Gay Community Endowment Fund to host 22nd annual holiday home tour
Sugar Plum Tour will feature enchanting homes throughout Greater Akron
The Gay Community Endowment Fund of Akron Community Foundation invites Greater Akron residents to save the date for its 22nd annual Sugar Plum Tour of Holiday Homes. The Sugar Plum Tour is Akron's premier holiday home tour and the signature fundraiser of the Gay Community Endowment Fund.
This year's event includes both live and virtual tours, with the live tour taking place on Sunday, Dec. 3, from 12 to 5 p.m., and the virtual tour taking place the weekend of Dec. 9-10. The live tour will showcase five of the finest local historic and contemporary homes, all festively decorated for the holiday season. Virtual tourgoers will experience all five homes on the live tour, plus two bonus locations, all from the comfort of their own home.
Corporate and individual sponsorships for the Sugar Plum Tour are available and start at $500. Sponsors receive tickets to both the live and virtual tours, along with several other benefits. All sponsorship levels include tickets to a pre-tour Patron Party at Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens on Saturday, Dec. 2, from 5 to 9 p.m. All guests will receive a complimentary ticket for the 2023 Deck the Halls Tour, with the added bonus of skipping the lines via an exclusive Sugar Plum entrance. Sponsors at the $5,000 level and above will receive early access to the Patron Party. Sponsors at the $2,500 level and above will also be invited to a special brunch and preview tour with this year's homeowners prior to the live tour.
"Sponsors make the Sugar Plum Tour possible each year, but they also make a tangible impact in the lives of LGBTQ+ people in our community," said Gregory Hail, Sugar Plum Tour co-chair. "Whether this is the first time you're sponsoring the tour or the 22nd time, your generosity will support the local LGBTQ+ community for generations to come."
Proceeds from the Sugar Plum Tour support the Gay Community Endowment Fund's grantmaking to programs that positively impact the Greater Akron LGBTQ+ community. In 2023, grants from the fund will help LGBTQ+ job seekers find meaningful employment, promote free wellness services for LGBTQ+ people impacted by cancer, and provide gender-affirming hormone therapy injection kits to patients at the Summa Health Pride Clinic, among other initiatives.
Tourgoers who purchase their tickets before Nov. 1 will receive a special early bird discount. Discounted ticket sales will begin the day of the Akron Pride Festival on Aug. 26 and can be purchased online at sugarplumtour.org. To receive a reminder alert when tickets go on sale, sign up for the Sugar Plum Tour email list at akroncf.org/SugarPlumNews.
If you would like to volunteer for this year's Sugar Plum Tour, contact Volunteer Coordinator Julie Miller at 330-720-8101 or julie518@neo.rr.com. If you would like to volunteer to have your home on the tour next year or to host a future Patron Party, contact Home Procurement Chair Adam Besenyodi at 330-687-8527 or adam.besenyodi@hotmail.com.
A complete list of sponsorship opportunities can be viewed at akroncf.org/SugarPlumSponsor. For more information, contact Deb Hoffman at 330-436-5614 or dhoffman@akroncf.org, or visit sugarplumtour.org.
About the Gay Community Endowment Fund
Founded in 2001, the Gay Community Endowment Fund is a permanent philanthropic endowment of Akron Community Foundation. The fund advances a lived equality for all LGBTQ+ people in Greater Akron by investing in strategic and responsive grantmaking that empowers the LGBTQ+ community and its allies. Since its inception, the fund has grown to nearly $2 million while reinvesting more than $750,000 into the community. Contributions of any amount are welcome and support future grantmaking. Checks should be sent to Akron Community Foundation, 345 W. Cedar St., Akron, OH 44307, with Gay Community Endowment Fund in the memo line. Donations may also be designated for the GCEF Scholarship Fund. For more information, or to contribute, call 330-376-8522 or visit gaycommunityfund.org/.
About Akron Community Foundation
Celebrating 67 years of building community philanthropy, Akron Community Foundation embraces and enhances the work of charitable people who make a permanent commitment to the good of the community. In 1955, a $1 million bequest from the estate of Edwin Shaw established the community foundation. It is a philanthropic endowment of nearly $260 million with a growing family of more than 820 funds established by charitable people and organizations from all walks of life. The community foundation and its funds welcome gifts of all kinds, including cash, bequests, stock, real estate, life insurance and retirement assets, just to name a few. To date, the community foundation's funds have awarded more than $217 million in grants to qualified nonprofit organizations. For more information about Akron Community Foundation or to learn more about creating your own charitable fund, call 330-376-8522 or visit akroncf.org.