Q & A With Cathey Brown, Founder and CEO, Rainbow Days, Inc.

New York Times Best Selling author Liz Murray is the Featured Speaker at the Pot of Gold Luncheon Hosted by Attorneys Serving the Community Benefiting Rainbow Days

(Featured photo: Cathey Brown, Founder and CEO, Rainbow Days, Inc.; ASC Co-Chair Jessica O’Neill , Markel Corporation and ASC Lead Chair Beth Bedell, Texas Instruments;  Jessica Thorne, Honorary Chair, founding partner of Estes Thorne & Carr PLLC.)*

Reserve your spots now for Friday, June 22 as Liz Murray joins Attorneys Serving the Community (ASC) Lead Chair Beth Bedell, Texas Instruments; Jessica O’Neill, Markel Corporation and Committee Co-Chairs Celeste Flippen, Counsel on Call; Angela Maverick, Andrews & Barth; Amber Reece, Figari & Davenport at the Pot of Gold luncheon benefiting Rainbow Days, Inc.

For details and more information, here is a Q & A with Cathey Brown, Founder and CEO, Rainbow Days, Inc.:

Q: It’s exciting to hear Liz Murray speak at the luncheon. Tell us more about her!

A: Liz Murray is a well-known author, speaker and is the recipient of the White House “Project’s Role Model Award” and Oprah Winfrey’s first ever “Chutzpah Award.” Liz Murray’s life is a stunning example of the importance of dreaming big. The child of drug-addicted parents who routinely ate from dumpsters to survive, Murray was homeless at age 15 and fending for her life.  Determined not to be defined by her circumstances, she recognized education as the key to a fresh beginning and a whole new way of living.  She earned her high school diploma in just two years and won a scholarship to Harvard that would turn her bleak circumstances into a future filled with limitless possibility.

With sincerity, maturity, and graciousness, Murray takes audiences along on her personal journey from street smarts to classroom triumphs, instantly becoming an inspiration.  The subject of Lifetime Television’s Emmy-nominated original film, “Homeless to Harvard,” Murray completed her degree at Harvard in 2009.  Her memoir, “Breaking Night: A Memoir of Forgiveness, Survival, and My Journey from Homeless to Harvard,” was a tremendous success, making the New York Times’ best-seller list within a week of its release, and has been published in twelve countries and in eight languages.

Q: Jessica Thorne is Honorary Chair. What is her involvement?
A:  Jessica is a founding partner of Estes Thorne & Carr PLLC, one of the first all-women-owned law firms in Dallas.   In addition to her successful law practice and legal accomplishments, Jessica is an active member of the community where she has served on the Boards of Rainbow Days, KIPP DFW, Texas Business Hall of Fame and Texas Tech Law School. At Rainbow Days, Jessica served as Board Member and then Board President of the Executive Board of Directors from 2003-2009 where she helped Rainbow Days lead its first ever program expansion campaign and assisted the organization in raising over $1M to expand summer camps for homeless children.  As an active donor, volunteer and champion for Rainbow Days for the past 15 years, Rainbow Days is thrilled to recognize Jessica as this year’s 2018 Luncheon Honorary Chair.

Q: The luncheon is hosted by Attorneys Serving the Community. How are they involved with Rainbow Days?

A: We are honored to work with Attorneys Serving the Community (ASC) for the 2017-2018 year. Their mission is to bring together women lawyers who collectively utilize their resources and talents to support local nonprofit organizations whose programs benefit women, children or families. Each year, ASC presents fundraising events that support its selected beneficiary, culminating in the annual ASC Luncheon. ASC’s annual beneficiary receives not only all of the money raised by its events but also enjoys increased public awareness of its services.

Q: Tell us about Rainbow Days and what it does.

A:   Rainbow Days is a Dallas-based nonprofit organization whose mission is to help children and youth in adversity build coping skills and resilience to create positive futures. Founded by current CEO Cathey Brown, Rainbow Days has served more than 2110,000 children in the Dallas area and trained over 47,000 adults nationwide. Through support groups, classroom-based education programs and other special services, Rainbow Days positively impacts over 11,000 children and youth living in adversity each year.  Rainbow Days is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors and as a 501 c (3) organization, receives the majority of its funding from private contributions, including individuals, foundations, corporations and the United Way.

The Friend of the Community Award will be presented to PwC, a long-time partner and friend to both Rainbow Days, Inc. and Attorneys Serving the Community. PwC employees have served as active members, supporters and advocates for ASC and Rainbow Days.  This year, PwC has generously donated their printing services for the luncheon.

Huge thanks to our long-time friends at Park Cities News/The Waters Family, Margulies Communications Group and Good Life Family Magazine for their generous media sponsorships of this year’s luncheon.

There will also be a book signing and VIP reception for underwriters and sponsors at certain levels, which are available. Individual tickets start at $175. Visit the website for tickets, sponsorships and more information: https://rainbowdays.org/pog2018/

• Photos by Rob Wythe/Gittings