Give for Good

San Antonio's day-long fundraising party invites locals to give big

CAMP, or Children's Association for Maximum Potential, is just one of 500 local charities participating.

Courtesy of CAMP Facebook

Get ready to flex those money muscles, San Antonio. The Big Give, the city's 24-hour day of giving, returns on March 28 for another year of philanthropy and phun. Beginning at midnight on March 28 through 11:59 pm, locals are asked to dig deep and give back to area nonprofits and charities through individual donations or matching pledges.

This year, more than 500 of those nonprofits are taking part from across South Texas, including those in Atascosa, Bandera, Bexar, Comal, Frio, Gillespie, Gonzales, Guadalupe, Karnes, Kendall, Kerr, Medina, Real, Uvalde, and Wilson counties. Donors can search for their favorite charity here to find out if they're involved in this year's event.

Once donors have found the charity (or charities!) of their choice, they can begin with a minimum donation of $10. (Naturally, there is no maximum, so give freely.)

Like in past years, The Big Give also offers additional prizes to charities raising the most amount of money throughout the day. Each organization has the opportunity to win a bonus $1,000 during different time blocks throughout the 24 hours. Nonprofits that raise the most money during those specific blocks then automatically receive the additional funding. Likewise, The McKenna Foundation is also ponying up an additional $2,000 in prize money during these same time blocks.

The City of San Antonio, however, is sponsoring the biggest prize of all: an additional $8,000 to the first and second place charities.

In the spirit of celebration, dozens of area businesses are embracing The Big Give by hosting their own special events around the city on March 28. Enjoy parties and open houses, pancake breakfasts and lunches, as well as happy hours and mixers. A full list of participating San Antonio-area businesses can be found here.

According to organizers, since The Big Give's launch in 2014, San Antonians have raised $22 million for area nonprofits. So this year, dig deep and give big.

fundraisers charity charity-guide

SPARE ART

North San Antonio gets crafty with new creative supplies shop

Photo by Ismael Rodriguez.

Local nonprofit Spare Parts recently opened its brick-and-mortar center for creative reuse.

One local nonprofit organization has spent years getting environmental accountability and community education down to a fine art. And now it’s getting crafty with a new brick-and-mortar shop in North San Antonio aimed to help locals to go green.

Spare Parts was founded in 2010 by executive director and longtime arts educator Mary Elizabeth Cantú to provide a creative spark for area students and schools lacking arts funding and resources. Through a variety of educational programs, public art exhibitions, events, and the organization’s traveling Mini Art Museum, Spare Parts has enlightened thousands of students and San Antonians, all while fostering reuse practices and sustainability, a key tenet of the nonprofit.

Spare Parts’ latest endeavor is another artistic triumph. Its new center for creative reuse, located at 13451 Wetmore Rd., is nothing less than a crafter’s delight. The shop features an impressive array of “pre-loved” and price-reduced artsy merchandise — from paint supplies and paper crafts to sewing items, beading and jewelry, school and office supplies, vintage gadgets, and crafting kits — all of which has been rescued from area landfills.

Cantú notes that proceeds from the new Spare Parts’ shop will enable the organization to further increase creative and educational experiences for San Antonio students and families. But even more so, she hopes the shop will help locals embrace the concept that one person’s trash can be another’s artistic treasure.

“There really isn’t any more room in the world for this stuff. Buying pre-loved at places like Spare Parts or other stores is a way to reduce the amount of things [people] feel that they need,” Cantú said in a recent interview with the San Antonio Sentinel. “We’re challenging people to rethink things around them, buy pre-loved, and find a way to be creative in their lives.”

In the time of COVID-19, however, getting the creative juices flowing isn’t as simple as popping into the Spare Parts shop. Though the center for creative reuse is open, the store is currently offering only weekend curbside pickup of items ordered through its website. But crafters shouldn’t despair, as Spare Parts is offering private in-person shopping experiences in the new year, with the first planned for January 16 and 17.

jewelry shopping kids charity openings sustainability