Home for refugees annual gala 2020 REPORT
As you may know, on Sunday, October 11th, Home for Refugees USA hosted its third annual gala, and we are so excited to share the results with you!
SO ... HOW DID WE DO?
Our goals for the evening were the following:
To raise awareness about the Central American families seeking asylum in the United States
To inspire through telling stories of courage and faith
To invite people to give generously to our vision for every refugee to have a home that supports safety, freedom, and dignity
Our theme verse for the evening was from the book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible,
“…for such a time as this.” -Esther 4:14b
The heroine Esther used her circumstances to risk her life to save her people. One of Esther’s themes is keeping hope in the face of persecution. During the gala we heard about the journeys of hope of our families from the Central American countries of El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala who were separated from their children at the border, and now are reunited and resettled around the United States.
Home for Refugees is coming alongside each family as they resettle and go through their legal asylum-seeking process.
Themes of resilience, courage, and faith surfaced during our evening night, demonstrated by both the families and the volunteers, who, like Esther, responded “yes” to reunification and the challenges that came with it.
Abigail Schweizer with her portrait of Alberto, one the refugees we are serving, and his daughter.
Our evening program was memorable, the event engaged the five senses through the “Gala in a Box” goodies, the pre-gala recipes of Central American cuisine, music by Haleigh Bowers, and the amazing portrait painting of Alberto and his daughter painted by artist Abigail Schweizer.
We are so pleased to share that during our evening we raised $33,700, as well as an additional $9,900 after our Gala during the month of October, bringing our total raised to $43,400 toward our $50,000 goal. But more than money, the result means we are able to resettle at least 8 more refugee families in 2021!
In addition, we received many compliments that our first ever “virtual” gala was filled with fun ways to make a difference through giving. We had more than a dozen people give donations during the portrait painting. Each giving partner’s name during that period of time was written on the back of the portrait as a physical reminder to Pablo that when times get tough, he is not alone and that many people have welcomed him to the United States.
The production crew pictured together the night of the event.
Also, it was incredible to see key generous donors provide a $10,000 matching incentive for new monthly gifts and one-time gifts of $300 or more.
We had 170 guests sharing in the evening of our 3rd Annual Gala with us, our largest group yet to join us for a gala! Several people shared how moving our work is, and how the gala gave them a better picture of how we are providing needed support to new refugees.
We are so thankful for our evening together and how collectively we achieved so many of the goals we set out to accomplish. We could not have done it without you though - our donors, our talented gala planning committee, and our passionate board of directors, volunteers, and staff.
OUR EFFORTS together DON'T STOP tonight!
With a gift of $5,000, we can multiply it into $20,000 to resettle one refugee for their first year in the United States. We do this through community sponsorship teams, we call Home Teams, to provide friendship and support to new refugees, leveraging in-kind donations and pro bono/low cost community services, and team fundraising. Our current funding is not able to meet the rate of referrals from refugee resettlement agencies and organizations. We need the continued and increased generosity of current and new donors to join us in our work.
We have reached a milestone! We are on our 50th refugee! This is up from 35 at last year’s gala, and we do not want to turn anyone away. Would you donate on a monthly basis to help support Home for Refugees and allow us to increase our capacity to welcome more refugees into our program?
Sometimes refugees have specific needs, from mental health to legal services, and we are always looking for partners to offer expert services to our families. Do you want to offer your professional services pro bono or low-cost to help them get a good start in resettling? Contact Minda Schweizer, m.schweizer@hfrusa.org.
In addition to funding, for every refugee, we need a Home Team to help with resettlement. Would you consider helping coordinate or participating in a Home Team with your faith group or community group to come alongside a refugee for a year? >> Learn more
Do you own a company or are the hiring manager for a company? Would you like to become a Company Partner offering a place of employment for our refugees? Contact Minda Schweizer, m.schweizer@hfrusa.org.
It is such a privilege to be a part of resettling refugees and becoming a part of these individuals and families lives. Thank you for joining us in this journey!
Creating home starts with us,
Minda
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special THANKS TO OUR Gala 2020 Presenters
Minda Schweizer, MDiv - Executive Director of Home for Refugees USA
www.homeforrefugeesusa.org
Carol Anne Donohoe, Esq - Managing Attorney for Al Otro Lado’s Family Reunification Program
www.alotrolado.org
Haleigh Bowers - Singer-Songwriter
www.haleighbowers.com
Andrea Castillo – Emcee, HFR Staff
Megan Saia, Esq - HFR Board President
Scott and Michelle Harris – Home Team volunteers for HFR’s Family Reunification Program
J. Bonilla - Father in HFR’s Family Reunification Program
Abigail Schweizer - Portrait Artist, HFR Intern
Alberto Mancia (name changed) - Father in HFR’s Family Reunification Program
Donna Whitman - HFR Staff
special THANKS TO OUR Gala 2020 HOST COMMITTEE
Minda Schweizer, MDiv, Executive Director
Donna Whitman, Staff, Gala 2020 Host Committee Chair
Megan Saia, Esq, Board President
Susan Serpa, Board Secretary
Dave Siaki, Board Vice-Chair
Dr. Hannah Cho, Board Member
Dr. Lynne Abraham-Yadlin, Board Member
Sarah Rasmussen, MPH, Board Member
Aaron Schweizer, MBA, Host Committee
Angie Roundy, MBA, MS, Host Committee
Betty Christiansen, Host Committee
Clare Christiansen, Host Committee
Andrea Castillo, Staff
Anne Eng, Staff
special THANKS TO those who donated their services
Rickey Lumpkin, Creative Director at New Song LA Church in Culver City, California for producing our Gala 2020 event
New Song LA Church for donating the studio to produce our Gala 2020 event
Haleigh Bowers, Los Angeles based singer-songwriter, find her on Spotify and Instagram @haleighbowers and at www.haleighbowers.com
Abigail Schweizer, Orange County and Palo Alto, California based portraiture artist – for commissioning, contact her by email at aschweizer@stanford.edu
John Omiesh for stage design
Chenille Jacob for video editing
Darin Whitman for IT assistance
Dave Ujifusa for IT assistance
Costco in Irvine, California for donating a $50 gift card to go towards our evening
Thank you!