Gala Exceeds Fundraising Goal! 

On March 8, 2008, more than 300 St. David’s families, friends and staff came together at the Golden Valley Country Club for a night of fun and giving at our Real Gifts Gala. We were honored to have the support of Vikings head coach Brad Childress and his wife Dru, who were our title sponsors and our special guests that evening.

Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, guests and volunteers, the funds raised at the Gala exceeded all expectations.

Our Give-a-Gift program asked guests to contribute to our new St. David’s Scholarship Fund, which will help supplement the costs of our early childhood, rehabilitative therapy and mental health programs for families facing financial challenges in the 2008-09 school year. The presentation featured the stories of three families receiving services at St. David’s, as well as remarks from Courtney Brumbaugh, site supervisor at our Crystal location. Give-a-Gift donations alone totaled $20,000.

Our silent auction featured several hundred items, giving guests the chance to bid on everything from bowling parties and portrait sessions to massage gift certificates and weekend getaways. The silent auction also included themed gift baskets donated by our early childhood classrooms and wooden stools painted by the children in each classroom. The silent auction raised an impressive $28,925.

One of the highlights of the evening was the live auction, led by auctioneer Karen Sorbo. We lined up some amazing items and experiences for the auction, including a vacation in wine country with exclusive winery tours, a pheasant hunting trip with transportation on a private plane, and a progressive dinner through the D’Amico family of restaurants in downtown Minneapolis. But the real excitement came when longtime friend of St. David’s Sid Hartman and title sponsors the Childresses were moved to make a few spontaneous donations and other generous guests followed suit. The final tally for the live auction was a record-breaking $57,500.

Net proceeds from our 2008 Gala totaled more than $165,000 – that’s 37 percent above goal!

This success is so much more than financial. These funds will allow St. David’s to help more children and families reach their full potential, and that’s a real gift.  
 

View Gala photos

Pictured: Candace and John Randle, Brad and Dru Childress (top photo), Sid Hartman (bottom photo)