Giving Back in My Hometown: Why Erie Gives Is One of My Favorite Days of the Year
There are a lot of fundraising campaigns throughout the year, but there's something special about a community giving day.
Every August, Erie Gives brings thousands of people together to support the nonprofits that make Erie County a better place to live. Whether someone gives five dollars or five hundred, every donation becomes part of something much bigger than one individual gift. It's a reminder that when a community comes together around causes it believes in, the impact can be extraordinary.
This year, I chose to support the Presque Isle Partnership because few places have shaped my life quite like Presque Isle State Park.
Working in Fundraising Has Changed My Perspective
Working in the nonprofit and fundraising world has completely changed the way I think about giving.
Before I started working in advancement, I knew donations were important, but I didn't always understand everything happening behind the scenes. Now I do. I've seen the planning that goes into annual giving campaigns, the excitement surrounding giving days, and the gratitude that organizations feel when people choose to invest in their mission.
I've also learned that fundraising isn't really about money. It's about people deciding that something matters enough to support.
Every donation, regardless of its size, is someone saying, "I believe in what you're doing, and I want to help you continue doing it." That's a powerful thing.
Because I spend so much of my professional life helping nonprofits connect with donors, giving days have become some of my favorite days of the year. They give me the opportunity to step out of the role of fundraiser and become a donor myself.
Choosing Presque Isle
If you've read my blog or followed my photography instagram page for any amount of time, this choice probably isn't surprising. I've written about photographing osprey at Presque Isle. I've shared wildlife photos, sunsets, birds, and quiet mornings along the peninsula. It's one of the first places I visit when I go home to Erie, and it's somewhere that has inspired countless photographs over the years.
But Presque Isle is so much more than a beautiful place to take pictures. It's where families spend summer afternoons at the beach. It's where runners, cyclists, birders, photographers, anglers, and nature lovers all seem to find something they enjoy. It's a place that belongs to the entire community.
Supporting the Presque Isle Partnership felt like a way to give something back to a place that has given me so much.
Why the Partnership Matters
The Presque Isle Partnership works alongside the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to enhance, preserve, and improve the park for the millions of people who visit each year. Their work touches nearly every part of the park experience. From improving accessibility and funding educational programs to restoring historic landmarks, enhancing visitor amenities, supporting conservation efforts, and helping preserve the natural beauty of the peninsula, they invest in making Presque Isle a place that everyone can enjoy.
Many of the things we appreciate while visiting the park don't simply happen on their own. They happen because people care enough to volunteer, advocate, and give. That is definitely something I think is worth supporting.
Giving Back to Your Hometown
There's something meaningful about supporting the place that helped shape you. Even though I don't live in Erie full time anymore, it will always feel like home. My parents are there, and some other friends and family are still there. Some of my favorite memories are there. Many of the places that inspired my love of photography are there.
Giving to Erie Gives feels like another way of staying connected to the community that gave me so much growing up.
I think that's one of the reasons community giving days resonate with me so much. They remind us that supporting a hometown doesn't always require living there. Sometimes it simply means choosing to invest in the people, places, and organizations that continue making it special.
Final Thoughts
Erie Gives reminds me why working in the nonprofit world can be so much fun.
I get to spend my career helping organizations tell their stories and connect with people who believe in their missions. Then, when a day like Erie Gives comes around, I get to experience the other side of that relationship by supporting a cause that means something to me personally.
This year, that cause is the Presque Isle Partnership. It's my way of saying thank you to a place that has provided so many memories, so much inspiration, and so many opportunities to slow down, pick up my camera, and appreciate where I grew up.
If you have a nonprofit that has made a difference in your life, I hope you consider supporting it. Community giving days aren't just about raising money. They're about investing in the places and organizations that help make home feel like home.