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!!!

Gala Auction item preview

We are blessed to have many exciting items up for auction during our Gala on March 7th. Thank you to our generous donors for making these part of our event! Come experience a live auctioneer and get ready to have some fun. We will also be offering a silent auction for some of these items. PLUS, a raffle - where a ticket will earn you a chance to win some great items, and you don't need to be part of the bidding process.

All proceeds go to operational costs for Holly House 2015. Bring your checkbook for easy checkout! Don't have tickets yet? Purchase them here.

7 Night Stay in Lake Chelan: Privately owned 2 bedroom/2 bathroom ground floor condo. (Details and restrictions available at Gala) Value $2,100

Chihuly Glass and Garden Exhibit and lunch for 4. You and three friends will enjoy all this exhibition has to offer!  In the Exhibition Hall, Glasshouse and Garden, you’ll view a presentation of Chihuly’s significant series of work including the suspended Glasshouse Sculpture.  Stroll through the Garden day or night and enjoy the installations juxtaposed with the natural environment.  Enjoy the dishes in the Collection Cafe as you’re surrounded by Chihuly’s personal collections.  Two exhibition catalogs are yours to keep as mementos of this experience.  $250 value

Other live auction items include: 

• Lynnwood Police officer citizen ride along experience (6 hours)
• Pool party for up to 25 people at the Lynnwood Recreation Center $195 value
• Gift certificate for 4 to Edmonds Performing Arts center "Sing-a-long Grease". Friday April 24th 7:30pm. $60 value
• Handcrafted "Frozen" themed girl's bedroom set
• 2 American Girl 20” Dolls with outfits
• Mariner Moose and 2 opening day game tickets + more
• 2 different wine tasting experiences
• Instant wine cellar (12 bottles)
• Cooking class for 2 at Tom Douglas' Hot Stove Society Cooking School

Silent Auction

Our Silent auction will be teeming with activity as well. Here's a sampling of what will be available at the Gala for bidding: 

• 2 Miche Purses
• Pamper Me (female) basket
• Theater tickets (Driftwood Players)
• Melissa & Doug puzzle & toy basket
• Restaurant gift certificates
• Cake Pop Basket
• Coffee Basket
• Wine and Chocolate Basket
• ...and more!!

Please join us for this fun-filled night, and help support the 2,000 low-income children in the 15 Edmonds School District schools that we will be supporting this year during the holidays. Helps us make this an event to remember! 

Volunteer spotlight: Gala committee member, 13 year old Leslie Smith

Here at Holly House, we are always thankful for our volunteers, but occasionally one comes into our folds that truly is a treasure.

Meet Leslie Smith, a 13 year old high school student who is very interested in giving back to the community. She worked her heart out for 3 days at the Holly House Event in the pajama booth and is currently serving on the Gala Committee.

She says "I loved the feeling - I loved seeing the people get their stuff and how happy they were." For Leslie, it not only was a fun experience, but she really enjoyed seeing the looks on people's faces and to see who the gifts are going to and hear why they need them.

She's currently working with the Gala Committee because she had a desire to keep helping Holly House and has had lots of fun meeting every week. She's gone to local businesses asking for donations and sponsorships, and sold tickets to people at her dad's Windermere office. She's personally advocating that parents of her friends join us on March 7th, in addition to volunteering year round with Holly House. Her drive and enthusiasm are contagious and just what is needed in our community.

Leslie wants people to know how fun and rewarding it is to volunteer and pay it forward in your local community. It's also important to recognize how many people are in need of help. For her, Holly House is the perfect way to do that.

Leslie's mom, Cherry Smith, says that her daughter wants people to look outside of themselves and see how much need there is, compared to how many of us have so much. Sometimes the simplest gift is not giving gifts but giving time, reaching out and helping.

Leslie would encourage people to volunteer, to help kids like her who would go without if not for you and your generous spirit. People coming to Holly House so desperately in need for their kids and are so appreciative. Leslie has seen this first hand and has been a great outreach ambassador for Holly House.

“I think she is pretty awesome!” says mom, Cherry Smith. We couldn't agree more.

Thank you Leslie!!

Please join us for our March 7th Gala, and meet Leslie and many of our other great volunteers.