ACC Sets New Record on Big Day of Giving!

ACC Senior Services raised over $308,000 for this year’s Big Day of Giving! ACC’s 50th anniversary campaign for the Sacramento regional fundraising marathon was nothing short of big, including four thrilling lead-in events and a two-day telethon featuring both classic acts and new surprises. Long-time donors and new supporters alike joined us for poignant conversations on caregiving, delicious cooking demonstrations, and pickleball and golf tournaments. Yet the two-day telethon definitely stole the show, treating viewers to back-to-back evenings packed with entertainment. Linda Cabatic’s article on the Big DAYS of Giving events will take you through every profound, delicious, exhilarating, and entertaining step of our Big DAYS of Giving program.

Jean Shiomoto, Don Morishita, and Holly Fong Korach announced the winners of the golf tournament.

Staff and volunteers alike are still celebrating this year’s result, not only because it broke another all-time fundraising record, but also because it means exciting months ahead for our programs.

As part of our 50th anniversary, we are committing to an even more responsive and comprehensive Community of Caring. This includes expanding our Home and Community-Based Services with a “No Wrong Door” caregiving approach – in essence, services that identify and address everyone’s needs in full.

Watch full recording of ACC’s Big Day of Giving Telethon
View ACC Big Day of Giving sponsors and donors

Thanks in part to Big Day of Giving, we are formally launching our Senior Escort Program (SEP), which offers volunteers to accompany adults over the age of 60 for walks, errands, and other activities. This program arose from the Sacramento Senior Safety Collaborative (Sac SSC) in response to growing anti-Asian hate incidents, the majority of which have been targeted at seniors. Program volunteers are trained in bystander intervention to help make potentially uncomfortable public outings easier and offer companionship and support throughout the outings. The program’s soft launch in 2021 scheduled 35 outings, and program staff aim to have at least 30 monthly outings and events for participants this year.

Jeri Shikuma with Suleka Lindley, the owner of Thai Basil Restaurant, on ACC’s Big Day of Cooking.

In addition to this wonderful program debut, well-established programs and resources will benefit from the Big Day of Giving. ACC Rides will expand to offer more same-day service scheduling, a vital option for seniors with mobility issues who have an urgent errand to run or who forget to schedule a ride to an appointment. This flexibility will give Rides participants peace of mind. Speaking of flexibility, Lifelong Learning & Wellness is expanding its fan-favorite cooking demonstrations with a wider variety of dishes, including plant-based cooking classes requested by our supporter community.

Julie Meline and Kala Haley-Clark tallied the telethon totals.

Of course, our 50th anniversary fundraising campaigns also go to maintaining care of our residents, programs, and services. This support is essential for keeping ACC on a strong foundation and helps us make important improvements (like a new roof for our ACC Greenhaven Terrace independent and assisted living facility) and continue COVID safety measures.

The secret to our success, as always, is the strong Community of Caring that supports care of our residents, programs, and services. More than 600 gifts came in for this year’s Big Day of Giving, and nearly one-third of this year’s donors supported the Big Day of Giving last year. These loyal supporters not only gave to support our Community of Caring but got the word out to their friends and family, helping us welcome 77 brand new donors who fell in love with our mission.

Brian Soublet processed phone donations during the telethon.

Finally, several major gifts from Roger and Florence Fong, an anonymous donor, Joaquin Ngarangad, Darrick and Jackie Lam, David and Jean Shiomoto, and Craig and Kathi Sue helped us reach third place on the Sacramento Region Community Foundation Big Day of Giving campaign leaderboard and beat last year’s Big Day of Giving total by nearly one hundred thousand dollars. Roger and Florence Fong declared their $50,000 gift during the May 5th telethon, causing a huge cheer to erupt in between entertainment acts. Several of our leading donors leveraged their gifts in new ways by pledging a gift to a matching fund pool, allowing donors to double their impact. In fact, over a quarter of our Big Day of Giving funds raised were dedicated to our matching funds pool.

All of ACC thank our generous supporters, without whom none of this would be possible. We are honored that you are the BIG heart behind our Big DAYS of Giving!