A good thing happened when Good Friends got together again: Another big fundraiser
Editor’s note: This story was updated on Jan. 5, 2022, with a new amount raised at the Good Friends event.
Sheria Worthy moved to Charlotte from Philadelphia to get away from an abusive relationship.
In the process of moving, Worthy lost custody of children and was forced to live in a shelter.
With the help of Good Friends and Safe Alliance, Worthy is now on a path toward moving into a new home — and reuniting with her children.
“Before Good Friends, I was in a really bad place,” Worthy said. “I went from feeling like the victim to basically turning my pain into power.”
Worthy is one of 100,000 people whose life has been changed because of the all-woman organization, Good Friends president Anne McPhail said during the group’s 35th annual Gather and Give holiday fundraiser Thursday at Charlotte Convention Center.
The COVID-19 pandemic canceled last year’s luncheon, but Good Friends still managed to set a record, raising nearly $750,000 for causes tied to food insecurity, infant safety and education, among others.
The in-person luncheon returned Thursday, and along with donations made virtually, Good Friends has raised nearly $700,000, McPhail told the Observer.
On Wednesday, Good Fellows, a club of more than 1,800 men, set its own record by raising about $1.57 million during its luncheon at the convention center.
“We are just delighted that in the last 48 hours, Good Friends and Good Fellows together raised over $2.3 million to help our neighbors in need in Charlotte,” McPhail said.
‘The need is now’
At the convention center, and online, multiple members dove into Good Friends’ past, present and future for the almost 1,500 women in attendance virtually or in-person.
Good Friends, founded in 1987 by Catherine Browning, Patty Norman, Alice Folger and Sally Saussy, was modeled after Good Fellows, which has met in some form every December since 1917.
“We just thought that was really something missing in our community, and we wanted to see if we could help with it,” Norman said Thursday.
Helping is what they’ve done for over three decades, as the group’s 970 active members have raised $5.6 million for the Charlotte community through its annual holiday luncheon. During its first luncheon, Good Friends raised $30,000, group trustee Joan Zimmerman said.
Mayor Vi Lyles and U.S. Olympian Anna Cockrell, both Good Friends members, spoke at the luncheon.
“This community appreciates everything we have done and continue to do for those who are less fortunate,” Lyles said. “Your willingness to provide that extra financial boost is the type of gift that creates stability for families in need and can provide piece of mind during a stressful holiday season.”
Cockrell, a second-generation member, said “the need is great and the need is now.”
Good Friends partners with over 80 agencies to provide assistance to families in need, like the Worthys.
The pandemic actually allowed the Good Friends to be more creative in how they helped, and that’s how the group is now able to provide deposits for women to move into their own homes, luncheon chair Marinn Bengel said.
Safe Alliance, a Good Friends partner, is usually able to find women housing, but the domestic violence organization doesn’t have the money to fund their deposit or first month’s rent.
Good Friends, in honor of its 35th luncheon, helped 35 families with $35,000 worth of housing deposits this year.
“I trust that the change we have made over 35 years will be nothing compared to the change we will make in the next 35,” Bengel said.
This story was originally published December 9, 2021 at 6:00 PM.
