Embark on a journey of hope and celebration with us, as Emily Whiting and Ashlyn Thompson unveil the grandeur of the upcoming Celebration of Hope Gala. This episode of Empowered by Hope is about painting the town with the vibrancy of giving, where every dance step taken and every bid placed at the auction is a stride toward empowering families with children facing complex medical needs. Get ready to don your Derby hats and raise your mint juleps to the cause that binds us in unity and resilience, echoing the stories of those who've found strength in the embrace of our community.
It’s not just a gala; it’s a beacon of light for many, akin to the guiding mission of Charlotte's Hope Foundation, explored in detail through our heartfelt conversation. Feel the anticipation build for an evening suffused with the spirit of philanthropy, featuring live music that stirs the soul and heartfelt narratives that remind us why we gather. Whether gracing us with your presence or championing the cause from afar by joining our silent auction, your support carves pathways of hope for countless families. And when the curtain rises on this special night in Wooster, Ohio, remember the power of community and the shared promise that none of us walks this path alone.
Get your tickets or donate early if you can't attend:
https://go.rallyup.com/celebrationofhope/Campaign/Details
Get your copy of She is Charlotte: A Mother’s Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Journey with Her Child with Medical Complexities by Emily K Whiting on Amazon
To get more personal support, connect with us directly at: CharlottesHopeFoundation.org
Email: Contact@CharlottesHopeFoundation.org
Facebook: Charlotte's Hope Foundation
Instagram: CharlottesHopeFoundationInc
Embark on a journey of hope and celebration with us, as Emily Whiting and Ashlyn Thompson unveil the grandeur of the upcoming Celebration of Hope Gala. This episode of Empowered by Hope is about painting the town with the vibrancy of giving, where every dance step taken and every bid placed at the auction is a stride toward empowering families with children facing complex medical needs. Get ready to don your Derby hats and raise your mint juleps to the cause that binds us in unity and resilience, echoing the stories of those who've found strength in the embrace of our community.
It’s not just a gala; it’s a beacon of light for many, akin to the guiding mission of Charlotte's Hope Foundation, explored in detail through our heartfelt conversation. Feel the anticipation build for an evening suffused with the spirit of philanthropy, featuring live music that stirs the soul and heartfelt narratives that remind us why we gather. Whether gracing us with your presence or championing the cause from afar by joining our silent auction, your support carves pathways of hope for countless families. And when the curtain rises on this special night in Wooster, Ohio, remember the power of community and the shared promise that none of us walks this path alone.
Get your tickets or donate early if you can't attend:
https://go.rallyup.com/celebrationofhope/Campaign/Details
Get your copy of She is Charlotte: A Mother’s Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Journey with Her Child with Medical Complexities by Emily K Whiting on Amazon
To get more personal support, connect with us directly at: CharlottesHopeFoundation.org
Email: Contact@CharlottesHopeFoundation.org
Facebook: Charlotte's Hope Foundation
Instagram: CharlottesHopeFoundationInc
Whether you've just been blindsided by your child's diagnosis or you've been in the trenches of their complex medical needs for a while.
Speaker 1:Empowered by Hope, is here for you, though we wish you didn't know this heartache.
Speaker 2:We're so glad you found us, so together we can walk this journey in hope.
Speaker 3:Welcome to the Empowered by Hope podcast. This is Emily Whiting with Ashlyn Thompson. We are here for a unique episode. This is outside of our regularly scheduled content and we are bringing to you a very exciting announcement and the background behind it. So this will be a very short episode. We are aiming between 10 and 15 minutes and holding each other accountable to that, and so that will be exciting.
Speaker 3:To try to stay within our window, because sometimes we just get really on a roll. But today we're sharing with you about our upcoming gala, and so I'm going to pass it over to Ashlyn to just set the vision for what is this, why are we doing it? And then we can go from there with describing what we're going to do with the funds raised from it, how you all, as listeners, can help, knowing that some of you are, you know, in the area where this gala will be, and some of you are literally on the other side of the world, and so there's ways everyone can get involved and behind this incredible mission that we're all benefiting from. So, ashlyn, take it away, set the vision, tell us about this awesome event that you and I and a whole slew of incredible people have been working to pull off the last few months.
Speaker 4:You got it Well. Thank you, emily. So, yes, while this is the Empowered by Hope podcast, I guess we could kind of shift to this message. Really is a Charlotte's Hope Foundation message, right? Yeah, we've been alluding to it for quite a while here on the podcast, but we are getting ready to finally hit go on the Celebration of Hope a derby affair, because we are having our first gala, which is yes, it is a fundraising event. We're just going to cut straight to the chase. We're not going to try to hide that, whatever.
