Rainbow Days 27th Annual Pot of Gold Luncheon Exceeds Goal Featuring Keynote Speaker Erin Gruwell
(Featured photo: Erin Gruwell, featured speaker, Terry and Donna Saad, chairs.)**
Rainbow Days hosted its 27th annual Pot of Gold Luncheon at the Westin Galleria Dallas Hotel Dallas Ballroom on April 19, bringing together 500 enthusiastic supporters and guests. This year’s event was a remarkable success, raising $274,500 for Rainbow Days through sponsorships, auction bidding, donations, and individual tickets.
Held annually since 1997, the Pot of Gold Luncheon is a celebratory fundraising event benefiting Rainbow Days critical supportive services for children and youth in Dallas. Each year, the luncheon features an inspiring keynote speaker, a performance from the Rainbow Days program participants, moving program testimonials, and silent auction bidding.
Guests enjoyed Erin Gruwell’s phenomenal keynote address. Erin Gruwell is a teacher, author, and activist who first gained national attention in 1998 when she and her 150 students appeared on an ABC special PrimeTime Live. Erin’s students, called the Freedom Writers, came from backgrounds of poverty, gangs, and violence, and many were at risk of dropping out of school due to the school-to-prison pipeline. But, under Erin’s guidance, all 150 Freedom Writers graduated from high school and pursued higher education.
Erin and the Freedom Writers published their book, The Freedom Writers Diary, which detailed their unique journey from hardship to hope. The book became a #1 New York Times bestseller and was adapted into a major motion picture, Freedom Writers, starring two-time Academy Award-winner Hilary Swank. Erin’s inspirational message of hope and healing resonated deeply with Rainbow Days’ audience, emphasizing the profound influence of one adult in changing a child’s life trajectory.
Tiffany Beaudine, CEO of Rainbow Days, addressed the audience at the 2024 Pot of Gold Luncheon with remarks about the critical challenges children in our community are facing and how Rainbow Days services provide hope. Tiffany reflected on the mental health, behavioral health, substance abuse, and food insecurity problems that children and youth are facing and how Rainbow Days tackle these issues with services that provide coping skills and resiliency to build a brighter future. Tiffany encouraged the audience that with partnership, we can be a light for these children.
The success of the 2024 Pot of Gold Luncheon would not have been possible without the dedicated efforts of the Luncheon Committee members, including chairs Donna and Terry Saad, and Auction Chairs Abby Waterstreet and Amy McCarrick.
Rainbow Days would also like to recognize the many sponsors, donors and volunteers who helped make the 2024 Pot of Gold Luncheon a success. Featured here are sponsor levels “Silver” and above:
- Title: Nancy Ann & Ray L. Hunt
- Platinum Sponsors: Heather & Eric Appel, Miramar Equity Partners, and Darla & Mark Whitaker
- Luncheon Arrangement Sponsor: Bragalone Olejko Saad
- Gold Sponsors: Katie & Netesh Anand, Citi, Jill & Dale Hurd, Alyssa & Kurt Opella, The Invitation Project, Thompson Coburn LLP and Vaquero Private Wealth.
- Silver Sponsors: Beth & Brad Bedell, Phyllis & John Horan, Mary Jo & James McKellar, National Life Group, Francisco Ramos & Irma Hinojosa, Telisa Schelin & Rebecca Massiatte, and Weaver.
- Media Sponsor: Good Life Family
ABOUT RAINBOW DAYS: The 27th annual Pot of Gold Luncheon benefited Rainbow Days, a Dallas-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Founded in 1982, Rainbow Days has a mission to help children and youth in adversity build coping skills and resilience to create positive futures. Through support groups, life enrichment programs, and critical needs services, Rainbow Days makes meaningful connections with at-risk and homeless children and youth and has positively impacted more than 262,000 kids in the Dallas area to date. For more information, please visit RainbowDays.org or call (214) 887-0726.
*Photos by Thomas Garza
** Photos by Rob Wythe/Wythe Portrait Studio
(Sharon Adams, Adams Communications Public Relations, is honored to represent Rainbow Days, Inc. and their special events and announcements and post this Philanthropy Lifestyles Scene.)
