Update: Monday, Nov. 20

AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) – The Amarillo Area Foundation gathered on Monday morning to kick off its annual Panhandle Gives campaign, which will run from Nov. 20-28 in 2023.

Participating in the kick-off event were the Palo Duro High School Cheerleader Squad and the Caprock High School Drumline, as well as speaker Helen Burton, AAF Board Member and community advocate.

Original Story:

AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) — The Amarillo Area Foundation is preparing to launch The Panhandle Gives campaign. The campaign will last from Nov. 20-28 this year.

Clay Stribling, AAF’s president and CEO, said The Panhandle Gives is an annual campaign where AAF aims to raise money for as many organizations in the Texas Panhandle as possible.

“It centers around Giving Tuesday which is an event that happens after Thanksgiving every year. You have Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, and finally Giving Tuesday. Conceptually, it’s all about making giving back to your community part of your annual planning. You are going to get all of your Christmas shopping done and then you are going to invest in your community and make sure you are making your region a better place,” he said.

According to Stribling, the campaign raised over $8,000,000 last year, and AAF plans to set the bar higher this year.

“Last year we raised just over $8.8 million which was about $22 per person in the Texas Panhandle. It was a huge number and it’s a fantastic tribute to the generosity of our region. It’s really good. Our goal right now is $8.9 million. We hope to achieve that and more. Every single year we set a goal that we’re stressing about and every year we just blow right past it. So we’re hopeful we do that again this year. This region has responded just tremendously to this campaign,” he said.

Stribling said the campaign reminds people of the importance of giving back to the community during the holidays.

“As you’re gearing up for that holiday season where you are buying gifts and you’re thinking about rewarding the people that you love and those that are important to you. Your neighbors are important to you as well. The people that aren’t doing so well in our community are important to you as well. Students are important as well. And just giving back to the entire region is vital. And reminding people of that during the holiday season is really impactful,” he said.

According to Stribling, there are currently 229 organizations that are participating this year. He said this is an all-time high number for The Panhandle Gives campaign.

For more information about The Panhandle Gives campaign and how to donate, visit the campaign’s website.