First ever Fundraiser Gala was a huge success!

Guests having a ball raising their paddles

Well, we did it!! Our Gala Committee put in many hours of hard work to pull off an amazing event that helped us raise just over $13,000 for Holly House. If you were one of our guests, we are so grateful that you joined us. If you missed it this year, please plan for next year! We'd love to have you in on the fun.

Many of our supporters were unaware that kids go to school without socks and underwear, or sleep in cold rooms because heat is not a luxury they can afford. The pajamas, necessities, and coats are not just gifts during the holidays, they are basic needs that often go unmet. Holly House is more than just toys and gift giving - it's helping families provide things to their children than they so desperately wish they could, but just can't at the moment. Many of our clients become volunteers because they want to give back to the organization that helped them at a time when they needed it.

One of our clients sharing her
experience with Holly House

One of the highlights of the night was hearing from two of the mothers of families supported by Holly House. Their moving stories brought a feeling to the room that was both inspiring and humbling. The work that Holly House is able to do because of volunteers and donors is truly appreciated by our clients, and hearing it in person makes it very motivating to want to continue.

At the Gala (which was held at the Mountlake Terrace Senior Center) photos with Alice in Wonderland characters were taken, raffle tickets purchased, silent auction items were won, live auction items were fought over, and in the end, money was raised for Holly House to continue to support the 2,000 kids we serve in 15 Edmonds School District Schools. We also collected from guests quite a few bags of donations of toys, stuffed animals, and other items that they brought to contribute to the cause.

Hot, cold, and passed appetizers
plus desserts filled our plates

What a spread we had, thanks to the Red Dragon Casino! There was wine, dessert, and lots of laughter. Troy McVickers was our MC and auctioneer and encouraged everyone to participate; from the sounds in the room and the looks on people's faces, he really did a wonderful job.

Thanks to David Pan from MLTnews.com for writing an amazing piece for the online papers, and David Carlos for taking beautiful photographs. You can find the article here - please check it out and read more about the evening! Go to our Facebook page to find the photo album with all of the photos from the night. Feel free to share any you have taken as well!

Photo booth fun

PHOTO BOOTH: If you chose to partake in the photo booth at the event, you can find your photos here. Thank you Heidi Marletto for donating your photo booth.

Some of the live auction items

Thank you to our sponsors for the night: Red Dragon Casino, Thrivent Financial, System Solutions of WA, Pinnacle Electric, Electonic Business Machines, Golden Insurance, LLC, and Aramark. In addition, all of our auction items were donated by local businesses; without them, our Gala wouldn't have been the success it was. A huge thank you to the Holly House volunteers who gave tirelessly to plan, decorate, organize, and execute a magical evening; Karen Orstad, Lisa Alfie, Ingrid Adams, Cherry Smith, Janine Kirkpatrick, Ella Nakamura, Monty Reed, Aimee LePage, Jen Winckler, Leslie Smith, Milt Culver, Annie Nygaard, Briana Wirtz, Kim Gorney, Cindy Goodman, Alicia Carter, and the crew of High School students - we couldn't have done it without you all!!!