On October 16th, Mary’s Center held its 2020 Vision Virtual Gala, raising over $460,000 to help under-resourced communities in the region reclaim health, hope, and opportunity. Leading up to the Gala, supporters created their own peer-to-peer campaigns to raise essential funds among family, colleagues, and friends. We are grateful to all of the supporters who participated in our Gala fundraising efforts, and we want to give special recognition to our top fundraiser, Imelda Karangwa, who raised over $4,500 for Mary’s Center.
Meet Imelda Karangwa.
Imelda has been a longtime friend of Mary’s Center. She first learned about the organization seven years ago through her former supervisor and mentor, Johanna Barraza-Cannon, while working at Guidehouse (formerly Navigant Consulting, Inc.). Guidehouse regularly sponsored Mary’s Center events and supported the organization through volunteer work. While volunteering with her Guidehouse colleagues at the Mary’s Center Gala in 2013, Imelda began to feel connected to Mary’s Center’s mission.
“I remember the Gala was such a beautiful event and more importantly, it raised money for such a great cause,” Imelda said. She was particularly moved by how “Mary’s Center will welcome anyone with open-arms and help get them back on their feet.”
Imelda was hooked.
Since 2013, Imelda’s commitment to Mary’s Center has continued to grow. She began volunteering at more fundraising events, like the Taste of Adams Morgan, and helped at participant-centered events including the Mary’s Center Thanksgiving Food Drive, which provides Thanksgiving meals for under-resourced families in our community.
New Company, Same Passion.
In 2018, Imelda accepted a new career opportunity with a healthcare strategy firm called crankfrog. Imelda was particularly drawn to the company because of its crankfrog cares program, which dedicates resources and time to community engagement and service initiatives.
As soon as she started at crankfrog, she began sharing her passion for Mary’s Center with her new colleagues. Through crankfrog cares, Imelda and her colleagues regularly participate in fundraising and service events with local nonprofits, including Mary’s Center.
Although the pandemic has made it difficult to join in-person volunteer events, crankfrog cares has found other ways to give back. One of their most recent philanthropic initiatives was participating in Mary’s Center’s Pandemic Recovery Campaign leading up to our 2020 Vision Gala.
With the help of her crankfrog colleagues, Imelda, a member of the 2020 Vision Gala Host Committee, raised $4,500 through her peer-to-peer campaign!
“The peer-to-peer fundraiser was 100% a team effort,” Imelda said. “Most of the money raised came from my colleagues. Without their participation, I don’t think we would have been able to raise as much as we did.”
Mary’s Center is fortunate to have such dedicated partners like Imelda and her crankfrog colleagues who have helped support and promote Mary’s Center’s work in the community.
There are many ways for companies and employees to get involved and support Mary’s Center’s critical work. To learn more, contact Michelle Maxberry, Assistant Director of Corporate Partnerships and Events – mmaxberry@maryscenter.org.