Our success was made possible by our sponsors, our hard working board members, and every one of you who showed up or spread the word about the event, making a statement that you believe in Syracuse. Thank you so much for your support!
From day one of this campaign 12 months ago when we launched it until today, it has been more successful than I could have imagined because you supported it. You got involved. You interacted with us on social media. You showed up to our events, you chipped in $10 or $25 at a time. You made this idea a reality.
We promise now that the event has passed we will take a short break from emailing you every day, but I wanted to let you know there are only 12 hours left in our birthday fundraising campaign. If we can raise just another $195 we will reach our goal and get a refund in the online processing fees charged by our online donation site. Click here, learn more and chip in $10 or whatever you can to help us power our campaign forward.
Entering our second year, we have a lot still to accomplish. We plan to register as a non-profit which has costs associated with it. We plan to bring our message of hope for the future to more and more people across Central New York. We will get more people civically engaged, volunteering in their neighborhoods and caring about Syracuse.
Last night I spoke briefly about some of the cynicism that is out there in our community. Personally, I understand where that comes from. When I think of what my parents generation has seen happen in Syracuse, I realize they saw Syracuse on the decline.
When I was growing up, my grandfather owned a grocery store called the Burnett Market in Eastwood. Despite my family's best efforts to keep it going, in the 1990's it shut down. People lost their jobs who worked there and people lost their jobs they held at manufacturers that moved away like Carrier and Syracuse China. Crime became more and more of a problem and city schools deteriorated. Onondaga Lake became one of the most polluted bodies of water in the world. Why would my parents believe in Syracuse?
Today these trends have reversed themselves and I have seen this first hand. I lived Downtown for two years and saw that neighborhood rise from the dead. Economic development is spreading across our city due to organizations like the Connective Corridor, Northside UP and the Near West Side Initiative. Say Yes to Education is increasing the graduation rate in our city schools. Onondaga County and the Save the Rain program are cleaning up our lake and it's tributaries.
Our role in all of this progress is to let more people know about the fact that Syracuse is on the rise. That will help get more people involved in these efforts and retain and attract great people to Syracuse. Help us keep Syracuse's positive momentum going. Click here, learn more and chip in $25 or whatever you can.
www.believeinsyracuse.org/birthday-gift
John DeSantis
Believe in Syracuse 315-657-7478
[email protected]
http://www.facebook.com/BelieveInSyracuse
https://twitter.com/BelieveInSyr
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