Due to the ongoing pandemic, Horizons Atlanta has made the difficult decision to hold our signature annual fundraising event completely online for the second year in a row. Everyone is invited to tune into this free live-streamed event, which will include many opportunities to financially support our mission of closing the opportunity gap for students from metro Atlanta's underserved communities. A great way to expand the reach of Horizons Honors 2021 and bring even more supporters into the summer learning movement is to consider hosting a watch party.
A watch party is a gathering of 4 – 8 people either at your home or via Zoom. Prior to the 7 pm start time of Horizons Honors, we invite you to gather with friends, family or colleagues to watch the celebration together.
So what all goes into a watch party? Below are a few tips to help you get started:
SET THE TIMING
Horizons Honors 2021 will begin at 7:00 pm, so a good time to start your watch party is about one hour before the event. The virtual event will last approximately one hour, so there will be time before and after the celebration for you to socialize with your guests.
DETERMINE YOUR LOCATION
As the pandemic continues to impact our lives, some people are understandably hesitant to have gatherings in their home. If you do have an in-person watch party, please do your best to follow safety guidelines, including social distancing and the use of masks and hand sanitizer. If you decide to convene online, Zoom is an example of a free online system that allows you and your friends to hang out virtually until the event starts! Guests can easily use their phone or computers to be a part of your virtual watch party.
IDENTIFY YOUR SPECIAL GUESTS
Hosting a watch party is the perfect opportunity share your passion for Horizons Atlanta and why you’re encouraging your friends to be a part of the evening with you. We would love for guests to participate in the event any way they can, by sponsoring, donating, or just learning more about Horizons overall. Inviting guests is best done via phone and serves as a nice personal touch to ask others to attend! You can also follow up the call with an email (see below for a copy and paste template).
KEEP THE "PARTY" IN WATCH PARTY
Horizons Honors is your chance to have fun and make this an even more memorable evening! Choose a theme, enjoy specialty drinks and fun appetizers, and play games before or after the program! Make the evening both a "friendraiser" and fundraiser. Remember, there is no cost to attend this event, so it’s a great opportunity for your guests to invest instead in summer learning and enrichment opportunities for students in metro Atlanta.
KNOW YOUR TECH
Since you are hosting the watch party at your home, you can either setup your TV to stream the virtual event or you can connect your laptop to your TV. Most TVs today are smart and have Youtube and other apps already built in. You will want your guests to participate in text-to-give or other methods of giving, so ask them to bring their fully charged phones too! Zoom meetings can also be done through your TV or computer. Other options are Google Chromecast, Roku, Amazon Fire or Apple TV.
We are here to assist you and make this watch party as successful as we can, so please reach out with any questions.
