Spaghetti Dinner is Record-Setting Fundraising Event for Allentown Rescue Mission
Record-Setting Year for Allentown Rescue Mission’s
Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser
10th Annual Event Raised $82K for Mission Programs and Services
The results are in and it was a record-setting year for the Newstalk 790 WAEB Spaghetti Dinner to support the Allentown Rescue Mission. The 10th annual fundraising event brought in $82,000 to fund the Mission’s programs and services that aid homeless men in the Lehigh Valley.
“The generosity of this community continues to surprise me,” said Allentown Rescue Mission Executive Director Gary Millspaugh.
An estimated 825 hungry people packed Asbury United Methodist Church on Saturday, October 6th for a homemade dinner of spaghetti and meatballs, along with salad, bread and dessert. Additionally, guests were treated to music provided by keyboardist Steve Ziminsky and door prizes donated by local businesses and organizations.
WAEB’s Bobby Gunther Walsh, Mission staff and a team of volunteers worked around the clock in the days leading up the dinner. They turned 400-pounds of ground beef and turkey into 4200 meatballs, prepared 165-gallons of sauce and cooked 170-pounds of spaghetti.
“Bobby’s recipe really makes a melt-in-your-mouth meatball,” Millspaugh said.
Saturday’s dining extravaganza was the culmination of a two-week campaign on Newstalk 790 WAEB-AM. Long-time radio host Bobby Gunther Walsh helped to raise awareness and support for the Mission on his morning show from 5:00am to 9:00 am. Listeners called-in during the show to sponsor Gunther’s meatballs for $10 each. The call-in pledges and matching hour sponsors raised about $69,000, plus another $13,000 was donated to the Mission from event sponsors and attendees at Saturday’s event.
“I am so grateful to everyone who helped make the 2012 Spaghetti Dinner a huge success,” Millspaugh said. “So many people, hundreds of them literally, donated money, donated food and product and volunteered their time to make the dinner possible.”
Walsh was honored with a 10th anniversary commemorative plaque from the Allentown Rescue Mission to demonstrate the gratitude of the organization for his dedication and commitment to the cause.
“This is the most successful fundraising event in the history of the Allentown Rescue Mission and it could not be possible without the help of Bobby Gunther Walsh,” said Millspaugh.
Since its inception in 2003, the Spaghetti Dinner has raised nearly $400,000 for the Allentown Rescue Mission.
About the Allentown Rescue Mission
For more than 100 years, the Mission has been a place where men have begun to experience restoration with God, their families and their communities. The Mission’s goal for each man is self-sufficiency. Its programs aim to end homelessness one person at a time and in some cases, preventing it. They include: the Gateway Center (emergency shelter), the Life Recovery Treatment Program (a state-licensed residential drug and alcohol treatment program), the Christian Living and Values Program (life skills and transitional living), the Clean Team (workforce development/jobs program) and Housing. Last year, the Mission spent more than $2.5 million on programs, jobs and housing for homeless men.
Additional information is located at www.allentownrescuemission.org.
