Together We Rise Wins $100K in Crowdsourcing Contest

The Together We Rise crew at this year’s BrandSource Convention

By Alan Wolf, YSN

BrandSource charity partner Together We Rise (TWR) received a $100,000 shot in the arm from fundraising platform Omaze, thanks in part to the AVB staff.

Together We Rise was one of three finalists in the weekly “Omaze Owards” contest, which provides donated funds to charities based on votes by the public. Word of the $100,000 winnings came from AVB Marketing project manager Amanda Nelson, who first brought the foster care support service to BrandSource’s attention.

Sharing the news with her colleagues via Teams, Nelson noted that Together We Rise “asked me to pass along their gratitude for everyone who took the time to vote in the Omaze contest last week. They were so appreciative that we put forth the effort and wanted to also share that they won the $100,000!”

She added, “As a lot of you know, this partnership and initiative is very important to me, so in addition to their gratitude, I’d like to offer my own. Thank you for not only stepping up in this scenario, but for embracing our partnership with the TWR family. I can’t wait to see what we continue to do together to help change the lives for foster kids in our communities. Thank you!”

As Omaze explained, Together We Rise is dedicated to transforming the way children navigate the foster care system in America by partnering with thousands of nationwide foster care agencies, CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) organizations, community nonprofits and other groups to distribute resources to foster youth. In 2020 alone, they provided resources to over 200,000 foster children, approximately half the youth who are currently in the system.

For its part, BrandSource has become a TWR “Superhero Partner” for raising nearly $400,000 for the charity over the past year through the generosity of members, their Regions, vendors and staff. Indeed, more than $160,000 was raised in a Jeep Wrangler raffle at the BrandSource 2021 Convention thanks to member donations and the support of Beko, Electrolux, Miele, Samsung, Serta, Tempur Sealy, Whirlpool and especially GE and LG, which respectively contributed $10,000 and a second Jeep Wrangler.

In a blog post, TWR wrote, “We’d like to thank BrandSource for partnering with Together We Rise. Your generosity and commitment to supporting youth in foster care helps to propel our mission forward. We are excited to continue this partnership and work alongside all BrandSource members to create meaningful impacts in their local communities.”

With the season of giving approaching, please consider helping the cause by visiting https://www.togetherwerise.org/donate/. We also remind AVB’s employees that they can make recurring donations to TWR through payroll deductions, and that one-time donations can be made by texting AVBGIVES to 44321.

BrandSource, a unit of YSN publisher AVB Inc., is a nationwide buying group for independent appliance, furniture, mattress, and CE dealers.

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