On Labor Day weekend, September 4 and 5, 2021, Bingham Group held its 8th annual Monroe Life Balloon Festival, raising $50,000 for Boys & Girls Clubs of the Ocoee Region. The festival was held at The Sequoyah Birthplace Museum in Vonore, TN. Ten hot-air balloon pilots entertained the large crowds who also enjoyed the various games and attractions.
In 2019 Lisa Bingham, President of The Bingham Group, approached BGCOR Board member Paul Willson about the Club possibly being the recipient of the proceeds from the annual balloon festival. For more than a century, BGCOR has helped put young people on the path to great futures with a mission to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens. As a mother to three adopted daughters, the Club’s mission really resonates with Bingham. She had been looking to partner with an organization that worked with children in need, a cause she cares deeply about, and so the Club felt like the perfect match.
The first year of the partnership was a light turnout for the festival, but Bingham was committed to giving the Club enough money to purchase a new bus. So in addition to the money raised by the balloon festival, she dipped into her personal resources and gave the Club an additional $10,000 to fill the gap.
Going into the 2021 event, there was some concern that the pandemic would negatively impact the event, but instead there was a great turnout and it ended up raising another $50,000, this time in unrestricted funds for the Club.
Commenting on the donation, Carly Armstrong, BGCOR’s Monroe Area Director of Finance and Special Events said, “For our organization as a whole, the donation is a huge shot in the arm, and for our Monroe Area clubs it’s an even bigger shot than the arm. 2019 and 2020 neither were good years for us in terms of our fundraising, so that was a much-needed gift.”
“The Bingham Group—and particularly Lisa Bingham herself—has been an incredible partner for the Clubs,” said BGCOR Chief Executive Officer, Derrick Kinsey. “With this donation, The Bingham Group is continuing their investment in the Ocoee region, and the health, welfare, and futures of kids in our community. We are so grateful for Lisa and her team.”
