Over $10,000 Raised at Phoebe Allentown Basket Social!

Phoebe Allentown has been organizing a basket social for 18 years and it has become an integral part of the community’s annual fundraising efforts. More than this, the basket social is one of those special occasions that unites staff, volunteers, family members, residents, and members of the surrounding community in a common goal. Together, everyone involved contributes time, money, and energy to the betterment of resident life at Phoebe Allentown.

Linda Plunkett, Administrative Assistant at Phoebe Allentown, coordinates the committee that organizes the basket social and is a vital part of organizing the entire event.

“The basket social is an annual tradition,” says Plunkett, “Employees come together to help raise funds for our Circle of Life, a program that enhances the lives of our residents and makes the environment here as homelike as possible. Everyone looks forward to the possibility of winning a beautiful basket and supporting our essential cause.”

This year the basket social raised more than $10,000 that will directly support the Circle of Life fund at Phoebe Allentown. The fund is used to enhance life for residents and to create a homelike environment. More specifically, it is used to underwrite programming involving children from the local community, special musical events, as well as supporting the care of resident pets, plants, and gardens on the Allentown Campus.

More than 500 people attended the basket social this year, purchasing 74,250 tickets to try their luck in any one of 118 baskets. In total, Phoebe Allentown received 161 donations from local businesses as well as internal departments and neighborhoods that pooled together to create themed baskets bursting with goodies.

William Kuhfahl provided the largest donation ever received at a Phoebe basket social with a snow blower. Cash donations of $950 went toward buying additional basket fillers and supplies needed for the social. Baskets ran the gamut of themes, from wine and romance to Italian cooking and tickets to local games and shows. More than 100 area restaurants, colleges, shops, offices, and organizations provided baskets for the social, many of them long time veteran supporters of the event.

The basket social may be organized by a core team of Phoebe employees, but help is pulled in from every direction. One resident of the Phoebe Apartments and her husband have been volunteering at the social for years. Former employees helped out making baskets and cooking up barbecue to sell at the fundraiser, alongside baked goods donated from others. Staff at Phoebe Allentown set up tables and baskets, and sold tickets during the two-day event.

Events like the basket social are part of what keeps Phoebe an active and engaged part of the local community. It’s a chance to invite our neighbors in and get them in direct contact with our team and our residents. And it’s an event that directly impacts resident lives every day, bringing them musicians and special programs, plants and pets, and making their home here the best it can possibly be!