Fairest of Them All: GFWC Bridgeport Juniors to Host 2nd Annual Be the Change Ball
By Julie Perine on January 16, 2020
With the enchanting theme, “Fairest of Them All,” the GFWC Bridgeport Junior Women’s Club will host the 2nd Annual “Be the Change Ball” March 7 at Bridgeport Conference Center.
A champagne greeting, Huntsman-inspired dinner menu and classic R&B, soul, rock and pop music by “No Bad JuJu” are all part of the black-tie event to benefit WVU Medicine Children’s Hospital.
Event Chair Anna Matheny said guests are in for a wicked good time.
“We’ll have special games, including a prize wheel, specialty cocktail menu, d’oeuvres, silent auction and photo booth you can pop in and out of,” she said. “A plated dinner will be served and we’ll also have a late-night snack buffet at about 11 p.m. so after having some drinks and dancing, guests can have another snack.”
By purchasing chances to spin the prize wheel, attendees will have opportunity to win prizes including a Disney World vacation, weekend at the Greenbrier and $1,000 cash. Emceeing the event will be former GFWC Junior and current morning anchor for WEHT in Evansdale, Indiana, Gretchen Ross.
The GFWC Bridgeport Juniors hope the ball will raise enough money to fund two rooms for WVU Medicine Children’s Hospital: A $50,000 NICU Milk Bank and a $35,000 Child Life Prep Room.
“Anyone who has a child in the NICU can tell you how indispensable a milk bank is and now that the number of patient beds will be increasing, the new milk bank needs to be able to accommodate them,” said Laura Hartzell, event co-chair. “We’re also really excited for the Child Life Prep Room, which is designed to help take the fear out of tests and imaging procedures that can seem really scary to pediatric patients. The kid will b e able to play doctor in this room, decorate and scent their anesthesia masks and even put a stuffed animal through a fully functional ‘kitten scanner’ to see how it works.”
Both rooms will be part of the new eight-story WVU Medicine Children’s tower and ambulatory care center, scheduled for completion in 2021.
Through last year’s inaugural Be the Change Ball, the GFWC Juniors raised $53,000 for WVU Medicine Children’s, as well as $6,000 to help cover travel expenses of Harrison County families with children at the facility.
“We also raised over $10,000 for the Bridgeport Juniors to further their impact here in our community,” Matheny said. “We couldn’t be more excited for our new goals and hope that it’s a sellout event once again.”
As the event is fully-funded through sponsorships, all profits benefit the cause, Matheny said.
When club members decided to hold last year’s Mardi Gras-themed dinner/dance fundraiser, they had no expectations. They just wanted to aim big. The community, as always, embraced their efforts.
“When we became a non-profit, we could get bigger donations and wanted to work smarter, not harder,” Matheny said. “…We were able to double our initial goal midway through planning the event and the generosity of our donors blew even that number out of the water.”
Jeff Hostetler, former WVU and NFL quarterback and WVU Medicine Children’s capital campaign co-chair, said he is excited to see the community motivated to support the new tower.
“I’m happy about being part of something that will have such a positive impact on our children and families, our community and our state,” he said. “On more than one occasion, my wife Vicky and I have personally experienced the great care that is delivered inside the walls of WVU Medicine Children’s and we want to ensure that care is available to children and families for years to come.”
Tickets are $100 each and available to donors and sponsors of any level on a first-come, first-serve basis.
For donation opportunities or more information, visit www.bethechangeall.com.
Editor's Note: Photos by David Robinson were taken at the 2019 Be the Change Ball.
