By Joy McBee, Rice County Community Foundation
RICE COUNTY, Kan. (Nov. 8, 2024) — The Rice County Community Foundation (RCCF) wrapped up its second-annual UNITE for Rice County Match Week with impressive results, raising a more than $56,000 for local organizations. The event, which took place from November 4 to November 8, saw community members from across Rice County come together to support a variety of local funds.
This year’s Match Week brought friendly competition and engagement to new heights, with the Unite for Rice County website becoming a hub of activity. The interactive Leaderboard spurred community members to contribute to the participating funds in real time, creating a lively atmosphere of giving.
RCCF Executive Director Joy McBee expressed her enthusiasm about the success of the event: “Seeing the real-time numbers kept our donors and funds engaged. It was fun to see the competitive nature of our partners, and ultimately, it helped boost fundraising efforts throughout the week!”
A total of 12 local funds participated in the event, each receiving a dollar-for-dollar match on donations made during the five-day period. The funds that took part in this year’s Match Week included:
- Goodfellows of Northern Rice County
- Rice County Community Foundation Endowment Fund
- Celebration Centre LLC
- The Veterans Fund
- Lyons’ Booster Club
- Little River Redskin Backerz
- Harvest Hub
- Sterling Community Thrift
- Hearts for Homes of Rice County
- Lyons FFA Alumni and Supporters
- Lyons’ Recreation Commission
- Rice County Child Advocacy Center
Goodfellows of Northern Rice County led the fundraising efforts, raising an impressive $10,979.47, earning them the top spot on the Leaderboard. Little River Redskin Backerz also made a strong showing, securing the second-highest number of donations with 23 individual gifts.
Thanks to the generous dollar-for-dollar match from The Patterson Family Foundation, the total raised was more than doubled, with $112,675.05 now set to support important community programs across the county.
The success of Match Week would not have been possible without the generosity of local donors and the active participation of community members. RCCF also extended thanks to The Patterson Family Foundation for their continued support of Kansas-based charitable efforts.
A new event for 2024 introduced Rice County youth to the Joy of Giving on November 6th from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Thanks to the generous support of the Rice County Community Foundation (RCCF) Board of Directors, each child received $20 to donate. They visited participating funds and organizations to learn about the impactful work being done across the county. During the event, the children were also introduced to Match Week, where their donations were doubled.
RCCF is grateful for the overwhelming support from the Rice County community and looks forward to continuing these efforts in the future.
