The Hands4Hope Youth Board hosted its second annual benefit brunch, A Shamrockin’ Brunch, raising $4,460 for Lilliput Families and Hands4Hope’s leadership program! The event was held on Saturday, March 10th at the Cameron Park Community Center. Seventy percent of the proceeds raised will be given to Lilliput Families’ Kinship Program to support grandparents and relatives who are in the process of legally adopting and raising grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or other related children.
This is the second event that the Hands4Hope Youth Board has hosted for the Kinship Program; their first project was a holiday party for participating families to come together in fellowship and celebration of the season. Lilliput Families stood out to the Youth Board this year due to their important work in the community and demonstrated need for community support. Recently, the Kinship Program lost funding from the county, causing these families to lose access to the valuable resources that Lilliput Families provides.
At the event, 160 guests enjoyed a french toast bar, live music from the Ponderosa High School Choir Ensemble, raffle baskets featuring donations from local businesses, and an interactive pastry walk.
Youth Board President, Kaitlin Violette explains her thoughts on the brunch and Lilliput Families: “I was really impressed with Lilliput and how they were able to serve so many children in our area, especially through their Kinship Program. I was unaware of the challenges some grandparents face when choosing to raise their grandchild instead of allowing them to enter the foster care system. I am proud of the funds that were raised and will assist these special families.”
Violette then continued, “ The Youth Board divided brunch responsibilities such as donations, ticket sales, and decorations between committees. Even though everyone was split up in different groups, we all came together as a team which to make this event very successful!”
Hands4Hope would like to thank all event, table, and food sponsors for their support of the Shamrockin’ Brunch this year: Peabody Engineering, El Dorado Community Foundation, Andrea and Tom Howard, Serrano Associates, Veerkamp Engineering, Barsotti Juice Company, and Cafe Santoro! Thank you!
