Welcome to Jesse's Annual Holiday Soiree

Traditionally, I've asked attendees of Jesse's Annual Holiday Soiree to bring with them donations of non-perishable items for Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. This year, since we are celebrating virtually, I asked everyone who enjoys this virtual celebration to make a monetary donation as generous as possible to Second Harvest. Our goal was $12,000 and WE DID IT!!

Some fun stats about our fundraiser:

$$$ raised - $16,951

# of individual donors - 156

# of repeat donors (multiple donations from same person) - 10

Matching Gift $$$ yet to come in - $3,350 (will bring total to $20,301)

% of donors not from Central Florida - 26% (CA, FL, GA, IN, KY, MI, NC, NY, OH, OR, UT, WA, WI)

Be sure to check out the Big Tree page where a new show video of the big tree has been posted to celebrate achieving our goal!!

A SPECIAL WELCOME AND THANK YOU TO OUR SECOND HARVEST DONORS:

Text of the welcome video above:

"Welcome Family and Friends, new and old to Jesse’s Annual Holiday Soiree - 2020 - the first ever virtual edition!!

It’s both exciting to be celebrating our 28th year hosting and a bit bittersweet that we have had to go online and can’t celebrate in person. I say “our” 28th year because there are many people who help along the way whether with assistance putting up the decor, helping with the party itself, or in the case of this year, technical support as I built this website. A special thank you to all of them! It has been quite a year and we are certainly finding whatever ways we can to safely celebrate this season. While we celebrate in new and unique ways, it’s important to remember the vast impact that the ongoing pandemic continues to have on so many people. Lives, jobs, homes and so much more has been lost by so many, so I wanted to share some background and a holiday request...

As many of you know, at Jesse's Annual Holiday Soirée, we collect non-perishable food items and donate them to Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. Last year alone we collected over 1000 pounds of non-perishable items. Central Florida, and especially the hospitality industry here, has been hit extremely hard by the pandemic impacts so I’m thrilled to announce that we have found a way to continue our tradition of leveraging Jesse’s Annual Holiday Soirée to support Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. This year we are hosting a virtual food drive in which monetary donations are accepted online directly to Second Harvest on a secure site. On every page throughout this site, you can find a link at the right hand side of the Navigation bar and on the long red button at the bottom of each page. Given the drastic impact the Central Florida economy is facing I am asking everyone to please donate if you can and be as generous as you can. Every dollar helps. 'In this super quick and obvious audio overlay I'm upping the challenge because you all are AWESOME! Let's try to hit $12,000 by New Year's Eve to help fight hunger in Central Florida!' If you know someone who works for the theme parks in central Florida who has helped you in the past, this is a great opportunity to help them and their community in return. It’s easy and secure and as I mentioned, links can be found throughout the site. Since we can’t gather in person this year, much of the cost of putting on Jesse’s Annual Holiday Soirée will be donated as well.

Even though we aren't together, I can still share the festive decor and a bit of fun here online! Please enjoy the photo tour of my home's holiday decor! Additionally, it wouldn’t be Jesse’s annual holiday soirée without some games, so "The Great Pickle Caper" and "Do You Feel Illuminated?" contests are back as well.

I hope this virtual edition of Jesse's Annual Holiday Soiree brings you at least a little bit of holiday joy, and if it does...and even if it doesn't, please consider a donation to Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida.

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, Solstice, or other holidays may you feel the joy the season brings!

All the best and Happy Holidays!"