On a chilly Friday in November, Resident Tom Kile did several things that he never thought he would do.
He never thought he would stand on top of the Holiday Inn in Lancaster. He never thought he would have his toes on the edge of the building’s roof, looking down 10 stories to the pavement below. And, he certainly never thought that he would rappel down the building! However, that is what happened!
Thankfully, it was all very well planned. Tom had brought a rappelling company to help out with fundraising for a local non-profit, VisionCorps, during the Extraordinary Give. The result? 94 people rappelled off the Holiday Inn, with each person bringing in more than $1,000 in donations.
Tom, who serves as secretary and treasurer of VisionCorps, brought the idea to Megan Tomsheck, the vice president of the VisionCorps Foundation. Megan ran with the idea. They decided to set a fundraising goal of $151,000, a number that Tom thought it unlikely to achieve. At the end of the day, the foundation had raised more than $167,500.
VisionCorps serves people who are blind or vision-impaired through preventative, rehabilitative, and employment opportunities. All services are provided at no cost to the clients. It is not a government agency, and it relies on support from the community to make its services possible.
The rappelling event, named “Eye Drop 2019,” was a huge success. So much so that Tom says he is gathering a list of people interested in rappelling next year. Would he personally go down again? Perhaps.