Results
Engaged and inspired an audience of 150 guests virtually to create an invaluable fundraising event for The Youth Automotive Training Center. With guests across the country, we were able to find the perfect celebrity chef to deliver 146 gourmet meal kits and 114 wine kits to further connect and delight YATC’s virtual event attendees. The virtual event was a huge hit and raised enough money to run the school for an entire year, despite being in the midst of a global pandemic.
Inspiration
The Youth Automotive Training Center is an organization founded by automotive legend, Jim Moran. The program prepares young adults who are at a disadvantage in their lives to become self-sufficient, productive, law-abiding citizens. In light of COVID-19, YATC needed to replace their long-standing in-person annual event with a suitable virtual event that would garner the same or more attraction than in the past. With fundraising goals higher than ever before, YATC enlisted our support to collaborate and bring guests together from anywhere they may be across the country.
Solution
Innovative Group’s approach underlines our constant effort to balance what’s desirable, what’s possible, and what’s feasible. To help YATC, we all “Shifted Gears Virtually” to say a BIG thank you to the supporters who have been there for YATC over the years.
Not only did guests get to enjoy a fabulous meal from celebrity chef, Stephanie Izard and her team from Girl & The Goat, they also got to hear from a YATC student and graduate, and they had the chance to interact with celebrity athletes and long-time supporters such as:
Andre Dawson – professional baseball player and inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame
Olindo Mare – Pro Bowl placekicker in the NFL for the Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints, and Seattle Seahawks
Joe Montana – one of the greatest quarterbacks in the NFL, leading the San Francisco 49ers to 4 Super Bowl victories
Mark Pfeil – The winner of four PGA Tour events
Chi Chi Rodriquez – The winner of eight PGA Tour events and a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame
Mike Schmidt– third baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies, 12-time All-Star, and a three-time winner of the National League Most Valuable Player award
Major sponsors enjoyed a half-hour VIP session with the celebrity guests, allowing them one-on-one time to ask any question they had.
From celebrity chef Stephanie Izard, guests were able to choose from 4 different gourmet meal kits. Each guest also received a custom wine kit, complete with wine tumblers and one red and one bottle of white wine from the Firestone Wineries to play off the automotive theme.
Our team of Solutionists™ assisted with the registration process, landing pages, digital marketing efforts, social media campaign, and all the logistics leading up to the event, helping YATC to deliver an experience of a lifetime in a virtual setting.