The entrance of the Memorial Opera House in Valparaiso became crowded long before auditorium doors opened on Friday evening. The “Home for the Holidays” event welcomed attendees to an evening of fundraising for St. Jude House in Crown Point and The Caring Place.
Guests were excited for the holiday entertainment provided by local youth theater groups BreyK-Off & Play and LimeLights, and Opera House adult performers, in addition to bidding on silent auction items while savoring tasty eats.
Val Lay, St. Jude House Director of Development, lit up like a Christmas tree when she brought up how delicious the food was, but she wasn’t there for the food. With gratitude and appreciation, Lay explained what the money raised from the event actually does to impact St. Jude House.
“These types of events give us our general operating funds so that we can continue to offer services to our clients free of charge. We provide comprehensive services and a 30-bed shelter open to women, men, and their dependent children under the age of 18,” explained Lay. “We provide not only food and shelter, but we also try to empower our clients to break free of domestic violence and that cycle of abuse with case management, legal advocacy, adult services advocacy, children’s groups, and support groups for nonresidential clients.”
What is most important to Lay about the Opera House’s involvement and planning in such an event isn’t necessarily about the money raised, but about the outreach it provides to the community about St. Jude House.
“It really shows that the community is aware of St. Jude House and aware of domestic violence and sexual assault. Groups like the Memorial Opera House bring in even more people to spread even more awareness of the issues we’re here to help with,” Lay said.
In love with third party events for the same very reason, Lay gives full credit to MOH Education Coordinator and owner of BreyK-Off & Play theatre group Bobbie Sue Kvachkoff.
Kvachkoff, who coordinated “Home for the Holidays,” was inspired to put together the event with the help of volunteers, LimeLight, BreyK-Off and Play, and MOH colleagues after planning a smaller version of the night last year all on her own, donating half of the proceeds to St. Jude House.
“When I work with children, I think that it’s important to teach them what it means to give, volunteer and to have compassion and understanding about what is out there so that when they do give, they’re aware that they’ve giving to people that have fallen on hard times,” Kvachkoff said. “It benefits the community and I think it creates a sense of comradery. People can see how they can make a big difference in the smallest way whether you’re singing a song that emotionally touches somebody or physically handing money to an organization that needs it.”
In addition to teaching the value of giving to the children she works with, Kvachkoff also noted that nights like this can spread awareness of the arts and what opportunities there are locally. That’s how mother, Erika Wagner, came about attending the event – her children have taken theatre classes with Kvachkoff. Even as a spectator watching her children do what they love most, Wagner can relate to the importance of community support.
“Especially with the way funding for organizations works, it’s really important for the community to throw some extra support in there, and when it comes to the kids, I try to make sure that they’re aware of people out there who need help, so if we contribute to the community while doing something that they’re interested in, that’s just a bonus,” said Wagner.
To learn more about St. Jude House, please visit www.stjudehouse.org.