Helping homeless children

InsuranceHub Leavitt Agency is dedicated to giving back to their community in northern Georgia. For nearly a decade they have partnered with Home of Hope Gwinnett Children’s Shelter, providing substantial funding and support to homeless children and their young moms. “Our goal is not simply to be a place of refuge; we are the next step toward independence,” said Maureen Kornowa, executive director at Home of Hope. “We take our guests from homeless, to hopeful, to a home of their own.”

“Our goal is not simply to be a place of refuge; we are the next step toward independence. We take our guests from homeless, to hopeful, to a home of their own.”

—Maureen Kornowa, executive director at Home of Hope

Coordinating a large-scale event

Taking care of homeless families requires serious funding, which is why InsuranceHub Leavitt Agency has operated on a large scale when putting together their annual two-day charity event. The Sip & Swine BBQ Festival generates crowds between 20,000 and 30,000 attendees each year, and the hard work that’s put into coordinating the event has paid off in a major way. To date, this community event has raised $742,714 for Home of Hope.

A lot of volunteer work goes into the planning and execution of the event: employees of InsuranceHub Leavitt Agency organize live music, BBQ tasting, vendor sponsorships and competitions to ensure that the event keeps bringing attendees back year after year. They handle finding the location, setting up the event and cleaning up after. To get the word out, the agency also promotes the event with Facebook and Instagram ads, radio advertising, billboards and press releases.

Adjusting during difficult times

In 2020, the Sip & Swine BBQ Festival was held right before the outbreak of COVID, allowing the fundraiser to generate a lot of money for the charity at a time when it was about to need help the most. Of course, the pandemic was still raging in 2021, which meant that the agency had to make adjustments to the event in order to ensure the safety of its attendees.

The Sip & Swine BBQ Festival is Home of Hope’s largest annual fundraiser, so it’s crucial to their continued operation. Thus, the festival had to continue, even if the way it was operated had to change completely. There were mask requirements and new safety precautions that had never been necessary in previous years. Even in the face of all this, InsuranceHub Leavitt Agency was able to raise substantial funds with the 2021 event, bringing in much-needed revenue for the charity during uncertain times.

“To know the joy on the face of a child who gets everything they hoped for is a gift with no monetary value.”

—Jim Lloyd, CEO at InsuranceHub Leavitt Agency

Support for the holidays

The contributions of InsuranceHub Leavitt Agency go far beyond their annual fundraiser. Every year, during Thanksgiving and Christmas, each department in the agency sponsors a different family in need. They provide gifts and donations to these families and ensure that they are able to have a nice holiday season, despite their difficult circumstances.

“To know the joy on the face of a child who gets everything they hoped for is a gift with no monetary value,” said Jim Lloyd, the agency’s CEO. The agency has created a culture of giving that promotes paying it forward in everything they do, and this attitude has brought a lot of goodwill to families in need.

InsuranceHub Leavitt Agency continues to contribute to Home of Hope’s cause. They are already planning the next Sip & Swine BBQ Festival, which will raise additional funds for housing, food, clothing, case management and childcare services. Mark your calendar for the next festival hosted March 3-4, 2023, at Coolray Field in Lawrenceville, GA. Find full details at www.sipandswine.com.

Help InsuranceHub Leavitt Agency win $10,000 for Home of Hope by cheering them on with a vote!