This coming Tuesday we are again hosting one of our signature fundraising events: Over the Edge. Consider this column your personal invitation to come on up and check out the event, support a local nonprofit, and scratch your head in amusement as I along with 80 others rappel 24 stories to make a statement. But what is that statement? Simply put, what we’re saying is that as a community we can do scary things together to promote the common good. We all believe in making our community stronger, smarter, safer, healthier, and happier. And by overcoming our fear of heights we are punctuating just how important that is to us!

So, a little bit about the event… United Way of Greater Nashua and Granite United Way co-sponsor OVER THE EDGE at the Brady-Sullivan Tower, 1000 Elm Street, Manchester. During this year’s event, to be held on Tuesday, August 17th, there will be around 80 participants representing 18 different nonprofit agencies. This year’s agencies include returning partners from the Children’s Dyslexia Center, Family Promise, Granite United Way, Granite YMCA, Manchester PAL, Greater Nashua Mental Health, the International Soccer Club, Marguerite’s Place, Southern NH Health, the Youth Council, the Nashua Prevention Coalition, and United Way of Greater Nashua, along with newcomers including Boy Scouts Daniel Webster Council, Granite Pathways, O’Mara Family Foundation, the Youth Enrichment Partnership, and Webster House. As of Wednesday 8/11 – when I wrote this article — the event had already raised over $100K for these nonprofits, and the number keeps going up! Aside from paying the costs of the event, the funds raised by each nonprofit team benefit the organization represented by that team. In that way you can think of Over the Edge as 18 different fundraisers in one!

Included among this year’s rappelers are US Senator Kelly Ayotte, local blind legend Randy Pierce of 2020 Vision Quest, Justin Spencer from Recycled Percussion, as well as the Police and Fire Chiefs from the City of Manchester! I don’t consider myself a “VIP,” but I will be joining this amazing group. By the way, this year I’ll be rappelling in a Captain America Costume, in honor of all the amazing superheroes who have done so much for all of us during the pandemic. The event is hosted by Brady-Sullivan Properties and supported through generous sponsorships from Boston Billiards Club and Casino, Optiline Enterprises, and Bar Harbor Bank and Trust. We also have a lot of support from smaller donors including Fully Promoted / Embroidme for t-shirts, Jason Greenleaf Photography, SignsNow New Hampshire for banners, and McLane Middleton to help with food costs.

New to this year’s events will be a full compliment of activities on the plaza during the event. Hop Knot Brewery is opening for special viewing as a biergarten and along with A&E Coffee will be offering specials throughout the day. Also, there will be a “Hope Tree” where people can ‘plant the seed for great inspiration as we come out of the pandemic’ and there will be a Kid’s Zone including bubbles, temporary tattoos, and craft projects. Also, the Boy Scouts will have their “Mobile Base Camp” on location with events including a GAGA Ball Pit and a Spike Ball Activity.

I like to think that Over the Edge is the singular statewide fundraiser where nonprofits collaborate in an event that transcends their own individual missions. It is always great to see nonprofits cheering each other on in a way which sends the message that ‘we are all better when we work together.’ For me, this is what we mean when we talk about LIVING UNITED.”

The event will kick off at around 8:30 AM with it’s first rappelers of the day, including Kelly Ayotte and Randy Pierce. There is still time to support the event, its teams, and brave “edgers” by going online to https://tinyurl.com/luote2021 – or by texting edge2021 to 71777. Hopefully, we’ll see a lot of you in Manchester next Tuesday!

Mike Apfelberg is president of United Way of Greater Nashua.