Speaker 3:There's no reason to hide it. Yes, let's cut to the chase. We're not going to try to hide that. Whatever, there's no reason to hide it.
Speaker 4:Yes, let's cut to the chase. So I listened to a great video yesterday about what is fundraising and the reality is, especially for Emily and I we feel very close to this that a lot of times the fundraising is the real F word in our lives, because we really just want to focus on being there for the families, being in the muck and the mire and the hard times and also celebrating the amazing times helping families. But the reality is, this lady who I was listening to had this great, great truth that she shared and that was real change and real impact requires real resources, and so we thought about this and we were like, okay, we could do a bunch of little fundraisers or we could stay true to ourselves and we could throw a party and have some fun. If we're going to raise money, let's make it fun, and let's go a step beyond raising money. Let's literally create an event that immerses people in the feeling of hope.
Speaker 4:We want everybody who comes to this event and who watches this event from afar to feel like they are wearing a cape that just helps them fly on the winds of hope, and that's really cheesy and corny, but we want everybody to see themselves as ambassadors of hope, because that's really what we are, and we become ambassadors of hope when we share our stories, when we share our truths, when we talk about the things we've overcome or the things that we've yet to overcome, and we open up and share what we're vulnerable about.
Speaker 4:And we have absolutely got to fuel this mission, this purpose and passion that we feel so grateful God has put in our hearts, that he has made possible through the journeys we are on with our own incredible daughters. We have to be there for every family we can and we have to make this happen so that no family ever has to walk it alone, because, while we've come so far in medical care, there still is an extremely steep, steep, you know valley of a hole that is not being filled currently, and that is being that first line of defense for the emotional and mental triage that is required as a parent, as a guardian of a child who's about to face a mountain of medical you-know-what.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we've been meeting with a lot of potential sponsors and different individuals who are contributing to this event lately, and so we've gotten a lot of practice sharing our vision, our mission, where we're headed, what we're doing. And there's something you've been saying that several people have really latched onto and we've noticed ooh, okay, this helps describe what we're doing, and that is when you say it's like Charlotte's Hope Foundation is the lighthouse for those who are thrown into the stormy waters of having a child with complex medical needs, whether they have had an accident and now you're thrown into the recovery from that, or they were born with whatever. Fill in the blank. Either way, no matter what the diagnosis or prognosis, we want to be and we are setting out to be the lighthouse for these families. And I love how you always say we can't swim for you, we can't swim for them, but we can shine the light so they know the direction to go. We can help them know they're not alone in the storm and then, when they're ready, we can give them the tools, the raft, whatever you want to use the analogy to be able to navigate this medical world and not feel like you're sinking. And that's such a beautiful analogy that helps really describe what we're aiming to do. You said it so well before we hit record, ashlyn, you said we're, we are here to fill the gap between when your world blows up with that news and when you are finally ready to take the next steps to start truly navigating this life and helping. You know.
Speaker 3:It's like I remember a NICU nurse, when we were in the NICU, showing me a picture of a little girl who was seven, celebrating her birthday, and she had been in the NICU fighting for her life for many, many months as a baby. And this NICU nurse I was sitting there rocking my baby, who was fighting for her life at many, many months as a baby. And this NICU nurse I was sitting there rocking my baby who was fighting for her life at that time and she looked me in the eye, showed me this picture of this little girl and she said there is life after the NICU. And I remember it just hitting me First. The initial question was but how do you know the denial of like? But are you sure there's life? But that hope was so helpful to just get me through the next day.
Speaker 3:And that's what I envision and what we are doing through the Empowered by Hope podcast, what we're doing through an upcoming membership program that we will be dropping more teasers about soon, and so many other efforts that are in motion with Charlotte's Hope Foundation. We have been told several times in the last six months that we are in a position as a nonprofit where we have. We've laid the groundwork, we've gotten up and running, we've got the board and, guys, we have an incredible board, by the way that's another topic but we've gotten to a place where it's like it's either time to take off or to walk away, and walking away is not happening. There is no sinking, there's only swimming, because we have families like you said, ashlyn that we are here to serve, and I don't think Ashlyn or I will be able to sleep or live with ourselves if we don't bring this whole vision to life right.
Speaker 3:So the gala is our first ever big public event and it's going to be so much fun because, like you said, why not do it with a party? And also we really wanted to start with a event that could involve the community that has rallied around us so much already to get us to where we are and to provide an opportunity to celebrate the successes and then look forward to know this is where we're headed. These are the things that we're going to do, and the hope we're going to bring is going to have monumental impact for these families and for these children and their outcomes.
