Dozens of nonprofits sign up for Delco Gives Day to raise money for their missions
UPPER DARBY, Pa. (CBS) – A new effort is underway to support nonprofit organizations in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The county is launching an initiative to get people in the community to step up with donations.
Every Monday, Sando McGill visits a food pantry run by the nonprofit Murphy's Giving Market in Upper Darby to get free food.
She works for a catering company, but the job is seasonal, and buying food at the grocery store is becoming harder.
"You take one bag of grapes, it's like almost $6 or $7, you know, sometimes they say $2.99 or $3.99 a pound," McGill said.
She's able to get what she needs at the pantry, everything from meat and vegetables to bread and fruit.
Desiree LaMarr-Murphy runs the pantry. Most staff are volunteers, she said.
"We run off of donations and contributions, whether it's in kind or whether it's financial," LaMarr-Murphy said.
Murphy's Giving Market is among 140 nonprofits in Delaware County signed up for Delco Gives Day. It's a 24-hour fundraising event this spring to encourage the community to support important work like this.
From 7 p.m. on May 8 to 7 p.m. on May 9, people can log onto Delco Gives to choose which nonprofits they'd like to contribute to.
Frances Sheehan, who runs a charity that gives grants to other nonprofits in Delco, is spearheading the event. Organizations need the support, she said.
"Each year when we issue our request for proposals, we get over $5 million in requests for only $2 million that we have available to give away," she said.
She said she hopes donations from the community will make up the shortfall, to support nonprofits like Murph's Giving Market.
"She's like a life-saver," McGill said. "So she needs help."