The recent rise in COVID cases has forced one of Mel Trotter Ministries biggest fundraisers and events to go virtual. It’s less than two weeks away and officials with Mel Trotter say they’d rather be safe.
“We had to make the decision to go virtual for our annual season of hope… last year, we didn’t have it at all. and gathering folks.”
But, out of an abundance of caution, Mel Trotter Ministries Chief Advancement Officer, Beth Fisher says the live event is off, but she quickly adds this year, the show will go on. It was canceled last year due to COVID and now the pandemic is once again forcing their hand. A couple of days ago, Fisher says they made the difficult decision to go virtual.
“And what’s interesting and exciting is that this year, we have a local speaker, Paula Joust. But primarily the bulk of the event is going to be our guests, speaking and encouraging us through their transformation out of trauma and their own per sonal stories. So we absolutely had to say, how do we keep our guests, staff and community safe and it did not feel safe in a room with 4, 5, 600 people to do that.”
It’s a hard transition as the annual “Season of Hope” is one of Mel Trotter’s biggest fundraisers.
“And it’s a little nerve wracking, right? Because we always have this as we go into the most important, crucial time of the year for fundraising, which is year end.”
And this move comes at a time when the need for the ministries’ services are in high demand and growing.
“We’re just at max capacity and that’s not just a Mel Trotter issue it’s a system issue, so the need is critical.”
Fisher says hope however is not lost. Sponsors are staying committed. She says you can join the virtual event Thursday, September 30th at 6:30 p.m. at MelTrotter.org/seasonofhope to register.
