On September 19, we hosted our second annual Art Festival to increase awareness of human trafficking and raise funds for our Restoration Home Project for trafficking survivors–and this year proved even more successful than the last.
The 2019 Greenlight Operation Art Fest saw many changes, chief of which was a move outdoors for a more family-friendly community event. Following this wonderful day, the Greenlight leadership team immediately started planning for this year’s 2020 Art Festival. Our amazing group of volunteers, including our all-star interns, helped to organize the event almost exclusively virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic. With their help, we had over 40 local artists, numerous kids’ activities, live artist demonstrations, new Greenlight Operation merchandise, and delicious local food favorites like The Cracked Pot.
There were well over 500 attendees throughout the day, yet we also created an opportunity for the community to engage through an online art sale. This new feature gave artists the opportunity to sell their art online after our in-person event, allowing those who could not attend a chance to purchase some of the beautiful artwork.
The event not only featured on local news stations, but was also a financial success. A few weeks before the event, a local business provided a donation and proposed a match campaign for our Restoration Home Fund, leading to a $10,000 fundraising goal for the month of September. We are proud to say that all of the hard work of our volunteers and artists paid off! We raised $10,261 towards our Restoration Home Project, with over $2,500 raised just from the artists the day of the event. This is a valuable contribution toward establishing a long-term care facility for women who have been victims of human trafficking.
We would be remiss to not thank Christian Life Assembly and their maintenance team for their hard work sanitizing and keeping attendees safe. Thank you is truly not enough to express our gratitude to our artists, volunteers, and attendees.
Join us next year, Saturday September 18, 2021! If you are an artist and would like to participate, we will open applications early Spring 2021. Volunteer applications are open all year-round, with an event specific application available in the Spring as well. If you like art and shopping for a good cause, we hope to see you there!