It’s a Wrap!

The Big Day of Giving at ACC Senior Service raised $307,839, shattering last year’s record of $210,000! More than 750 non-profits in the Sacramento Region participated in this year’s Big Day of Giving. ACC Senior Services landed #3 on the Big Day of Giving Leaderboard just behind Yolo Food Bank and the Salvation Army. Donations are still coming in through the mail, so ACC’s total is expected to increase. 

This year featured several Big Day of Giving events culminating in a two-day telethon held on May 4 and 5. The lead-up events included ACC’s Big Day of Caring, Big Day of Pickleball, Big Day of Cooking, and Big Day of Golfing. The telethon feature nine hours of entertainment and storytelling from the ACC community, livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook from the outdoor studio at ACC Senior Services. 

View photos of the telethon.

Emcees Jean Shiomoto, Tim Corcoran, Jeri Shikuma, Scott Okamoto, and Dani Lee were vivacious, fun, and as popular as the acts they introduced. New acts this year included the Remix Barbershop Quarter (the youngest member is 81), Ho’opili Hawaiian Band with Carla Fontanilla, Larry Lew and the Jazz Crew, Yesenia Jones, Patty Wood, and Dick Mazon. Returning acts include Merv Maruyama, Maeley Tom, the Gracious Ladies O Kehaula’i Hula, ACC Pocket Pickers, ACC Folk Guitar Club, and Asian Pair. 

The theme of the telethon was Compassion. Just about every performer and presenter told a story about a family member or about their journey as a caregiver, and how compassion is ingrained into ACC’s culture. High schoolers Andrew Louie and Zach Gee gave moving testimonies on why they volunteer at ACC. Tamara Kario, Soojin Yoo, and Virginia Wieneke told stories about the exceptional ACC employees who serve the community with purpose and passion. The students who performed in  Franklin High School’s Vocal Ensemble spoke about living with their grandparents and why it’s important to support older adults in their remaining years.

The telethon paid tribute to Lonnie Wong on his retirement from 50 years in journalism, 41 of those years at Fox40 News. Lonnie emceed a 30-minute segment of the telethon with co-host Scott Okamoto. Nilda Valmores, the Executive Director of My Sister’s house, was also honored. She is stepping down after 18 years of service and turning the reins over to Yen Marshall, formerly executive of AT&T and a well-known leader in Sacramento’s non-profit community.  Television personality Tina Macuha joined Nilda in a touching performance of “For Good” from the musical Wicked. Lonnie and Nilda were presented with a special edition of the ACC News with their pictures and tributes from friends in the ACC community. 

Producing nine hours of livestreamed programming required months of planning and preparation. Members of the Big Day of Giving workgroup, co-chaired by Jean Shiomoto and Titus Toyama, divided and conquered the heavy lifting. This included researching and producing each show segment, scriptwriting, emceeing, the phone bank, IT support, video production, volunteer management, marketing, donor relations, set design, camera operations, audio engineering, and even the hospitality service (food!) for the performers and presenters. 80 percent of the show was live, supplemented with more than 25 pre-recorded videos. 

Donations for the Big Day of Giving started in early April and peaked on the second day of the telethon, which opened with Roger and Florence Fong calling into the show with a $50,000 donation! Early estimates show that our donor count was 550, an increased of 30% over last year.

A big THANK YOU to all of our donors, volunteers, performers, and presenters who made this year’s Big Day of Giving the biggest ever.