On Sept. 20, we all have a chance to make a difference in our community.

That’s the date when the Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties will host its first ever 24-hour community giving day, “Mohawk Valley Gives.”

Our intent is to focus the attention of the entire community on nonprofit organizations that do so much for so many.

And Mohawk Valley Gives provides a well-organized platform for more than 150 participating non-profits (a number we know will grow next year and beyond) to energize and inspire current and new supporters.

In leading this effort during our 70th anniversary year, the Community Foundation has engaged over the past several months with businesses, donors and, of course, the hundreds of nonprofit groups in Oneida and Herkimer counties. Now, with Sept. 20 not far off, we’re reaching out through the media and on social media to let people know — their opportunity to make a donation of any amount for a favorite charity can have a greater than usual impact — thanks to MV Gives matching, leveraging and incentives — if they give on Sept. 20.

Battered by the global pandemic and stressed by challenges too numerous to mention here, the nonprofit organizations in our community — from large and well-known institutions to many groups making a difference on a more modest scale — continue to contribute to and enhance this area’s remarkable quality of life.

The more we as a community support nonprofits, the greater the return on those charitable investments — for all of us.

The Community Foundation is proud that the Daily Sentinel and Sentinel Media Company have joined this effort, and we are grateful to our presenting sponsors, Staffworks and M&T Bank, and these major sponsors: Rising Phoenix Holdings Corporation, Adirondack Bank, Bank of Utica, and Danfoss.

Please visit givemv.org for more information, and mark your calendar for Sept. 20. From 12:01 a.m. to 11:59 p.m., Mohawk Valley Gives will focus our collective attention on the full array of human service, historical, cultural and other assets that deserve support, the vibrant nonprofit community.

With your help and participation, we will all make a difference.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Alicia Fernandez Dicks is president/CEO of the Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties. More information about Mohawk Valley Gives is available online at givemv.org.