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On Wednesday, April 22nd, SOHO’s supporters rallied on one day to give back to the Alexandria community. With the support of program staff, mentors, family and friends, SOHO raised over $9000 to fund room renovations for the next program year.
SOHO hosted a Spring2Action fundraising event at the King Street Bertucci’s in Old Town to kick off the online giving campaign. Waiters and waitresses bustled around the busy front end of the restaurant where the program’s supporters chattered and shared memories of SOHO years past. Volunteers mingled with the guests, encouraging them to mention SOHO to their servers (15% of dinner proceeds would go to the program).
Guests were also encouraged to peruse the silent auction set up near the restaurant’s bay windows. All prizes were in-kind donations from friends of SOHO, and included a weekend getaway at the Tyson’s Corner Marriot, a private yoga session with instructor Kathy Judd, a month-long tennis membership with the Mount Vernon Athletic Club, and a soap gift basket from Soapbox Soaps. The program raised over $600 from the silent auction alone.
The event would not have been possible without the volunteers who made it all happen. Mentor Daveyva Garcia of the SOHO – Old Town program took the lead on event planning, organizing the event, securing silent auction donations and event set-up. Chef Charles of Bertucci’s partnered with Daveyva to organize the event, advising on restaurant management and coordinating logistics for the day. Past mentor Karin Mahoney kept close watch on the leaderboard and kept all SOHO fans up-to-speed on social media. Volunteer Monika Sklad, who hopes to mentor with the program for the upcoming year, assisted with set-up, a special prize drawing for the guests, and patiently untangled a mass of wind-blown balloons. Youth Representative Ajuanae Nelson helped promote the event on-site, encouraging passerby on the street to come and join the fun. Finally, Anna S. managed donations, tracking all prizes on a spreadsheet she designed for the evening, and assisted Monika with the prize drawing.
A fantastic thank-you to all guests and volunteers who joined us for our Spring2Action event!
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