Our first Jack Gives Back fundraiser was a rousing success! It truly exceeded all of our expectations and we were blessed to host over 200 generous guests. What an amazing night of giving in memory of our Jack.
There were many volunteers who helped create beautiful decor, enticing baskets, silent auction items, and a spectacular Jack Gives Back merchandise shop. As people began to pour into our event space, it was apparent how generous everyone had planned to be! Our silent auction and raffle had a wide variety of baskets to choose from, with exciting items donated by several local Jack Gives Back supporters.
An open bar and four local restaurants (Bucci’s, Rosewood Grille, Welldone Catering, Grandma Nye’s Catering, and Grove Hill) provided a delicious variety of cuisine and beverages for our guests to sample. As they perused our raffle baskets and our Jack Gives Back merchandise, live music was provided by Doug Nichols, a local favorite of everyone at JGB.
A highlight of the evening was announcing the winner of the 5 day/4 night all expense paid trip for 2 to visit Island Dolphin Care and meet Jack’s favorite dolphin friend, Squirt. The winner was pulled and Mike and Terri Thies were ecstatic to learn that they would be going to Key Largo in the spring!
The night was a wonderful success and we received so much positive feedback from all who attended. We were very grateful for all of our guests, our volunteers, and donors. The money raised not only helped Jack Gives Back send children with disabilities and their families to experience Island Dolphin Care, but it was automatically doubled due to a million dollar match grant to IDC through the Pat Moran Foundation.
At the end of the evening, an unbelievable total of $27,500 was raised for Jack Gives Back! All of our success would not have been possible without the hard work from all involved and we were humbled by all of the generous donations we received. We attended Island Dolphin Care’s annual fundraiser in November and our $27,500 became $55,000, all benefiting the children, their families, and of course the dolphins! The Jack Gives Back Foundation thanks each and every one of our supporters and we look forward to our next fundraising event! Look for the next one in 2019!