Turns out, Erie's Pretty Good at Giving

Erie's a lot of things. It's reported to be pretty unhappy. It's also said to be far beyond just a little chunky. And apparently we're pretty good at consuming libations -- professionals, even.

But we're also pretty safe 'round these parts from natural disasters. We've got some pretty spectacular sunsets of which no hyperlink can quite capture the glory and majesty. And really, there's potential abound -- if we're willing to work for it.

Erie's also good at giving. $2,255,550 good.

The 2014 Erie Gives Day saw a $534,708 increase from last year's $1,720,842 total donations -- which sets a new benchmark for Erie Gives donations. The money donated by the 5,766 people who participated in the twelve-hour time frame Tuesday, Aug. 12 will help 313 Erie nonprofits.

The Foundation for Free Enterprise Education netted the most money -- $163,237 -- while the Erie City Mission has the most amount of donors contributing at 367.

Spearheaded by the Erie Community Foundation, Erie Gives also provides a pro-rated match to the donations -- $100,000 coming from the Foundation, $50,000 from GE Transportation, and $25,000 from each Erie Insurance Group and Presque Isle Downs & Casino, totaling $200,000 in additional funds.

Nearly $2.3 million raised in just twelve hours, plus an additional $200,000 -- that's something we can really celebrate, and it's something that should serve as a solid reminder that despite our woes, struggles, and challenges, we're an even more generous lot than we were last year. And that's a very, very, very good thing, Erie.

Ben Speggen can be contacted at bSpeggen@ErieReader.com. You can follow him on Twitter @ERBenSpeggen.