Press Release
Friends of the Smokies
Friends of the Smokies raised more than $18,000 for Great Smoky Mountains National Park on #GivingTuesday, a day inspiring people to celebrate giving back by donating to nonprofit organizations in their communities.
Donations received by Friends of the Smokies on December 2 were met with $7,000 in matching funds provided by Dalen Products, Inc., DENSO Manufacturing Tennessee, Inc., and one anonymous donor.
“We are overjoyed at the positive response on #GivingTuesday,” said Friends’ Marketing Director Brent McDaniel. “There were donations coming in online and over the phone all day from people excited to give back in any way they could.”
Friends of the Smokies set an initial goal to raise $4,500 yesterday, more than twice the amount raised by the organization on #GivingTuesday last year. A long-time supporter of the Smokies, who wished to remain anonymous, challenged donors with an additional $2,500 in matching funds early Tuesday afternoon.
“Supporters of the national park stepped up to this challenge in a big way,” said Jim Hart, President. “Thank you to each and every person who made a donation and to our matching partners for their generous support.”
With more than 9 million visitors each year, Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited park in the nation and one of a few major national parks where admission is free. Friends of the Smokies raises money and support to fund projects and programs including wildlife management, preservation of more than 90 historic structures, and hands-on curriculum-based education for more than 18,000 students through Parks As Classrooms. For more information, please visit www.friendsofthesmokies.org.
About Friends of the Smokies
For more than 20 years, Friends of the Smokies has raised over $47 million to help maintain Great Smoky Mountains National Park as a crown jewel of the national park system, including the establishment of the Trails Forever endowment to improve Smoky Mountain hiking trails in perpetuity.
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.