Your Vote Can Help Bring up to $5,000,000 to Columbia to Help Local Charities & Attractions

Chase is giving away $5 million to local charities around the US based on votes received through Facebook. Please take a minute to help bring that money to Columbia by voting for local nonprofits. You have 20 votes in the first round and can only vote for each charity once each round, so make sure to use all your votes and vote for 20 Columbia nonprofits! To vote for local nonprofits, simply click on the link below.

Vote Here:
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving



Following Round 1, Chase will donate $25,000 to each of the 100 Charities receiving the most votes in Round 1. Following Round 2, Chase will donate $1,000,000 to the Round 2 Charity receiving the most votes and will donate $100,000 to the five runners up. The Chase Community Giving Advisory Board will select one or more nominated Charities to receive donations with a combined total of $1,000,000.

Each person receives 20 votes for round one and 5 for round two, and voting is open through December 11, 2009. Once you vote, you can post it to your wall, tweet it and invite your friends.

Here are the complete rules:
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/home/rules

If you need ideas of Columbia nonprofits to vote for, here's a list of several I found in the database and there are hundreds more. Some I searched for weren't in the database because they didn't qualify for some reason or another -- including United Way of the Midlands, American Red Cross of Central South Carolina and Harvest Hope.

Columbia Opportunity Resource (COR)
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/1229419

Home Works
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/220800

Healthy Learners
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/1271323

Project Pet
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/504918

United Way Association of South Carolina
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/1284682

The Nickelodeon Theatre (Run by the Columbia Film Society)
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/294058

Columbia Museum of Art
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/884247

South Carolina State Museum Foundation
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/705520

Riverbanks Zoological Park Society
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/811725

Historic Columbia Foundation
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/437700

EdVenture Children's Museum
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/743275

The River Alliance
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/15305

South Carolina Philharmonic
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/70617

Keep the Midlands Beautiful
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/227330

Friends of Congaree Swamp (Congaree National Park)
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/910696


Columbia Township Auditorium Foundation
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/317708

Renaissance Foundation
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/280813

Columbia City Ballet
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/848778

Ronald McDonald House Charities of Columbia SC
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/740230

Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/437902

Columbia Childrens Theatre
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/1232344

Junior League of Columbia
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/877485

Navigating from Good to Great Foundation
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/234082

South Carolina Hospitality and Tourism Educational Foundation
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/502042

This is by no means a comprehensive list, so please help add to it by posting voting links to other local 501c3 organizations have you found in the database in the comments to this post!

Hunger and Homeless Awareness Week Activities & Press Conference 11/16

United Way of the Midlands
1800 Main Street
Columbia, SC 29201
tel 803.733.7312 or 803.733.5400
www.uway.org

Media Contact:
Joey Wallace
Manager, Communications
803.748.7282
jwallace@uway.org


UNITED WAY OF THE MIDLANDS AND THE MIDLANDS AREA CONSORTIUM FOR THE HOMELESS TO REPORT THE 2009 HOMELESS COUNT RESULTS

What:
United Way of the Midlands and the Midlands Area Consortium for the Homeless (MACH) are hosting a press conference to report the results of the 2009 Homeless Count.
All members of the media and the community are welcome to attend this brief presentation for a special announcement about the state of homelessness in our community. Anita Floyd, United Way of the Midlands Vice President of Community Impact, will present the results of the 2009 Homeless Count.

Following the press conference, the Midlands Interfaith Homeless Action Council (MIHAC) will hold a prayer service for people who are homeless.

Who:
Hosted by United Way of the Midlands and MACH
Remarks will be made by
• Donny Supplee, Chair of the Board of Directors for MACH
• Allen Tipping, 2009 MACH Count Coordinator
• Anita Floyd, Vice President Community Impact, United Way of the Midlands

These speakers as well as Jennifer Moore, Director of United Way of the Midlands Financial Stability Council, will be available following the briefing for interviews.

When:
Monday, November 16
11:00 AM

The prayer service sponsored by MIHAC will be held in the Keenan Chapel and will begin at 12:00 PM.

Where:
Trinity Episcopal Church
1100 Sumter St
Columbia, SC 29201

The press conference will be held in Satterlee Hall in the administration building. Enter through the wooden doors from the 1300 block of Sumter Street.

Did you know:
• There are over 1,000 people on a given day literally living on the streets and in shelters
• Many more people experience homelessness during the year or live ‘doubled-up’ with family or friends with no other place to call home
• Homelessness in Richland County has increased 16% in the past two years.
• 1 in 5 homeless adults in the Midlands are veterans.

Another way to lend your hand:
In support of Hunger and Homeless Awareness week November 15-21, United Way of the Midlands and MIHAC are also hosting the Hands for the Homeless Supply Drive. Companies across the Midlands are showing their support by collecting toothpaste, toothbrushes, new socks, new washcloths and other toiletry items that will be used to assemble personal care kits and will be distributed to the homeless during the week of Thanksgiving. (Dates of assembly and distribution are TBD.) There is still time to get involved!

How you can help:
• Collect personal care items until November 25 and drop off completed ‘kits’ in quart or gallon size zip-lock bags.
• Drop off bulk items if you are not able to pre-sort.
• Volunteer to help sort and distribute items.

Donations should be dropped off to Trenholm Road United Methodist Church (3401 Trenholm Road) from November 16-25, Monday-Friday between 8 AM and 4 PM.

Kits will be delivered to the following agencies: Catholic Charities, The Cooperative Ministry, Good Samaritan Clinic, Harvest Hope Food Bank, Lexington Interfaith Community Services, Mental Illness Recovery Center, Inc., Oliver Gospel Mission, Salvation Army, Sistercare, The Winter Shelter and others.

If you have questions about anything in this release, please contact Jennifer Moore at jmoore@uway.org or 803.733.5421.

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About United Way of the Midlands
United Way of the Midlands is the most organized, efficient and accountable system for investing in the community. With over 80 certified partner agencies, United Way works to identify and respond to the critical human service needs of Calhoun, Fairfield, Lexington, Newberry, Orangeburg and Richland counties. Funds are raised through workplace campaigns, grant writing and individual donations. For more information, please visit www.uway.org.