Despite restrictions to in-person gatherings during the 2020 holiday season, the General Building Contractors Association’s (GBCA) Construction Leadership Council (CLC) still found a way to support Philadelphians in need and provide some much-needed holiday spirit. In 2020, the CLC moved its holiday fundraising activities predominantly online.
The CLC kicked off the holiday season before Thanksgiving, collecting food and funds for Philabundance, a local hunger relief organization. In partnership with the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters and the Carpenter Contractor Trust, the CLC raised over $21,250, which purchased over 114,750 lbs. of fresh food! Several CLC members also collected food from their respective companies, and gathered on November 20 to donate it.
The CLC also moved its 2020 Holiday Toy Drive online and raised $4,200 to purchase gifts for Northern Children’s Services (NCS), a non-profit organization supporting the healthy development of children by stabilizing their distressed families. To help GBCA members get into the spirit of gift giving, members could earmark donations to purchase toys, sporting equipment, learning supplies, and electronics.
For the CLC, the virtual Holiday Toy Drive’s success was bittersweet, since in past, a highlight was coming together and delivering the toys to NCS. “Although we will sincerely miss seeing your faces and marveling at the wonderful gifts provided by GBCA, we are deeply grateful for this year's gift,” Renata Cobbs-Fletcher, M.S., President and CEO of Northern Children’s Services said. “[We] are very much hoping to see [GBCA’s CLC] in 2021.”
Giving back to the community is a high priority for GBCA’s CLC, and we value the relationships that we’ve built with our community organizations over the years. The CLC looks forward to giving to and working with Philabundance and NCS in 2021!