Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami “Wildest Dreams” Gala
Benefiting BBBS youth mentorship programs
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami, along with presenting partners Carnival Foundation and Carnival Corporation, hosted its “Wildest Dreams” Gala Saturday, January 30 at AmericanAirlines Arena, located at 601 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami. More than 700 community leaders, supporters and volunteers, along with Miami’s corporate and philanthropic elite, attended the 13th annual fundraiser, which raised $1.6 million for the organization.
The event began with an evening of cocktails and silent auction featuring “dream” vacations, followed by a gourmet dinner and dancing. Attendees enjoyed a moving performance by the Miami Northwestern Senior High choir. The money raised will support the organization’s youth mentorship programs, which match youths, known as “Littles,” with adult volunteer mentors, or “Bigs.”
Jennifer Kennedy, Joy Spillis Lundeen and Kim Wood served as gala chairs, with Bonnie Crabtree serving as honorary chair. At the event, Crabtree announced a $500,000 gift from longtime BBBS Miami supporters Dan and Trish Bell, dedicating the gift as the “Dan and Trish Bell Sponsor a Match Challenge”.
Dream Builder sponsors were: CareerSource South Florida, Bonnie Crabtree, Fairholme Foundation, Greenberg Traurig, Stearns Weaver Miller, Sysco, The Lowenstein Family, Eric Woolworth/The HEAT Group. Daydreamer sponsors: Auction.com, Grass River Property, LLC, Marion Moore Foundation, Prime Marina Group & Monty’s in the Grove, Publix Super Market Charities, Ryder System, Inc., Time and Tide, Lydia and Rudy Touzet, Kim and Tom Wood, Jr., Wells Fargo, Wow Factor. Dream Team sponsors: Advaion, LLC, ADP TOTALSource, AON, Baptist Health South Florida, Bayview Loan Servicing, BB&T, Eilah Beavers, Burger King, Monica Cantera-Serralta and Renee Lopez-Cantera, Cherry Bekaert LLP, Cozen O’Connor, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Deloitte, FedEx, FirstService Residential, Five Millers Family Foundation, Hilton Bentley, Stella M. Holmes, Jose Milton Foundation, Kluger, Kaplan, Silverman, Katzen, Levine, P.L., David and Christy Martin, MCM/Munilla Family Foundation, Rialto Capital Management, Saglo Development Dream Sponsors: Comcast, Ernst & Young, Gary Saslaw, P.A., Gelber Schacter & Greenberg, P.A., Hicks Family Fund, JP Morgan Chase, Kaufman Rossin, Chris Korge, Lockton Companies/ProcessMap, Perry Ellis International, Sabadell United, Ticketmaster, Women’s Committee of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami. Roar Media is the gala’s media sponsor and also the organization’s agency of record.
For more information about Big Brothers Big Sisters visit www.wementor.org.
