(Greensboro, N.C.) December 17, 2012 – Wharton Gladden & Company, a private boutique investment banking firm, held its Annual Christmas Party and Toy Drive Dec. 6^th at the Piedmont Club in downtown Winston-Salem, guests donated toys for over 100 children.

“As a good corporate citizen, we feel compelled to remember those in our community not doing so well this year,” said Algenon Cash, executive managing director of Wharton Gladden & Company, a boutique real estate investment banking firm. “Our annual toy drive and holiday party is a small way of making a difference in the lives of those who may be forgotten around this time of year.”

For Cash, making a difference in children’s lives is personal. When he was six or seven years old, his mother told him that Santa wasn’t going to visit their house.

“Of course, later I better understood what she was trying to say,” Cash said. “My mom had no money to buy us presents.  I can still remember sitting in our living room when she broke the news to my sister and me. I immediately ran upstairs and cried….”

His aunt ended up helping his mother, so his family was able to celebrate Christmas.

“That was always like a miracle to me,” Cash said. “As I got older … I thought about how kind my aunt was to help us and that it was incumbent upon me to pay it forward and help another child in the same way…. There are many children that will not experience Christmas through no fault of their own, they are great kids, they make great choices, they have excellent behavior, and they should be rewarded…. I simply hope the kids that we impact pay it forward and do the same if they are in the position to do so one day.”

In October, Wharton Gladden co-hosted a family movie night with Nature’s Select at the BB&T Ballpark and collected more than 2,000 pounds of food for the Second Harvest Food Bank. Next year will be its fifth spring wine mixer to raise money for the homeless.

“Leaders in the community must be made aware of what is happening to the least of us, and we try to educate them via community awareness events, such as our holiday party/toy drive, spring wine mixer, and family movie night,” Cash said. “I fundamentally believe in ‘partying with a purpose.’”

Wharton Gladden donated the toys to ChristmasToyDrive.com, which was founded by Nathan Tabor. The organization partners with The Salvation Army to provide toys to boys and girls. For more information, go to http://christmastoydrive.com/guidelines/.

About Wharton Gladden & Company:

Wharton Gladden & Company is a uniquely designed boutique investment banking firm that specializes in providing strategic advisory services, underwriting, capital placement and private equity for a diversified client base that includes corporations, real estate developers, financial institutions, investors, municipalities and high net worth individuals.