Dahlia: Benefit gathers $250,000 for the Gathering Place
Published June 5, 2006 at midnight
It was a trip back to the Roaring '20s, speak-easies and supper clubs to celebrate the anniversary of the Gathering Place, a Denver refuge that has helped women rebuild their lives for the past 20 years.
The Gathering Place Association's 16th annual Brown Bag Benefit, aptly titled "Starlight Supper Club and Speakeasy," celebrated the 20th anniversary and honored one of its longtime advocates, Ann Frost Bailey, the gala's honorary chairwoman.
Gathering Place CEO Leslie Foster and Chairwoman Heidi Keogh honored Bailey for her contributions toward making the organization the success it is today.
Bailey was president of the Gathering Place from 1988 to 1990 and was instrumental in creating the Gathering Place Association, the fundraising and volunteer auxiliary for the daytime drop-in center for women and children experiencing homelessness or poverty.
The event broke all previous Brown Bag Benefit records, raising more than $250,000 for the refuge, which serves nearly 400 women a day.
Former Denver Nuggets player and coach Bill Hanzlik, CEO of the youth-oriented Gold Crown Foundation, was the benefit's emcee, and Mayor John Hickenlooper was the guest speaker.
Hickenlooper told the nearly 600 guests at the Marriott City Center what a positive impact the Gathering Place has had on homelessness in Denver and on the lives of women and their children in need for two decades.
Event chairwoman Kristal McGrath was thrilled with the success of the 20th-anniversary fete, as were Gathering Place co-founders Toni Schmid and Kathy Carfrae; association President Daria Kane; President-elect Holly Johnson; past President Liz Frawley and her husband, David; capital-campaign consultant Ann Roecker; auction chairwoman Martha Kallestad; sponsorship chairwoman DeeDee Parker; Katie and Bart Johnson; Karen and Jim Kimsey; Randle Loeb, a member of the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative board; and Brown Bag Benefit committee members Sandy and Gary Autrey, who were also benefit sponsors, Charleen Dunn, Carolynn Dunn, Laura Stubbs, April Yeros, Anne Felts, Shelly Smith, Margaret Helwig, Kimberly Jetton, Farideh McBroom, Tami Jorden, Natasha Snyder, Mary Kirkpatrick and Jack Overstreet.
Overstreet was a presenting sponsor along with the Cydney and Tom Marsico Family Foundation.
Other sponsors included Marcy and Bruce Benson, Janice and Jim Campbell, Delta Petroleum Corp., Hexagon Investments, the Mike Leprino Family Foundation, Whiting Petroleum Corp., the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, Community Bankshares, and Land Title Guarantee.
Jazz performed by After Midnight and casino games rounded out the Starlight Supper Club and Speakeasy festivities.
For more information about the Gathering Place, call 303-321-4198 or visit www.the-gathering place.org.
Dahlia Jean Weinstein is the society writer. weinsteind@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-2882
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