Talk Business and Politics recently published an article entitled “Benton County ranked as most generous U.S. county” based on a new report by SmartAsset. The rankings were determined by how much county residents donate as a percentage of their net income and the proportion of residents who make charitable donations. While Benton County ranked No. 1 in the United States, Washington County was ranked No. 3 in Arkansas.
After seeing this study, we were inspired to go out and find some supporting evidence.
Pedal It Forward
Our first piece of corroborating evidence was discovered at Pedal It Forward in Benton County. With shops in Bentonville and Rogers, this nonprofit group of cyclists is passionate about getting bicycles to everyone in Northwest Arkansas who cannot afford one. In December, this group gave away over 200 bikes to children throughout the region, which put them over 1,000 bikes donated to children, adults, and families this year!
Tri Cycle Farms
Our next stop was in Washington County, where we discovered the 2020 food recovery and distribution update from Tri Cycle Farms. Despite the challenges presented by the pandemic, Tri Cycle Farms was able to recover 129,947 lbs of food. Additionally, the group rescued 4,483 plants and floral bouquets which were donated to area nursing homes and handed out by food distribution partners to community members.
Tri Cycle Farms
Our next stop was in Washington County, where we discovered the 2020 food recovery and distribution update from Tri Cycle Farms. Despite the challenges presented by the pandemic, Tri Cycle Farms was able to recover 129,947 lbs of food. Additionally, the group rescued 4,483 plants and floral bouquets which were donated to area nursing homes and handed out by food distribution partners to community members.
They also partnered with Rockin’ Baker—helping distribute 32,894 artisan rolls to the community since the beginning of the pandemic. The total vaule of the goods recovered and distributed amounted to nearly $390,000!
CASA of Northwest Arkansas
What was that? Christmas gifts delivered to 582 children in foster care?! Yep, you read that correctly – 582.
Court Appointed Special Advocates of Northwest Arkansas provides compassionate volunteers who advocate for abused and neglected children across four counties in our region. Thanks to the generosity of sponsors and donors, 582 children woke up Christmas morning with gifts under the tree that were chosen with care just for them.
If this is what they did on Christmas, you may be curious about the impact they had in 2020 as a whole? Answer: 968 children served by 408 volunteers, 107 adoptions and 177 reunifications.
