CEDAR CITY – Thursday is the final day to reserve tickets to the Volunteer Center of Iron County Youth Volunteer Corps Fundraising Gala at Festival Hall in the Heritage Center Theater, 105 N. 100 East, Cedar City, on March 27 from 6-8:30 p.m.
The fundraiser was a smash hit last year and raised around $5,000 to help fund travel expenses for YVC members to attend the once-a-year YVC Summit Conference that took place in Kansas City in 2014.
Based on last year’s success, YVC is hoping to double last year’s goal, Volunteer Coordinator Cindy Rose said. If they reach their goal of $10,000, the money will not only help with travel expenses for this year’s summit in Ann Arbor, Michigan, but it will also help to fund more service learning experiences for the volunteer group.
“Monies are used for snacks at our monthly meetings, lunches for the YVC volunteers throughout the summer, materials and supplies as needed for projects.” she said, “(and) new programs that we are trying to build.”
“A major expense is our YVC Summit Conference – our annual training,” Rose added.
The fully catered event will feature a three-course meal including chicken cordon blue from Chartwells as the main course. The keynote speaker is Michael Barr, education director for the Utah Shakespeare Festival.
Gift baskets filled with a variety of prizes will be sold in a silent auction to help raise any additional funds that are not garnered from ticket sales.
“We have Disneyland passes again this year,” Rose said. “We don’t have a hotel stay to go with them this time, but we have a lot of other fantastic items for the auction.”
Rose had outside help planning and organizing this year’s gala. In addition to the hours put in by YVC members, she said that Southern Utah University’s public relations class taught, by Ellen Treanor, chose the gala as their project for the spring semester.
“The university is actually a sponsor this year,” she said. In addition to the student project, the school donated direct funding to help plan the event, she said.
Same as last year, students will shadow servers and help to meet the needs of dinner guests, as well as gather plates and clear tables. As a way of saying thank you to those who come out to share in the evening’s festivities, Rose said, YVC members made colorful bowties for guests to wear.
Rose is hoping for a great turnout for the gala not only to raise needed funds, she said, but so the guests can see these amazing kids in action.
In 2014, 32 YVC students provided just over 3,200 volunteer hours in the Cedar City community that was represented in a mock check that members presented to city officials at the March 11 City Council meeting. The fake check was given to show the city exactly how much work the hard-working teens ages 11 through 17.
Read more: Youth Volunteers give mock check to city for $60,000
“In 2013, we collected food to feed families in need of a Thanksgiving dinner,” Rose said. “We fed 22 families and donated just over 300 pounds of food to our local food pantry. In 2014, we fed 44 families and donated well over 800 pounds of food.”
The Thanksgiving dinner food collection is only a small portion of the services YVC members provide in the community, Rose said. They also volunteer at Emerald Pointe Assisted living, Dust Devil Ranch and Sanctuary for Horses, Thunder Over Utah, July Jamboree and Tour of Utah. They are also hoping, she said, to implement a free reading program for children who attend the free lunch in Main Street Park throughout the summer months.
YVC is growing, Rose said. There are almost twice as many teens volunteering as there were last year, and with growth comes more opportunities to serve.
Event details
- What: 2nd Annual YVC Gala and Silent Auction
- Where: Festival Hall | Heritage Center Theater | 105 N. 100 East, Cedar City
- When: March 27 | 6 p.m.
- How much: $35 per person | $275 for a table of 8
- Tickets: Purchase tickets at the Volunteer Center of Iron County | 88 E Fiddlers’ Canyon Road | (435) 867-8384
Related stories
- Youth Volunteers give mock check to city for $60,000
- Youth Volunteer Corps offers summer opportunities – 2014
- County Commission: Big year for search and rescue, 911 dispatch
- Generosity abounds as 100 Iron County kids ‘Shop with a Cop’; STGnews Photo Gallery – 2014
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