HoHoTO, the Toronto party that Twitter built, takes over The Mod Club for the seventh year on Thursday, December 11th.
The party that began with a casual tweet and a modest goal to raise $10K for Toronto’s Daily Bread turned into an epic success story. HoHoTO has been cited in business books, endorsed by Biz Stone of Twitter, Alexis Ohanian of Reddit, Rick Mercer, Don Tapscott and Toronto’s techies and geeks each year.
The event has raised well over $300K over the years, and shows no signs of slowing down.
“Between the ticket sales, sponsorship, and amazing raffle, we were able to raise over $40,000 last year alone. This year the raffle will be better than ever. Expect a photo booth, DJs playing a mix of 80s, rock, hip hop, and pop music all night long, a masseuse, and a late night pizza drop. With hundreds of tech, startup, and digital media folks in attendance, it’s a great way to mix and mingle with industry peers or just enjoy a great night out,” HoHoTO organizer Lee Dale told BetaKit.
The event has raised well over $300K over the years, and shows no signs of slowing down.
Giving back while partying has long been one of the favourite ways to engage the Toronto tech community in charitable giving. “I’m always amazed at what HoHoTO manages to accomplish every year. It’s a great party and a fun time but also reminds people that there are those who are struggling,” said Gail Nyberg, Executive Director, Daily Bread Food Bank. “I’m always thrilled when people choose to give their time and energy back to the community in this way.”
As a holiday party, HoHoTO has been a stand-out for years, a fun way to outsource holiday celebrations for startups, meet new friends, grow the community network, and wrap up the year on the dance floor. HoHoTO has always been about getting together, having a good time, giving back and helping feed people. Because everyone needs to eat:
- Torontonians made more than a million visits to food banks last year.
- More than 30% of the people relying on food banks in the GTA are children.
- More than 50% have a disability.
- More than 30% have a college diploma, bachelor’s degree, or higher.
- The median monthly household income in Toronto for food bank users is only $691.
To raise essential funds for Daily Bread Food Bank while partying, and quite possibly getting your holiday shopping done, get your tickets at http://hohoto.ca/tickets. Groups of 5 or more people get special discounts. Alternatively, experience a pang of FOMO and scroll through #hohoto hashtag to follow the event, or pick a song to play at HoHoTo for just a $2 donation.
Photos courtesy Lee Dale and Andrew Lewis.