Who says fundraising for homeless, neglected and abused children needs to be serious? A sold-out Cherishing Arts Initiative Gala evening on Tuesday was filled with plenty of laughs and some unique auction items that raised quite significant of money for the Crisis Nursery.
Host Committee Members Secretary of State Michele Reagan, Senator Steve Farley, Senator Adam Driggs and Arizona Corporation Commissioner Tom Forese welcomed the crowd of students, parents and all various individuals coming from different walks of life, as did Gayle Jansen an anchor for Fox 10, and they kept the laughs going throughout the evening.
After being introduced by Gayle Jansen, Secretary Reagan took the stage and shared the story of how she became an essential part for the project and thanked to organizers for the event. Before she leaves the stage she encouraged kids to continue to address such issues and as to remark the day, she promised to purchase the rest of the all artwork after the silent auction; as a contribution to Crisis Nursery. After the warm welcome, Gayle Jansen shared some unfortunate stats for Arizona regarding of Homeless students and addressed the introductory videos of organizers. Many of the audience were surprised but hopeful that this initiative could definitely make a difference seemed satisfied with the efforts that have been put.
Soon after, Arizona Corporation Commissioner Tom Forese spoke at the stage and presented the awards for top 3 students of 4th thru 6th Grade. Following him, Senator Adam Driggs took stage for awarding the 7th thru 9th graders and finally Senator Steve Farley came up to stage for awarding 10th thru 12th graders. They all expressed their appreciation for the event and assured to continue their support for such social responsibility projects. After award ceremony, Silent Auction took place and 60 unique artworks were displayed. Guests placed bids and majority of the artwork was sold by the end of the auction.
This was the first Cherishing Arts Initiative Gala, which is the major fundraising event for helping to Crisis Nursery. The initiative has launched this project a year ago and so far,
More than 117 Volunteers put an average of 52 hours to help this project run
993 School have been contacted
12 Libraries Visited
29 hours of phone calls
1 Fundraising Picnic
Reach out to 100 Most Influential People of Arizona
27 Non-Profit Organization Supported
More than 400 students participated.