At this year’s Oysters & Champagne, there will be an opportunity for guests to give in support of our mission.
Longtime Housing Assistance donors Missy and Dave McGraw are already committed to doing so and will make a significant donation that night in the hopes that it will inspire others to do the same. “I encourage everyone who comes that night to be as generous as they possibly can,” Dave said. “We’re doing it because of what’s happened with Covid and the working situation here on the Cape. There is simply not enough housing for the people that work here.”
Dave McGraw with our Chief Development Officer Anne Van Vleck (left) and CEO Alisa Magnotta.
The McGraws introduction to Housing Assistance occurred over 24 years ago when they met our previous CEO Rick Presbrey.
“Our kids went to the same school together,” Dave said. “He was very passionate about Housing Assistance and that is how I got involved – seeing his enthusiasm and seeing the problems of housing on the Cape and what the implications of that problem were.”
It’s a problem that Dave noted has gotten increasingly worse as there is limited inventory for our year-round workforce. The McGraws have committed themselves to helping Housing Assistance address that problem because they understand the importance of our work, from developing more affordable housing to preventing families and individuals in our region from becoming homeless.
And at next month’s Oysters & Champagne, the couple will continue their longstanding support of Housing Assistance because the need is so great. “A lot of people don’t realize how bad the housing crisis is on the Cape,” Dave said. “There is not enough affordable housing for the people who want to live and work here. We don’t want to become like Nantucket where businesses have to buy homes to put employees up because they can’t afford to live there.”
On Cape Cod, the McGraws have long been known for their charitable nature, supporting a number of other causes throughout the region. In 2013, they were recognized with the Outstanding Philanthropist Award at Philanthropy Day on Cape Cod.
When asked why giving back is so important, Dave said, “My mother would say, ‘When you’re given a lot, a lot is expected of you.’ My brothers and I try to change the communities we live in. God put us on this earth to take care of the people who can’t take care of themselves.”
