The on-going pandemic has derailed Lula Lake Land Trust (LLLT) in their plans for a successful year of signature event fundraisers. After initially delaying and then canceling the organization’s beer festival, Hike Bike Brew, LLLT staff has made the decision to cancel all fundraising events scheduled for 2020.
“During the early months of the pandemic, no one could have guessed how this year would play out,” said Cody Roney, LLLT executive director.
“Like so many others, we were disheartened to have to cancel all 2020 events. The safety of our community, staff, and attendees was at the forefront of our thoughts with making this decision, and we feel it was the right thing to do. As we've come to terms with a socially-distanced future, we look forward to offering our community some unique (COVID-friendly) alternatives.”
“Safety is our top priority,” said Matthew Hubbard, LLLT director of development. “Canceled fundraisers include Wine Walk Wine Festival, Timber Roots Music Festival, River City Sessions at Lula Lake, and Polar Plunge. It is very saddening but necessary. We hope our community will help Lula Lake make up crucial funds that would have amounted to 13+ miles of trail work.”
He said, "Guests travel far and wide for the unique experiences only offered by the land trust. This fact alone spurred the idea to offer a limited number of safe, unique experiences in an online auction to offset the loss of raised funds."
A variety of once-in-a-lifetime adventures will be up for bid in the “Experiences of a Lifetime” online auction from Sept. 1-7. These unique experiences include private movie screenings in LLLT meadow, wine tastings, stargazing, yoga, and more. A full list of auction items are available for preview online at bit.ly/lulaexperiences, and bidding starts at 8 a.m. ET on Sept. 1.
“Making the decision to cancel fundraisers also affected our corporate partners,” Mr. Hubbard said. "We are so grateful our decision was supported by our 2020 event sponsors. Their support has made such a crucial impact.”
Lula Lake Land Trust’s 2020 fundraiser partners sponsoring the Experiences of a Lifetime auction include EPB Fiber Optics, Southeastern Salvage Home Emporium, Audi Chattanooga, Village Volkswagen of Chattanooga, First Horizon, Chambliss, and Elley.