Holiday Party: New Hope for the New Year held December 6, 2012
The Annual Holiday Party, “New Hope for the New Year” was held in cooperation with Pulte Homes in their Pinecrest community of Lyon Township. The luxurious Crestwood model home featured an open kitchen and sunroom area as well as a finished basement.
The upstairs area came complete with a full bonus room for guests to mingle and listen to “Strings n’ Things”, a trio of string musicians from Northville High School.They were absolutely wonderful and provided instrumental holiday carols.
For only $40, guests were treated with valet parking as they pulled up to the model home and then enjoyed a fabulous spread of food provided by over 25 local restaurants. All the appetizers, desserts and beverages were donated by business supporters, friends of new hope and members of the planning team.
As guests tasted the variety of food for dinner, the main hall was truly inviting with a full chocolate fountain for attendees to dip pineapple, strawberries, and Oreo cookies.
Down in the basement, musician Jay Kilgus provided the live musical entertainment for everyone to enjoy. The atmosphere was fantastic and the vibe in the room was electric with his terrific music and got the entire crowd to have a great time!
The program started with John Baird, Chairman of the Board making a brief tribute to Cathy for her dedication to New Hope and a toast to her and Paul for a great future. Cathy announced her retiring from New Hope at the end of February in 2013. John also introduced our new Executive Director and successor to Cathy, Karen Laing. Afterward, Nick Hopwood served as our emcee and pulled the 50/50 raffle and Goldie Dawson won the nice amount of prize money!
A number of gift baskets donated by local merchants were won by various individuals who purchased raffle tickets throughout the early part of the evening. Karen won the live auction prize of 2 Pistons tickets, 6 rows from the court and an autographed ball by the entire team with her winning bid. Many lucky winners went home with the handmade wreaths or beautiful gift basket combinations. Some included restaurant gift cards and wine bottle packages.
Close to 200 people attended the holiday party. Guests included many friends of the New Hope family as well as many local business sponsors from the surrounding communities. Overall, the evening was a huge success and the entire event raised over $15,000 for the New Hope grief support programs. It was a fun night to celebrate New Hope and what our bereavement programs mean to people on their grief journey.
Thank you to the planning team for an awesome event and all the business sponsors who contributed food, raffle items and financial support. We appreciate your support.