Thursday, November 8th, 2012 was a very special day in the hearts of a lot of people.  It was the day to help fight homeless in Porter County. According to Barb Young, President of the Porter County Community Foundation, organizer of the event, more than 360 peoplpe are homeless in Porter County--148 of them are children.  A donation given during this very special day only was matched from a pool of $55,000 from generous sponsors.   Listeners gave online at http://www.portercountygiveday.org or stopped by the Porter County Give Day location at the Times Building in Valparaiso.  Some 17 local non-profit organizations including, Alice's, The Caring Place, Dayspring Women's Center, Gabriel's Horn, Habitat for Humanity, Harold Kelley Respite house, Housing Opportunities, Moraine House, Opportunity Enterprises, Open Arms Women's Shelter, New Creation Business Advocates, and Porter County Community Foundation Housing Assistance.  Sponsors who contributed to the $55,000 Matching Funds Pool included, Don Quijote's, Valpo Rotary, Task Force Tips, Thrivent Financial, The Times and other generous contributors, according to Young.   Over $180,000 was raised through donations and matching funds for the first ever Porter County "Give Day."  Check out the Leaderboard totals from Thursday:  http://www.portercountygiveday.org/leaderboard/ 

Indiana 105 at the Times Building in Valparaiso, Porter County "Give Day" Headquarters

Carol Costakis, Community Resource Director and Barb Young, President of Porter County Community Foundation.

Brenda Sheetz, Vice President of Porter County Community Foundation with client during Porter County "Give Day," November 8, 2012.

(photos courtesy of jstevens Radio One Communications)