Sometimes our friends and supporters surprise us by doing the unexpected. This year Sunset Church, a long-time supporter of Sunset Youth Services and church home to co-founder and Director of Operations Delvin Mack, hosted a neighborhood block party––generously donating the proceeds to sustain our youth work.
The October 15th event was an act of love to the local community––making space for local artisans and crafters and hosting a lively carnival for families with children––in addition to raising money for SYS. Undeterred by an overcast day, over 1,000 community members (including a large number from Francis Scott Key Elementary School) attended with nearly 100 volunteers from Sunset Church. Members of the faith community and local artists who sold wares were given an opportunity to donate a portion of the proceeds to SYS. Many from the Sunset Church family opted to donate 100% of their earnings. Even Señor Sisig, the popular Filipino Fusion food truck, generously participated!
Michael Chinn, Facility Planner for the faith community, shared, “The vision was to raise funds so we could support different areas of social justice.” SYS was chosen because of the church’s long relationship with the nonprofit and because, “SYS is local and the neighborhood knows who you are.” But the event was more than a fundraiser. “We’re trying to be more outwardly focused. We’ve been here 40 years and wanted this to be a community event, not just a church event, so we thought, ‘Let’s do a block party and open it up to the community, artists, food vendors, and others. People loved it,” he said.
We’re amazed at the creativity, generosity, and heart of our Sunset Church family––who is showing up in tangible ways for their neighbors and for us. Thank you, friends, for investing in our work with young people!