Esperanza Auction Tops $300,000 Goal

To all of you who helped make the Messages of Hope Annual Dinner and Auction an overwhelming success, thank you! It clearly was a festive night at the Wyndham Hotel with a packed ballroom and over 200 auction items. The evening included many inspirational moments, but none topped the Esperanza girls themselves performing several songs. Many of the girls' parents were in attendance and they were greeted with a round of applause acknowledging their commitment to their girls, as well as the school, through their many volunteer efforts at Esperanza.

GWTK members not only attended the event with spouses and friends, but also donated many wonderful items and services for the silent and live auctions. Members also assisted with securing sponsorships and ads and preparing hundreds of auction packets, not to mention setting up the room beautifully and cleaning up afterwards! Special thanks to Margaret Hamilton, who designed the invitations and programs, and Lucy Abisalih, who facilitated the live auction sale of a 25 foot classic sailboat, won by Nancy Dube, GWTK, and her husband.

The auction results are still being tallied, but according to early reports, the event has already surpassed its goal of $300,000. Personally, the event gave me the opportunity to know many of you better and to see first hand not only GWTK's wonderful spirit and commitment to Esperanza, but also our community's generous response to this worthy school. I feel truly blessed being a small part of this effort.