BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Give Big Kern brought together local nonprofits and community members to raise funds, share missions, and highlight the power of giving back across Kern County.
- Give Big Kern is a county-wide fundraising event organized by the Kern Community Foundation, featuring over 150 local nonprofits.
- More than 1,000 community members attended “Give Big at the Park” to learn about and support local causes.
- Participating nonprofits include organizations focused on women’s recovery, youth development, education, and Special Olympics.
- Donations can still be made at GiveBigKern.org until midnight on May 6.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
It’s Give Big at the Park, which means it’s almost the day of giving. Over 70 local nonprofits are here at the Park at River Walk — all wanting to receive a donation from the community.
It’s officially giving season and Give Big Kern is in full swing. On Saturday, over 1,000 community members gathered at the Park at Riverwalk to learn more about Kern County’s local nonprofits.
Give Big Kern is an event through the Kern Community Foundation. Since 2016, Give Big Kern has raised millions of dollars from thousands of donors for hundreds of local nonprofits.
Aaron Falk is the President and CEO of Kern Community Foundation and he says there are over 150 local nonprofits in Give Big Kern — a nonprofit for everyone. “In Kern County we’re used to not always being on the receiving end of federal and state funds. This is a particularly interesting time with federal funding freezes and a state budget deficit. That doesn’t mean the challenges in Kern County are any smaller. Fortunately, we take care of each other here — we’re used to that. That’s why we’re out here today for Give Big Kern.” Falk said.
One of these local nonprofits is Keepers Transformation House, which is a one-year women’s discipleship program, as well as a transitional living program and an overnight shelter. They say their mission is to restore and empower women in crisis to have a dignified and purposeful life in Christ. Heidi Adams is the program director for Keepers Transformation House and she says, “Your donation goes a long way in improving each woman’s life so she can healing and wholeness and be a community member who gives back to the community and leads a fulfilling.”
Charmed and Chosen is another local nonprofit that focuses on helping the youth ages 10–17 with college prep, STEM education, financial literacy, general life skills and so much more. Shalanda Davis- Layton is the president and co- fouer of Charmed and Chosen, and she says, “We have had a phenomenal impact over the last year. We’ve won some significant grants and we have been able to expand our program so kids actually walk away with tangible things that they can actually go out in the workforce or go out to college and go out and be the best version of themselves.”
Another group whose mission is to build up the next generation is the Kern Resource Center. The KRC is a nonprofit that was established to offer a Christian education for K–12. They teach the core academics as well as life skills. “We are so excited for the opportunity to be here at Give Big Kern. It’s the biggest fundraising event of the year and we are doing a capital fundraising project in order to expand our campus so that we’re able to offer more services.” Melissa Wheeler said.
The KRC says they want to add more classrooms, an edible garden, as well as an athletic field.
Over at the Special Olympics table, Southern California Global Messenger and athlete Bryan Johnson tells me why the community should look into donating to them. “We do all kinds of sports and training for people with intellectual disabilities and so right now is our spring sports season and then we’ll go into summer sports and we have sports all throughout the year.” He said.
The Special Olympics tells me that they are always looking for new athletes to join the team or volunteers to help out.
23ABC is a proud sponsor of Give Big Kern.
Give Big Kern is a chance for nonprofits to earn unrestricted dollars that go directly into their bank accounts.
If you couldn’t make Give Big at the Park, there is still a chance for you to donate to your favorite local nonprofit by visiting GiveBigKern.org. You can donate online until midnight on May 6th.
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