It was a beautiful evening for an encore performance. We hosted a wonderful Italian dinner and live music fundraiser at the lovely Springfield Golf and Country Club. Guests enjoyed a delicious, four-course Italian dinner and live music provided by Alex Alburqueque, a Peruvian native baritone who has performed with many opera companies, including the Washington National Opera, Maryland Lyric Opera, and Opera Camerata of Washington DC. Alex was a big hit at last year’s event and returned this year for a terrific encore performance. A 50/50 raffle, a marketplace, and a wine pull put the “fun” in “fundraising.”

Our keynote speaker, Maggie Perez-Rives, the Family Engagement Coordinator at Lynbrook Elementary School, explained how our programs impact the schools we support: the children look forward to receiving the food provided through our Weekend Food for Kids program; new coats and shoes mean children can go outside to play and burn off some energy without being cold; and the books we provide at our “Build a Child’s Library” events are often the only books the students own.

We have so many people and businesses to thank for helping to make this event a huge success. We want to thank the wonderful people at the Springfield Golf and Country Club, including club manager, Steve Lawson, and the events coordinator, Jody Henderson, who were very helpful and accommodating. We appreciate all their support. We also want to acknowledge Basik’s at Home, Café Bottega Italia Leesburg, Manassas Olive Oil, and Cigar Town for their generous donations to our marketplace and raffle prizes. It was truly a grand event!