“I like bringing people together in a positive way, trying to help people,” says Jeremiah Loeffler. “To me, it doesn’t take that much time to connect people together. You never know where those connections lead.”
At the Well Community, we’re thankful that for several years, the connections Jeremiah has fostered have resulted in a fun-filled evening at our annual fundraising party. His ability to bring people around a common cause has helped to make this event a smashing success, providing a great time for participants while raising awareness about the work of the Well and the needs of our members.
Jeremiah and his wife learned about the Well through others in the neighborhood after moving to the local area about a decade ago. He was drawn to the idea of supporting an organization that was empowering people in the local community. “It’s a small, kind of grassroots place,” he explains. “That was intriguing: to be able to try and help an organization that really needs it … needs the help to continue serving the community.”
The couple began donating toward the Well Community and soon became regular attendees at the Well’s annual fundraising events. When he was asked about serving as event chair, his response was “Absolutely.” As he shares, “For me, another way to be able to continue to support and help the organization was just to lend my relationships in the neighborhood, my connectivity in the neighborhood, and kind of create a groundswell within everybody.” He saw how he could use his ability to build community bonds to bring people in Oak Cliff together for a night of fun with a purpose.
Serving as event chair is a multifaceted role. “First and foremost, it’s putting your name on it to say, ‘I support it, and I want to drive other people to support it.’” Then, Jeremiah explains, it involves getting others involved in numerous ways, from helping with decorations to procuring prizes and raffle items. “And then from there, I think it’s trying to just make it fun, imagining ways that are interesting,” he says, such as finding a great DJ and band, as well as a fantastic caterer.
Though Jeremiah invests a lot of time and effort, he emphasizes that planning Monster Mash is a group effort. “Part of putting on the party is collaborating together to make it a big event that is also fun, and that’s been our focus: How do we bring people together by doing something fun that makes it easy to want to continue to support it?”
He continues, “The joy is in bringing support to an organization that really needs it and is doing a lot of good but needs the awareness. So, at the end of a party, you see a couple hundred people all having a good time; but ultimately, we’re also then on the microphone recognizing the Well, what [Well Executive Director] Alice is doing and the people that it’s serving.”
Raising awareness involves helping members of the wider community understand the needs of those who live with mental illnesses and the ways the Well serves them. “I think the Well does a great job,” Jeremiah says. “It’s really just about being able to provide a community where they don’t have one.”
At this year’s party, Monster Mash, Halloween Bash, participants enjoyed another fantastic evening as people from the community come together for a great time in support of the Well. He tells those who missed it but are thinking about next year, “It’s so easy to go out for a night and have fun with other people in the neighborhood, and so why not?”
Jeremiah emphasizes that Monster Mash isn’t about fancy clothes and formalities but about having a good time with others in the community, with costumes, music and great food and drink. “This is meant to be a party. It’s meant to be fun, and hopefully by keeping it fun, we’ll just keep growing.”
He adds, “I’m always excited to see how people take it up a notch with costumes. That’s always fun. … I’m excited about that, but ultimately just excited about continuing it, being able to continue the support for the Well through this event in the neighborhood.”
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