Walton Arts Center staff are deeply connected to the community, that’s why when the nonprofit performing arts organization has its annual holiday party, they try to find a way to give back to the community and other nonprofits in the region. This year, Walton Arts Center staff participated in our annual holiday raffle with proceeds benefiting 7Hills Homeless Shelter - and the generosity was inspiring!

Walton Arts Center & Walmart AMP Staff Donations were used to Purchase:

• 10 Backpacks

• 40 pairs of women’s socks

• 70 pairs of women’s underwear

• 72 pairs of men’s underwear

• 40 pairs of men’s socks

• 4 giant bags of cough drops

• 3 big boxes of cold medicine

• 12 pairs of reading glasses

• 40 flashlights w/ batteries

• 20 packs of hand warmers

• 4 sleeping bags

• 4 Two Person tents

• 21 pairs of NEW work boots for men and women

Members of the party-planning committee answered a few questions for us and chimed in on what the donation means to each of them:

Why was 7Hills chosen as the recipient of donations? 

“Over the last couple of years, we have seen an increased presence of homeless individuals in Fayetteville and specifically in the Dickson Street area. 7Hills Homeless Center does so much to help their clients not only with basic needs but also by offering workplace education and giving opportunities for support and independence. With such a visible need in the community, we thought that that 7Hills would be the right fit for our fundraising this year.”   -Kelli

How are donations collected? 

“We sell raffle tickets to employees every year.  The committee works hard to collect raffle prizes and packages that will make people excited about the opportunity to win and encourage them donate by purchasing raffle tickets.  We typically start collecting donations the week prior to the party and also at the door when people arrive. This year, we added the option to donate via Venmo…for those that don’t carry cash.” -Kelli   

What does it mean to you to give back during the holiday season? 

“When Leslie and I dropped off the items, the smiles on their faces was so heartwarming. We got the list from the 7Hills website and decided to focus on things that were probably the least donated. Our main objective was work boots for men and women. 

I hope our donation of work boots will help some people have the means to be hired for jobs that require work boots. We were also able to donate cold medicine and reading glasses, which is not something I would have thought about donating. Honestly, the whole experience was fun because money was not an issue when we were thinking about helping these people since the wonderful people of WAC donated so much, we were able to help out a lot. I loved every minute of it.” -Justin