In an evening filled with indescribable gratitude, last night Desert Schools Federal Credit Union brought its year-long 2014 Shine On campaign to an emotional close, awarding the Assistance League of Phoenix with the program’s $30,000 grand prize.
In a room of 300 at the Desert Botanical Garden, six Valley charities gathered with members of the community, as well as executives from Desert Schools, to celebrate a sometimes competitive and lengthy, but successful tenure as the chosen Shine On finalists. For one year, these incredible non-profit organizations campaigned to be the public’s favorite charity, vying for votes through the campaign’s informational hub at shineonaz.org. In September, Shine On followers could see that the voting was neck-and-neck between the Assistance League and initial favorite HALO Animal Rescue, but in early November, a twist arose in the competition and voting tallies went dark. For the last two months of the campaign, the charities and their followers could no longer see the voting totals and the suspense was almost unbearable. In the end, Assistance League’s members and fans pulled through, awarding the non-profit over 500,000 votes, making up nearly half of the competition’s 1,002,487 total votes.
“The work that is done every day by these six organizations is nothing less than extraordinary,” said Jeff Meshey, president of Desert Schools Federal Credit Union. “I am honored to share this stage with six members of our community who are fiercely committed, every day, to making this world a better place.”
Beyond the pinnacle of the evening’s grand prize announcement, three of Desert Schools’ exceptional partners in the community, all inspired by Shine On’s message and mission, came forward to offer their assistance and gratitude to each charity. The Arizona Coyotes will be conducting partnerships in 2015 with Free Arts for Abused Children and Kitchen on the Street, while the Arizona Cardinals will offer kid’s camps for Assistance League and MentorKids USA, and the Phoenix Suns will kick off initiatives with HALO Animal Rescue Anti-Defamation League of Arizona.
All three teams have agreed to back every initiative with the full support of each respective organization’s social media, PR and creative teams, while also providing powerful in-game elements and on-screen advertisements to drive awareness of each non-profit’s mission and goals.
One of the most notable surprises of the evening came as Desert Schools’ President Jeff Meshey announced an additional grant from the Penny and Robert Sarver Foundation, which contributed $30,000 of the evening’s total $75,000 awarded to Shine On finalists, listed below in the order of their final standings:
- Assistance League - $30,000
- HALO Animal Rescue - $20,000
- Kitchen on the Street - $10,000
- Free Arts for Abused Children - $5,000
- MentorKids USA - $5,000
- Anti-Defamation League - $5,000
In addition to funding projects for six deserving charities in 2014, Desert Schools also pledged to give back more than $1 million to the community in time, talent and cash contributions. Last night, Desert Schools Vice President of Marketing and Shine On originator Cathy Graham announced that the organization nearly doubled that goal, contributing a total of $1,750,190 to 27 Valley non-profits and programs.
Graham noted, “The fact that we exceeded our goal by 75% speaks to the tremendous heart, dedication and generosity of our employees, members, vendors and partners. For making 2014 the most successful giving campaign in our 75-year history, I cannot thank you all enough.”
David Strachan, VP of Human Resources for Desert Schools, wrapped up the evening with some brief thoughts on continuing Desert Schools’ mission of giving, encouraging event attendees with a quote from Ghandi to “be the change they wish to see in the world. ” He then asked the seated tables of 10 to open a single gold glitter box in the middle of each table. Inside, guests found 10 small blue mesh bags, each containing a $50 Visa gift card with simple instructions to continue the mission of Shine On and “pay it forward,” followed by a URL to share their inspirational story of giving at desertschools.org/share-your-story.
As a perk for the community’s involvement in voting for Shine On charities, Desert Schools also provided the public with chances to win giveaways and monthly prizes in 2014, which have included trips to Disneyland, VIP concert tickets, cash prizes, staycations and more. The giveaways will culminate at an event later this month, when one lucky voter will win a 2015 Chevy Camaro.
For raw b-roll footage and images of last night’s event, please visit clientftp.anderson-adv.com, and enter username ShineOnPress, password DesertSchools. For more information or interviews, please contact Shelby Tuttle of ANDERSON Advertising at 480-330-9346 or shelby@anderson-adv.com.
About Desert Schools Federal Credit Union
Celebrating its 76th year in Arizona, Desert Schools is Arizona’s largest credit union with $3.8 billion in assets, more than 308,000 members and branch locations across the Valley. As a not-for-profit cooperative, Desert Schools prides itself on providing stellar service and innovative products to its customers, and taking an active role in community outreach and education efforts in the Valley and beyond. Learn more at www.desertschools.org.
