Press Release
Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg (left) and Mount Pleasant Mayor Will Haynie (right)
At a press conference this afternoon, Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg, Mount Pleasant Mayor Will Haynie and members of the Mayors' Commission on Homelessness and Affordable Housing (MCHAH) announced the 2020 Homeless to Hope Benefit Telethon, which will be held from 12 pm to 8 pm on Friday, May 8th, 2020 on a variety of social media, broadcast media, and virtual outlets.
During the press conference, MCHAH Chairman Robert Clement also announced a donation of $40,000 to the Homeless to Hope Fund, bringing the total amount raised to more than $124,000 prior to today's announcement.
The Homeless to Hope Benefit Telethon will be a day-long multi-media fundraising telethon to raise funds for the Homeless to Hope Fund. Donations to the Homeless to Hope Fund support the Navigation Center, the area's only day resource center that serves individuals experiencing homelessness and supports their transition from homelessness to permanent housing through a network of service providers. These resources are especially critical today, as those experiencing homelessness are particularly vulnerable to the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Homeless to Hope Benefit Telethon performers will include Shovels & Rope, Steep Canyon Rangers, Charlton Singleton of Ranky Tanky, Bobby Houck of the Blue Dogs, Lee Barbour, Kanika Moore, Heather Rice, Motown Throwdown, Vikki Matsis of OHM Radio, Young-Mi Fick, Manny Houston and Michael Flynn & Josh Kayler. The telethon will also feature special performances and host appearances by Mayors Tecklenburg and Haynie.
Additionally, the telethon will include the presentation of the annual “Homeless to Hope Award for Enduring Contributions to Alleviating Homelessness” to two organizations on the frontlines of serving those experiencing homelessness: God's Hot Dog Ministry and Hope to Home Furniture Resource.
The telethon will air in segments on the event's Facebook page, @2020HomelesstoHopeBenefitTelethon, with additional coverage being provided by the Charleston Radio Group’s 92.5 Kickin’ Country, Star 99.7, Mix 95.9, 101-7 Chuck-FM, 99.3 The Box Charleston and WSPO Heaven 100.1 FM, along with local TV news coverage. The Post and Courier also serves as an official Media sponsor.
A detailed schedule of performances will be released prior to the event.
To donate to the Homeless to Hope Fund, please visit www.homelesstohopefund.org/donate or text H2HOPE to 44-321. For more information, visit the Homeless to Hope website, www.homelesstohopefund.org, or Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/HomelessToHopeFund/.
