Last night saw our first big My Giving Table event for the year. Hillside Helping was hosted by Brendan Smith and Brendon Mann, in their beautiful home, as part of their fundraising efforts for Women's Legal Service Qld. Brendan and Brendon are taking to the dance floor for this years Dancing CEOs, one of the premier charity events in Brisbane's social calendar.
Business executives and CEOs commit to raising funds and dancing in front of a packed audience at City Hall, as part of the Dancing CEOs. The event is a powerful fundraising event, as well as a whole lot of fun, contributing much needed funds to break the cycle of domestic violence in our community. By committing to the Dancing CEOs, Brendan and Brendon join an elite alumni of fabulously philanthropic and community minded business people, who support this valued charity.
Brendan and Brendon have been incredibly busy doing a number of amazing fundraising activities and I was so pleased that they used the My Giving Table concept and event ticket platform for this lovely event in their home.
All told it has been a pretty harrowing week in Brisbane. Everyone in the room had been personally affected in some way by the intensity of the weeks floods. Many guests having spent the day cleaning up and removing flood damaged goods from homes and businesses. It was wonderful however to see the generosity and good will in the room. There were smiles all round.
One thing I really loved about this event is that it was designed to get neighbors together, those they call friends already and also some who are newly acquainted friends. The invite was extended to the neighborhood, in a spirit of connection and hospitality.
It represents, for me, the great power of generosity and of giving, of doing for others and reaching out in good spirit.
Ample flowing champagne from the House of Laurenti, delicious canapes, cheese and nibbles and gin cocktails meant that no one went hungry or thirsty. Wonderful live music floated in from the courtyard out back and out front the Brisbane river, swollen and full, hurried past under a dramatic sky.
There was a mix of live and silent auctions, as well as raffles on the day. The fabulous weekend prize donated by Marisa Vecchio, Francesca Webster and Little Red Co, being MC'd by the effervescent Caitlin Dooley, raised $3200 alone, creating a fun buzz in the room. The conversation and laughs filled the home and guests were all suitably colourful and good spirited.
With most charity events, the majority of our ticket price goes to pay for the event, rather than towards the fundraising tally. The fundraising usually begins with the raffles, auctions and donations during the event.
The beauty of My Giving Table is the ticket price actually goes towards the fundraising, thanks to the generosity of the hosts. Hosts cover costs of the event, as their own act of giving, enabling the ticket price to go directly to the charity.
After all, the main reason we are attending a fundraising event is to support valued charities.
This fabulous afternoon, at Hillside Helping, was a perfect example of just how powerful a My Giving Table giving event can be. Close to $20000 was raised during the afternoon, half being from the tickets purchased by guests.
A huge thankyou and congratulations, for a beautiful event, to our hosts Brendan and Brendon. We cant wait to see you hit the dance floor in May and make magic happen.
If you missed out, you can still purchase a ticket in the Whitsunday Super Luxe Raffle, valued at $110 K, created by Adagold Aviation here, with special thanks also to Coral Sea Marina Resort and Whitehaven Event Co. You can also donate directly to Brendan and Brendon's campaign here. and help them to continue their amazing fundraising efforts.
If you would like to know more about hosting your own My Giving Table event, please reach out. You choose the charity of choice, we create your unique event page and take care of the compliance, ticketing and email comms for your event. It is easy, fun and rewarding.
Cheers Katelyn,
My Giving Table