The stakes are high with a big event - and with 470 guests at Benaroya Hall on September 23rd for Building Changes' Honoring Our Partners luncheon, it was definitely a big event, as well as our signature fundraiser. All the preparation - the energy and passion of our Board members, assembling the perfect program, phone calls to support Table Hosts and sponsors, training with speakers and staff - it all boils down to one question: will it pay off? Will our guests feel inspired to join the work?
As the new staff on the block - I joined the Building Changes team in late May as the Director of Development - it's hard to know when your preparation is complete. Luckily, I had a crack team of volunteers and co-workers who I quickly learned are passionate about ending homelessness, whip-smart,
Board member, Aana Lauckhart, reflects on the places and people that made up her childhood living on the fringe, and how Building Changes' work to end homelessness inspires her role with the Board of Directors.
There are thousands of families in our state who live on the fringes. Some doubled-up at a family member's house. Others are sleeping in their car. They are the people you and I rarely see. People who rarely have a voice in conversations about the issues that affect them most. They are the faces of family homelessness. And they want nothing more than the opportunity to give themselves and their children a better future.
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| Aana speaking during Building Changes' Honoring Our Partners Luncheon on September 23rd. |
I know a little something about living on the fringe.
I work in fundraising at Building Changes and a great deal of my time is directed towards engaging people like you in our work. Our donors consist of the most diverse, informed and compassionate residents of Washington state who all believe in our vision - Ending Homelessness Together. In fact, you are all so wonderfully unique and involved that we at Building Changes feel the responsibility to connect you with other like-minded individuals -- birds of feather flock together, right? Well, a couple of weeks ago at the spectacular Chihuly Boathouse we did just that.
That's right. Dale - Chihuly's - Boathouse! Thanks to board member and former Chihuly employee, Joanna Sikes, we were fortunate enough to occupy one of the most visually stimulating venues in Seattle. The evening could not have been better. Our guests walked freely though the grand Evelyn Room (above), the pool room (below) and into the "hot shop" for a glassblowing demonstration (below).
It was quite a festive event and upon first sight one might not have known that we were all gathered for a very serious cause. That is until Nola Renz came forward to speak. Renz is the Executive Director of Helping Hand House, a supportive housing nonprofit that receives funding from our grantmaking program, the Washington Families Fund. She told a story that is all too common among our state's 10,000+ homeless families -- the story of a young girl who overcame childhood poverty and domestic abuse only to find herself in her mother's shoes years later -- ‘until one day she fled for safety with nothing but her children and their clothes'. It turns out that the heroic, strong and caring mother in Renz's story was none other than herself...
Board Member Aana Lauckhart, Guest Speaker Nola Renz, and Board President Sam ‘Tripp’ Hunter
At the end of night, in the emptiness of the boathouse, I took a moment to reflect. Sure, we plan these events to raise money -- Building Changes is a community supported nonprofit. But it's the stories that are shared and the truths that are revealed at these venues that are then taken home and shared with family and friends, further expanding awareness and support for our mission to end homelessness.
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