Sugar Plum Tour of Holiday Homes announces virtual tour
THIS IS A PAST EVENT
The Gay Community Endowment Fund of Akron Community Foundation invites area residents to save the date for its 19th annual Sugar Plum Tour, which will take place virtually on Saturday, Dec. 5, and Sunday, Dec. 6, 2020.
The Sugar Plum Tour is Akron's premier holiday home tour and the signature fundraiser of the Gay Community Endowment Fund. The virtual tour will showcase eight of the area's finest historic and contemporary homes, all exquisitely decorated for the season.
"Despite the ongoing challenges of COVID-19, we anticipate this year's tour being one of our best and most unique experiences yet," said Babette Medcalf, Sugar Plum Tour co-chair. "Hosting the tour virtually will allow us to feature more homes in a broader range of neighborhoods, including many we could not feature in the past due to proximity or accessibility."
Corporate and individual sponsorships for the Sugar Plum Tour are available and range from $500 to $5,000+. Sponsors will receive tickets to both the virtual tour and an exclusive Christmas in July Party next summer, which will be held in lieu of the event's annual Patron Party. Sponsors will also receive a hardcover coffee table book with photos of the homes, a commemorative holiday ornament, a bottle of champagne, and many other benefits.
Proceeds from the Sugar Plum Tour support the Gay Community Endowment Fund's grantmaking to programs that positively impact the LGBTQ+ community, as well as Greater Akron as a whole. In 2020, grants from the fund created safer environments for LGBTQ+ youth, combated phobias of the LGBTQ+ community, and supported mental health and suicide prevention programs for LGBTQ+ people, among other initiatives.
"The Sugar Plum Tour may have changed a bit this year, but the need for the funds it raises has not," Medcalf said. "The medical, educational and cultural needs of Greater Akron's LGBTQ+ community continue to grow each year, and the generosity of our Sugar Plum Tour sponsors will enable us to impact more lives during this critical time."
To receive an alert when individual tickets go on sale this fall, sign up for the Sugar Plum Tour email list at www.akroncf.org/SugarPlumNews.
The 2020 Sugar Plum Tour is presented by Matt & Lisa Kaulig. A complete list of sponsorship opportunities can be viewed at www.akroncf.org/SugarPlumSponsor. For more information about becoming a sponsor, contact Phil Montgomery, Sugar Plum Tour co-chair, at 330-714-8178 or monty.phil@gmail.com, or visit www.sugarplumtour.org.
About the Gay Community Endowment Fund
Founded in 2001, the Gay Community Endowment Fund is a permanent philanthropic endowment of Akron Community Foundation. The fund advances a lived equality for all LGBTQ+ people in Greater Akron by investing in strategic and responsive grantmaking that empowers the LGBTQ+ community and its allies. Since its inception, the fund has grown to nearly $1.5 million while reinvesting more than $575,000 into the community. Contributions of any amount are welcome and support future grantmaking. Donations may also be designated for the GCEF Scholarship Fund. Checks should be sent to the Gay Community Endowment Fund of Akron Community Foundation, 345 W. Cedar St., Akron, OH 44307-2407. For more information, or to contribute, call 330-376-8522 or visit www.gaycommunityfund.org.
About Akron Community Foundation
Celebrating 65 years of building community philanthropy, Akron Community Foundation embraces and enhances the work of charitable people who make a permanent commitment to the good of the community. In 1955, a $1 million bequest from the estate of Edwin Shaw established the community foundation. It is a philanthropic endowment of nearly $222.5 million with a growing family of more than 680 funds established by charitable people and organizations from all walks of life. The community foundation and its funds welcome gifts of all kinds, including cash, bequests, stock, real estate, life insurance and retirement assets, just to name a few. To date, the community foundation's funds have awarded nearly $177 million in grants to qualified nonprofit organizations. For more information about Akron Community Foundation or to learn more about creating your own charitable fund, call 330-376-8522 or visit www.akroncf.org.