The Big Give 2017

May the Fourth Be With You!

The Big Give S.A. is all day today, May 4. For those who may not be familiar, The Big Give S.A. is a 24-hour day of giving. It’s organized by the Texas Nonprofit Council and the San Antonio Area Foundation, with the support of the New Braunfels Community Center and the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country.

Since 2014, 101,000 donors have given nearly $11 million dollars to over 1,600 nonprofits through the Big Give-making it one of the most successful giving days in the country.

You may remember that last year was challenging — After a series of technical failures, the national Give Local America site went down, and donors across the country had difficulty giving to the nonprofits of their choice. Our community still rallied to raise $4.3 million for 1,055 nonprofits in 2016! You are resilient and generous!

All the nonprofits we have helped in this past year or will help later this year are fundraising extra-hard today! Many are participating in special events all day. Here are their Big Give links. If a particular organization over the last year was special to you, or if one of our upcoming nonprofit partners has a special place in your heart, please give and GIVE BIG!

Elf Louise

San Antonio Food Bank

Family Violence Prevention Services

SAMMinistries

Animal Defense League

San Antonio AIDS Foundation

San Antonio Youth Literacy

Texas Burn Survivor Society

The Rape Crisis Center

Texas Diaper Bank

Alpha Home

Merced Housing Texas

SNIPSA

 

The Big Give 20172017-05-04T10:04:59-06:00

The Big Give

Today’s a big day! The Big Give S.A. is all day today, May 3. For those who may not be familiar, The Big Give S.A. is a 24-hour day of giving. It’s organized by the Texas Nonprofit Council and the San Antonio Area Foundation, with the support of the New Braunfels Community Center and the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country.

The Big Give S.A. launched in 2014 with a goal of raising $1 million in donations for local nonprofits. They exceeded that goal, with $2 million in donations raised.

In 2015, The Big Give S.A. expanded to include the 11 surrounding counties and doubled the goal, increasing it to $4 million. Again, it was exceeded, raising over $4.3 million raised for local nonprofit organizations.

The goal this year is $6 million, and all the nonprofits we have helped in this past year or will help later this year are fundraising extra-hard today! Many are participating in special events all day. Here are their Big Give links. If a particular organization over the last year was special to you, or if one of our upcoming nonprofit partners has a special place in your heart, please give and GIVE BIG!

Elf Louise (November 2015/16)

San Antonio Food Bank (December 2015/16)

Family Violence Prevention Services (January 2016)

SAMMinistries (February 2016/July 2016)

Animal Defense League (March 2016)

San Antonio AIDS Foundation (April 2016)

San Antonio Youth Literacy (May 2016)

Texas Burn Survivor Society (June 2016)

The Rape Crisis Center (August 2016)

Texas Diaper Bank (October 2016)

For any questions about The Big Give S.A., you may reach a Big Give team member at 210.774.GIVE.

The Big Give2016-05-15T09:22:06-06:00

Nerd Night Reminder and Meetup Group Updates

Nerd Night Updates

Just a quick note to remind everyone of Nerd Night on January 8th at Magic Beans. We’ll be collecting item donations for the Battered Women & Children’s Shelter run by Family Violence Prevention Services.

A quick look here will tell you a little more about FVPS and the shelter specifically.

We are again planning a lot of open gaming, a raffle (Prize TBD by whichever game gets to my house first, curse you FedEx!) and possibly a Ticket to Ride or Catan tournament, depending on interest. I’ve got two new games I’d like to play – Dead of Winter and Castles of Mad King Ludwig – and one borrowed game I need to practice, King of Tokyo. I’ll be demoing some IELLO games at PAX South and it’s probably best to be able to explain it quickly and concisely before a command performance 🙂 So I hope some of you will let me use you as guinea pigs.

Meetup Group

In case you missed it, we now have a meetup group! There are almost 100 people subscribed to the meetup as of this morning, and I’m super excited for what that means in terms of publicity for Nerd Night and for the new people it may bring to the event. We have 15 Yes RSVPs as of this posting. Some of those are brand new folks, so there will hopefully be some new faces at the event this Friday.

Very important!

Here is the list of requested donation items from FVPS. Please give generously and often 🙂 I’ll be collecting these items into boxes/bags at Nerd Night and delivering them to the shelter next week.

Again, thank you! See you on Friday night.

Nerd Night Reminder and Meetup Group Updates2016-01-04T14:53:33-06:00

Charity Spotlight: Family Violence Prevention Services, Inc.

Family Violence Prevention Services, Inc. (FVPS) has been helping victims of domestic violence in San Antonio since 1977.

They host a number of events throughout the year, raising funds to support their many services. Among these is the Battered Women and Children’s Shelter of Bexar County.

What is Domestic Violence?

Domestic violence is defined as a pattern of behavior in any relationship that is used to gain or maintain power and control over an intimate partner. Abuse is physical, sexual, emotional, economic or psychological actions or threats of actions that influence another person. This includes any behaviors that frighten, intimidate, terrorize, manipulate, hurt, humiliate, blame, injure or wound someone. Domestic violence can happen to anyone of any race, age, sexual orientation, religion or gender. It can happen to couples who are married, living together or dating. Domestic violence affects people of all socioeconomic backgrounds and education levels.

Odds are, there is someone in your life who struggles or has struggled with domestic violence. 74% of all Texans have experienced some form of domestic violence or have a friend or family member who has experienced it. 31% of all Texans report that they have been severely abused at some point in their lifetime. Some more statistics:

  • One in every four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime.
  • Almost one in three female homicide victims reported in police records were killed by an intimate partner.
  • One in six women and one in 33 men have experienced an attempted or completed rape.
  • Sexual assault or forced sex occurs in approximately 40-45% of abusive relationships.

What Can We Do to Help?

We are collecting items this month to support the Battered Women and Children’s Shelter of Bexar County. This very important service offered by FVPS gives women and their children a safe haven as they leave an abusive situation. Our donations will go toward providing their clients emergency food, clothing, personal care items and baby and child care items. Here is a link to their wish list. I’ve also put a short version in the event listing.

If you or someone you know is afraid about something in their relationship, the Battered Women and Children’s Shelter helps with the following resources:

  • 24-Hour Crisis Intervention Hotline: 210-733-8810
  • Individual and Group Counseling for Women and Children
  • On-site Attorneys
  • On-site Adult Education
  • Case Management
  • Transitional Housing
  • On-site Primary Medical and Dental Care

Again, if you are in immediate danger, call 911 or reach out to the Crisis Hotline at 210-733-8810.

Charity Spotlight: Family Violence Prevention Services, Inc.2016-11-25T10:59:38-06:00
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