Community partners gathered together on Giving Tuesday to raise funds for a local non-profit fighting homelessness right here on the Central Coast.
Organizers say the banquet fundraiser is hoping to raise $50,000 for the 5Cities Homeless Coalition this year.
“Dinner for a Cause” is an annual banquet fundraiser for the 5Cities Homeless Coalition. It’s a joint effort between Fin’s Seafood Restaurant and Pismo Beach Golf Course owner Bruce Van Vort.
The event has been held in Pismo Beach for the last 10 years.
The banquet raised $34,000 for the non-profit last year.
Van Vort says the cause is personal for him.
“I have 5 adopted kids and 3 of them were unaccompanied youth living on the streets and I got them between the ages of 8 and 12 years old, and these are kids who are angry and mad. They were living out of garbage cans,” said Van Vort. “They were just trying to survive until the authorities found them and one is going to be a nurse practitioner in a year. There’s tons of those kids out there and nothing creates a foundation like hard times.”
The 5Cities Homeless Coalition works to provide resources and support for those who are homeless or facing homelessness in southern San Luis Obispo County.
“A lot of our programs really focused on moving somebody back into housing as quickly as possible or actually preventing them from becoming homeless,” said Devon Mcquade, 5Cities Homeless Coalition Associate Director. “But more recently when we’ve seen the homelessness on the street growing, we turned our focus and so we’ve really brought up our street outreach team. Those guys go out into the community and meet people where they’re at.”
The volume of calls for assistance has tripled in the past three years.
McQuade says it takes an entire community to come together to help make a difference.
“We’re so appreciative of businesses like Fin’s, and the Pismo Beach Golf Course, all of our sponsors who come out and really recognize that it takes a village to really address this problem,” said McQuade.
Attendees say it's more important than ever to give back to the community.
“No one’s going to remember us for our houses, our cars, our bank accounts, even our jobs,” said Jeff Faber, Opolo Vineyards National Director of Sales. “But they will remember somebody who actually took a moment to be kind and that is what you see here. It’s absolutely beautiful."
“I had friends coming and it's a good cause and I couldn't help but I’d rather be here spending money than anywhere else,” said Scott Hodgson, Arroyo Grande resident.
Van Vort says organizing this fundraiser is not a choice for him.
“If I didn’t do this I don’t think I could go home every night and go to sleep,” said Van Vort. “I would sit there and wonder why I didn't do something, so for me, in my heart, this is my ministry of helping people who did not have the same opportunities I had.”
One hundred percent of the proceeds from the banquet will go directly to the 5Cities Homeless Coalition.
Giving Tuesday may have come to an end but if you’re interested in donating to the non-profit, click here.
