part of showing Lancaster that we can—and do—care for preborn babies PLUS empower women and strengthen whole families.

Many of you already gave generously during the Legacy of Life gala online, and WE ARE GRATEFUL. If that’s you, we ask that you consider signing up as a fundraising champion to help spread the word about AWC and our work in the community. More about that here

We’ll be tracking our progress throughout the day using building blocks, with each one representing $100. (You can follow along at our main Facebook page.) I have 400 blocks to build with, so do that math and you’ll note that I’m aiming even higher than I seem to be. I think we can get every one of these blocks stacked up by midnight on the 20th.

Will you help us build?