Goodwill Industries' Fort Myers Festival of Trees breaks event fundraising record

Dec. 19, 2012 - PRLog -- Goodwill Industries’ sixth annual Festival of Trees and Tux & Trees Gala, presented by FineMark National Bank & Trust, is celebrating the end of another successful fundraiser.  The combined events raised a record $95,000 to support the Southwest Florida Goodwill Foundation.  By comparison, last year’s Festival and Gala raised $56,000.

The Festival of Trees (http://www.tuxandtrees.com) is a week-long showcase of holiday trees, each beautifully decorated by Southwest Florida businesses, organizations, and individuals.  More than 6,000 people visited this year’s free holiday showcase at the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center.  

The Festival concluded December 1 with the Tux & Trees Gala, a black-tie charity auction which serves as the Southwest Florida Goodwill Foundation’s primary fundraiser.  Auctioneer Mike Joyce and hostess Stacey Adams of WINK News sold  23 trees at the Gala’s live auction.

“This year’s festival exceeded everyone’s expectations,” explains Goodwill Vice President of Communications and Development Carolyn Johnson, who serves as the event chair.  “In the past, we’ve averaged about $1000 per tree at the auction.  This year, we had three trees sell for more than $5,000.”

Nearly 250 people attended the Tux & Trees Gala, another event record.

“There was definitely a different energy in the room this year,” says Kirsten O’Donnell, Goodwill’s director of public relations.  “This was my fifth Tux & Trees Gala, and I’d never experienced one like this. The room was buzzing all night.”

The Southwest Florida Goodwill Foundation provides long-term financial support to the programs and services of Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida.  In 2011, Goodwill helped 23,000 Southwest Floridians with disabilities and other disadvantages become more independent, through programs such as Job-Link centers, the SWFL MicroEnterprise program, disability-accessible housing, and the Goodwill L.I.F.E. Academy charter school.

The Festival of Trees and Tux & Trees Gala were made possible by event sponsors: FineMark National Bank & Trust, The Home Depot, Gulf Coast Consulting Group, Aaron’s, Lee Designs, The Morgan House, Westco Builders of Florida, The News-Press Media Group, Azteca America SWFL, d’Latinos Magazine, Sunny 106, and Two Men and a Truck.

For more information, or to be part of the 2013 Festival of Trees, visit http://www.tuxandtrees.com or call (239) 995-2106 ext. 2213.