Man, oh man! By any standard, the 2021 Angels Gala was a huge success. There were 582 attendees in person and 300 households in attendance online. In total, $407,000 were raised for Angel youth and families: THE MOST EVER!
We watched these incredibly resilient kids perform like the champions they are, and it was so inspiring! We saw a hockey drill routine from a set of brothers, a soccer performance, a Hawaiian dance routine, a piano recital and heard speeches from kids whose lives have been changed by this program.
In addition to all that, this was the first event of it's kind held at the Broadmoor since the pandemic, and it sure did FEEL GOOD to be in a big room with other people! We dressed up, we did our hair, we did ALL THE FUN THINGS! As promised, I have included a picture of Jennifer in her fancy gown. You get me in there as an added bonus. Lucky you. ;)
Jennifer has been to this gala several times now, but this was just my second time. Last year I was really overcome with emotion for the families in the program who have suffered such unimaginable loss. But I was struck by something else as well this year. As I looked around the room I kept thinking about the enormity of this event and the Angels of America's Fallen program as a whole. I just could not get over how many moving pieces there are to putting together an event like this and the fact that the bulk of it is done by volunteers!
This year presented them with a unique set of challenges as well with COVID still looming. In addition to putting on a successful in-person event, they pushed themselves to the next level and hosted the entire event online and were hugely successful their as well.
We are just incredibly proud to be a part of such an innovative organization run by passionate people. If you are looking for for a way to get involved, CLICK HERE.
Stay tuned throughout the year to see more about Angels of America's Fallen and we hope to see you at next year's gala!
~Bethany (and Jennifer)