A movie about a homeless family that refuses to give up and a generous spirit by hundreds of donors helped the Renton Salvation Army raise $56,351 in its recent Need Knows No Season Benefit.

The amount raised exceeded the goal of $50,000; the benefit is the most profitable since the first one four years ago, said Greg Taylor, who chairs the Salvation Army’s Fundraising Committee.

And, this year’s benefit was significantly different. Before, donors enjoyed a dinner at the Spirit of Washington Event Center at the Piazza and listened to speakers, including Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren.

There was some opposition to the change, Taylor said, because everyone had become accustomed to the “nice dinner.” But the question was, how could the committee “maximize its fundraising,” he said.

“We need to touch hearts,” Taylor said.

The dinner added to the overhead of the fundraiser and ultimately reduced how much money would actually go to the Salvation Army Renton Rotary Food Bank.

This year, the committee took a different direction. Taylor said committee member Peggy Ziebarth suggested showing the movie, “Where God Left His Shoes,” an award-winning theatrical film by Paul Allen’s Vulcan Productions starring John Leguizamo.

The movie is the story of a family evicted from its New York City apartment and who then must move to a homeless shelter. To get into a nearby housing project, the father must quickly find a job. Through it all, the family sticks together.

The June 30 benefit featured an invitation-only reception catered by Renton Technical College at the Renton High School Commons and the movie at the IKEA Performing Arts Center. Mayor Denis Law was the speaker.

The reception drew about 150 people and about 350 people watched the movie, which was open to the public.

Both events allowed the Salvation Army to raise awareness about homelessness and to raise money to fight it, Taylor said.

Part of the success of the June evening had to do with the logistics of moving people between the two events, which was handled by Lisa Lam, Taylor said.

This year’s fundraiser also saw some new donors, Taylor said, including Uwajimaya, which recently opened a new Asian-themed grocery and gift store at Renton Village Shopping Center. And, another donor wrote a check for $10,000, he said.

This year’s fundraiser displayed some “out-of-the-box” thinking, Taylor said.

“This kind of innovation is the kind of thinking we will have to get used to in these times,” he said.