Speaker 4:Yes, Thank you, Emily. Let's talk about really quick what are some of the highlights to look forward to at the event. So I for one have been dress shopping for entirely too long. I really wish I did not like fashion as much as I do. But we are looking forward to people sporting their Kentucky Derby attire, and that includes the hats, the bow ties, the fun socks for the gentlemen. We can't wait to see everybody dressed in their derby vest. We are going to have a mint julep bar. We are going to have there will be dancing at one point.
Speaker 4:There's going to be amazing auction items. We have been flooded with amazing contributions for both our silent auction and our live auction and, just as a teaser, our silent auction items will actually go live on Wednesday May 1st through our event website. So we will be sure to keep you all informed about that, but that's one way to be involved with the event if you can't physically be there. We're going to have live musical performance by an incredible entertainer. There's so many fun things that are going to happen. We're going to have live musical performance by an incredible entertainer. There's so many fun things that are going to happen. We're going to have a speaker who is a family that has been impacted by the work at Charlotte's Hope Foundation and just have such a beautiful story to share, and it's going to be just a night of networking and really banding together and seeing all of our places that we hold and carving out a path forward for these families. We're truly honored to serve and we don't say that lightly. No.
Speaker 3:So you are invited. In case we didn't make that very obvious at the beginning, you are invited to this gala. We would love to have you. If you go to charlotteshopefoundationorg, the very top is a big old banner with a big old horse. You can't miss it, and you can click on purchase tickets and get your tickets, secure your spot. You're going to want to do it quick, because we only have three more weeks before, and I guess by the time this airs it'll be like two weeks. So you're going to have to do this quick, and so tickets are available till April 19.
Speaker 3:And we realize many of you are not in the area to be able to physically come, and so we also, of course, ask you to please share this with anybody you think who might want to come or who might want to donate. Either way, we would love to have their involvement, and once you get plugged in, we'd love you to join our subscription list so you can stay tuned with what happens with all that amazing funding, how we're reaching families, et cetera. And then, of course, if you're not able to come after you, share this with others, if you can. Also, if you are in a place to be able to donate? That would be amazing.
Speaker 3:You go to the event website and you can go to donate before the gala. There's a button that literally says that and you can donate whatever it is that you are able to give to be able to support this mission. And every dollar is put to very hard work to create those real resources you were talking about Ashlyn for real change and real impact. And then, of course, there will be the silent auction If you would like to tune in and see all the amazing items and bid online. So you said May 1 through May 4, may 1st.
Speaker 4:Those will go live. And one thing I want to point out really quickly is that we are proud of thanks to support from our board and other amazing people We've had incredible sponsors step up to make sure that the cost of the event itself is covered, because we want to make sure that every dollar that comes in from a ticket sale, every dollar that comes in for an auction item or from just a donation, literally is going back to these families, whether it's through the programs or the resources that we are providing to them, and that's really special. We want everybody to know that their dollar is actually making a difference.
Speaker 3:Yes, I think that's such an important point. I'm so glad you made that, because we worked really hard to make sure that, from the moment you got involved in this event in purchasing a ticket, making a donation, buying a silent auction item, whatever that every dollar is going towards this mission, moving forward, not to pay for the meal, not to pay for the beautiful flowers, etc. So that is so exciting and something that was really important to both of us from the beginning, and I'm so grateful that, thanks to amazing supporters, that was possible. Is there anything else we need to share?
Speaker 4:I think we've nailed it food options coming in, and I am all about a good bite to eat and making sure I leave a party feeling full, and not only full of joy, but definitely full on great food.
Speaker 3:Yes, and I can't wait to tell all our sponsors who made that possible. Oh my goodness, the sponsors that have made it possible to bring this menu to life is just incredible. So we hope you can join us. May 4th, the gala of all galas I shouldn't say that there's amazing galas out there the celebration of hope gala, the gala of all galas for Charlotte's Hope Foundation, and we hope you can join us. I guess we didn't say it's in Worcester Ohio.
Speaker 4:A little less than an hour south of Cleveland. Think of it that way.
Speaker 3:There you go. So check out our website, charlotteshopefoundationorg. You can go to the event page from there and we can't wait to either see you there, hear from you about your excitement for it or see how you share this, and we can secure the funds to be able to just really take off with this mission and meet and support so many families to come.
Speaker 2:You are capable, you are equipped and you are not alone. Together, we can do hard things for our children.
Speaker 1:If this episode connected with you and you want to hear more, be sure to hit the subscribe button.
Speaker 2:We would also love to learn about your personal journey and how we can support you.
Speaker 1:Reach out to us at contact at charlotteshopefoundationorg.
Speaker 2:And last but, not least, if you know of someone who could benefit from this podcast, please share when hope is buried.