After a challenging and unpredictable year, a stroke of good luck was a welcomed change for local charities. Thanks to Harrah’s Resort SoCal’s annual All-in 4 Change grant program, on September 24, 12 local non-profit organizations were treated to a glorious day of winning.
“In 2015 we started All-in 4 Change. The program was highly successful, and from 2016 to 2019 it was a highly anticipated annual event here at the Resort and in the local non-profit community,” said Jill Barrett, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Harrah’s Resort SoCal. The event was put on hiatus last year due to the pandemic, but as Barrett reminded the room, “as of December 2020, [Harrah’s Resort SoCal] donated approximately $4.5 million in cash and in-kind gifts to the community and charitable organizations.”
July kicked off the sixth year of this unique grant program. That month, charities from San Diego, Riverside and Orange Counties were invited to apply for an opportunity to win an All-in 4 Change cash grant. The total sum: $100,000 to be divided among the winners. A total of 150 applications were received and reviewed by the Harrah’s Resort SoCal team, and 25 groups made it through to the community online voting stage.
In the end, 12 winners emerged, recording the highest number of online votes in the program’s history. The winners were invited to accept their awards in person during a Friday afternoon luncheon in Funner, CA.
This year’s honorees included Michelle’s Place Cancer Resource Center, Armed Services YMCA and Helen Woodward Animal Center, to name a few.
“We’re honored to be aligned with all of you,” said Jessica Gercke, PR Director of Helen Woodward Animal Center. “And I want to say thank you on behalf of the thousands of animals that are helped each year, and the thousands of human beings that are helped each year.”
In addition to the top five winning charities, seven organizations took home honorable mentions, each collecting $3,000 in cash.
In the end, this year’s top five All-in 4 Change winners included:
1st Place: $40,000 awarded to TransFamily Support Services
2nd Place: $20,000 awarded to Helen Woodward Animal Center
3rd Place: $10,000 awarded to Support the Enlisted Project
4th Place: $5,000 awarded to Urban Corps of San Diego County
5th Place: $4,000 awarded to Michelle’s Place Cancer Resource Center
Kathie Moehlig, Founder and Executive Director of TransFamily Support Services—and the top winner of this year’s All-in 4 Change grant—brought tears to the eyes of many upon accepting her award: “We are eternally grateful for this opportunity. As you can see by the faces of our staff behind me, we are a very small non-profit doing some really mighty work.”
“52 percent of California trans and non-binary children attempt suicide,” Moehlig stated. “52 percent. So, what I want to leave you with, and what we ask everybody that we work with is, to open your minds, open your hearts and respect individual identities.”
From supporting diversity, to supporting cancer survivors, to enriching the lives of the elderly, all of the finalists in this year’s All-in 4 Change program truly displayed their hearts of gold.
To see the full list of this year’s winners and learn more about the All-in 4 Change grant program, visit Harrahssocal.com/all-in-4-change