Hope for Children Annual Gala 2024!
Posted by Patricia L. Rasmussen on Dec 20th 2024
Good day, everyone! My name is Patricia Rasmussen, and I am delighted to give you these important updates on behalf of the Hope for Children Foundation, for the Hope for Children Annual Gala. It is an honor to serve the children across the United States and were so pleased as we gathered to celebrate children and families. This year’s theme is: Celebrating children, teens, mothers, fathers, grandparents, and other family members.
As the Hope for Children Annual Gala celebrated children, teens, mothers, fathers, grandparents, and other family members during three of these events, we found each gathering to be a winter wonderland of love. During these heartfelt festivities we were all reminded of the joy and magic of Christmas, and the importance of sharing that magic with those around us. Through these events the Hope for Children Foundation was able to provide about one thousand four hundred and sixty-six Christmas toys and gifts to children in the community.
The donations of these toys and gifts were made possible through many wonderful donors caring about the well-being of children and their families. We thank numerous anonymous donors for their support in addition to the following supporters of Hope for Children Foundation: Be The Light Youth Association, Sam's Club, The Toy Drive of Lolli's Christmas, Sam’s Club, Students at Richland College, Walmart Supercenter, and other donors will be publicized at a later time. These sponsors were also acknowledged by the children during the events. We are incredibly grateful for their contributions.
We took time during the event to recognize various volunteers of Hope for Children Foundation, including my husband, the members of the board of director, friends and supporters that were with us, as well as others who were not able to attend. First, I thanked my husband Ed for his incredible ongoing support. We were joined by our faithful and long-serving board member Sheree Baur. Sheree retired from A Plus Academy after teaching there for twenty-four years. Three of our board members, Pamela Noblitt, Dr. Yvette Evans, and Pamela Mason, could not attend the events, but they sent their warmest wishes for a joyful holiday season, and happy new year to each of you. In addition to our board members, I acknowledged some dear friends. Debbie Saunders, Teresa Aceves, and her son Chris Falcon were with us. I thanked them for their dedication and support.
We also expressed our deepest gratitude to some key partners who have made these three events possible. A big thank you to Superintendent Dr. Brenton White, Assistant Superintendent Norman Lee, Principal Malcolm Edwards, and the entire student body and teams at Inspired Vision Academy Elementary, and A Plus Academy Elementary. Their hard work and collaboration were instrumental in bringing us together. We enjoyed performances from the band, the dance team, and the choir. These are extraordinarily talented students, and their performances were such an inspiration to all of us.
We recognized the generous sponsors who supported the Hope for Children Foundation’s toy drive. Many anonymous donors supported these three events, in addition to: Be The Light Youth Association, Sam’s Club, Students at Richland College, The Toy Drive for Lolli’s Christmas, Walmart Supercenter, and others.
As we celebrated and experienced our time together, we agreed we wanted to remember the spirit of love, compassion, and community that made these events so meaningful live on in our lives daily. So, may the joy and warmth of the holiday season fill all of our hearts and inspire all of us to carry this love with us throughout the year day by day.
We are creating short video clips of these three events and will be posting them to our website and social media soon for your enjoyment and viewing.
Thank you again for your support of the Hope for Children Foundation. On behalf of the children, teens, mothers, fathers, grandparents, and other family members and supporters, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2025!
Blessings to you all!
Patricia Rasmussen
President
and Members of the Board of Directors
Hope for Children Foundation