By Kristin Byrnes
CEO & President, Project Access

Our Saturday, October 15, Project Access held its annual fundraising event at the beautiful Waterfront Beach Resort on the sands of Huntington Beach here in Southern California. It was an evening of celebration (themed “Keys to Success”) as we feted our achievements from coast-to-coast in cultivating strong communities, positive changes, and hopeful futures for the residents we serve in more than 85 communities across the country.

It was a night of great food, fine drinks, carefree fun, and the ideal vehicle to gather with our friends, valued supporters, and Project Access team as we generated funds to effectively serve families, children, and seniors living in affordable housing communities in 16 states! Thanks to our 154 guests and sponsors, we raised an incredible $337,000. This sum represents “Keys to Success” and will open doors to new support and programs at our Project Access Resource Centers across the country.

Typically, our highly anticipated and fun-filled evening is greeted with abundant sunshine and warm temps, but instead, we were met by gray skies and rainy weather. But nothing could dampen the enthusiasm of our attendees and sponsors or the evening’s incredible overall success. Our 12 sponsors for the evening, led by Bridge Investment Group, helped us to reach our impressive fundraising tally, along with our live auction and cocktail hour jewelry mystery bag pull presented by our friends at Tacori.

The evening was also a showcase of Project Access as a national platform. We are very proud of our hometown of Santa Ana, California, where we were founded in 1999. Today our Resource Centers stretch from the northernmost point of Washington state to the southern tip of Florida and from the coast of California to the rocky shores of Maryland, providing much-needed services to more than 22,000 residents annually.

Over the past year, Project Access has scored an extraordinary record of achievement for a non-profit organization:

  • 20,545 residents accessed services at Project Access in more than 80 neighborhoods (like Southfork) nationwide to improve their health, education, finances, or community connections
  • 151,888 snacks, meals, and groceries distributed
  • 110,687 hours of out-of-classroom support provided in After School Programs
  • 16,138 residents engaged in community building
  • 11,785 residents involved in Health & Wellness services
  • 4,932 residents are involved in services to support economic stability
  • 3,927 youth and parents/caregivers involved in services to further youth education
  • 1,438 residents accessed the computer lab

These stats are worth celebrating. We are proud of our work and honored by the support we receive on this particular night and throughout the year. All of us at Project Access look forward to turning new keys and opening new doors in our ongoing pursuit of cultivating strong communities, positive changes, and hopeful futures for our families.

For more photos from the event, please click here.

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