Updates from Looking Glass
The 14th Annual Looking Glass Healthy Kids, Healthy Futures breakfast fundraiser event, held Tuesday, October 15th at Venue 252 in Eugene, focused on Education programs with a panel of Looking Glass teachers from the agency’s alternative schools. In addition, Looking Glass recognized and honored this year’s Community Partner of the Year - Jennifer Montgomery, the Secondary Special Education Consultant for the 4J School District.
The annual Spring auction gala fundraiser for Looking Glass raised a record amount of revenue through corporate sponsorships, auction bids and paddle raises. By the end of the night, which celebrated Dynamic Duos with a theme that included 29 individually decorated table centerpieces, crucial funds had been raised for Looking Glass programs. At this year’s event there were two guests given surprise honors - first Looking Glass outgoing CEO, Craig Opperman, was informed that the Community Leadership award given annually is now named after him. Then Dan LaCoste, longtime Looking Glass board member (and chair for 6 years until this year), was given the Craig Opperman Community Leadership Award.
The 11th annual Looking Glass Healthy Kids, Healthy Futures breakfast fundraiser was held on Tuesday, October 17th at Venue 252 in Eugene and raised crucial funds for Looking Glass programs. In addition to funds, over 5,000 pairs of socks were received to help with the October-long sock donation drive (Socktoberfest) for homeless youth!
At this year’s breakfast, guests were treated to a Q&A panel of Looking Glass leaders, facilitated by Emcees Liz Kelly and Mary Reilly.
Attendees dressed in a variety of outfits for this year’s Looking Glass auction gala fundraiser, held Saturday, April 15th at Venue 252 in Eugene. This year’s theme was an 80’s dance party with lots of Back to the Future elements including a DeLorean, the infamous clock tower (complete with lightening striking the car), Marty McFly and Doc lookalikes and lots of crucial funds being raised for at-risk youth. (See two Success Story Client Videos too!)
After two years of virtual breakfast events, the 10th annual Looking Glass Healthy Kids, Healthy Futures fundraiser was held in person and was a huge success. Roughly 90 people gathered for a lovely breakfast at Venue 252 in Eugene on Tuesday, November 15th in support of Looking Glass. SEE VIDEOS>>>
The 5th annual Looking Glass fundraiser, Hike for Hope, at Mt Pisgah was a big success this year - raking in just over $7,500 for Looking Glass programs from event sponsors and hiking supporters. This year’s event featured three Looking Glass staff members sharing their experiences with supporters just prior to the hike up the North Trailhead - Jane Green from Station 7, Jeremy Spafford from the Regional Crisis Center and Maiyra Espinoza from the Counseling program. Special thanks goes to event title sponsor Hearing Associates!
The 2022 Looking Glass Auction fundraiser, “Looking Forward, Giving Back,” was a mostly virtual affair this year, with a 4-day online auction and a small in-person gathering along with a Zoom audience hearing client success stories and raising crucial funds for at-risk youth. Looking Glass staff took this opportunity to publicly recognize and thank the Ranstads for their amazing contributions to supporting homeless and transitional housing youth with the Alder house. They were given the Looking Glass Community Leadership Award.
The 9th annual Healthy Kids, Healthy Futures breakfast fundraiser was held virtually via Zoom again this year and despite not being able to gather together in person it was a huge success. Liz Kelly and Mary Reilly provided upbeat conversation as our Emcees again and special guest Alicia Beymer, Chief Administrative Officer of PeaceHealth, shared why she supports Looking Glass and encouraged supporters to pull out their check books and do the same. The event coincided with the recent opening of the Alder House project, a new collaboration between Looking Glass and Hybrid Real Estate, which moved 10 youth into 8 apartments in a newly renovated and fully furnishes complex near the UO campus in the first week of November.
The 4th Annual Hike for Hope fundraiser event for Looking Glass held at the North Trailhead parking lot of Mt Pisgah was a huge success again this year, despite challenges including spiking local Covid cases and concerns over smoke from regional wildfires. The event, sponsored again by Hearing Associates as well as US Bank, Oregon Community Credit Union and Summit Bank, raised nearly $5,000 for at-risk youth programs and brought together roughly 40 hikers on a beautiful Saturday morning for the socially distant group hike. Guest speaker Nick Hammond shared his experiences as a former homeless youth, inspiring the hikers and reinforcing the importance of supporting programs like Looking Glass.
Looking Glass has been selected as this year’s exclusive nonprofit beneficiary for the 2021 Market Fest event held September 10-12 along the streets and shops nearby 5th Street Market.
“This is quite an honor,” explained Looking Glass Director of Marketing & Development, Tyler Mack. “To be selected among so many worthy nonprofits in the area is humbling. We look forward to the great exposure our organization will receive and the funding of course as well.”
The annual Looking Forward, Giving Back auction gala fundraiser was held virtually this year, due to the pandemic, of course, but was a huge success despite the fact that we could not gather physically with supporters. On Saturday, April 10th, Looking Glass fundraising staff members turned the large conference room at administrative offices into a production studio and interacted with over 100 supporters via Zoom and an online auction platform that made for some very competitive and last minute bidding. In the end, donors helped to raise more than $130,000 for Looking Glass youth & family programs (and post-event cleanup was much easier).
See videos shared at the event in this post!
