Hephzibah’s 2019 Heart of Gold Ball was a huge success on March 2, as more than 350 guests attended the event at the stunning Bridgeport Arts Center. Local award winners were highlighted with the Heart of Gold and Heart of the Home awards at the event. The event helped Hephzibah raise over $315,000 that will go towards programs serving over 1,000 children and families in crisis this year.
Guests dined and danced while participating in an exciting live auction for spectacular trips, event tickets and adventures, and a silent auction featuring dozens of items, services and excursions.
The Heart of the Home award was given to the Hephzibah Heartmates – local volunteers who give of their time to mentor children living at Hephzibah Home. These generous volunteers donate hours of time, over 800 hours a year, paired one-on-one with children who have been severely abused and neglected and are thrilled to have adults who care for them. When asked what made their Heartmate important, a child at Hephzibah Home responded “they just want to spend time with me and they believe in me.”
Executive Director, Merry Beth Sheets with Hephzibah Heart of Gold winner, Jodi Fyfe, and husband Devon Quinn
The Heart of Gold award was presented to Jodi Fyfe, Paramount Events CEO, by Executive Director Merry Beth Sheets for her utmost dedication and generosity to Hephzibah and our mission. She has a decades-long relationship with Hephzibah and Oak Park that began when she was six and attended the day-care program. Jodi moved back to Oak Park years later as an adult and reconnected with Hephzibah. She was deeply touched that several of the people who had taken care of her as a child were still there, and they knew and remembered her.
Since then, Jodi has given Hephzibah countless donations, served on the Oak Park Auxilliary board for several years, hosted several special events including the fall event Swanksgiving and the Family-based program holiday party. She has gone above-and-beyond by directly volunteering with the children in our group residence: She has prepared Thanksgiving dinner for many years, taken the children ice skating, and she has hosted the Youth Advisory Board from Hephzibah’s foster care program at her restaurant to teach the children about cooking and running a business.
Without a doubt, her highlight as a Hephzibah donor came when she took 14 of the group home children to Disney World—She arranged all the details and donations, from a flight with Southwest Airlines, to a backpack of Disney Swag, to an airport ride in a Hummer Limo, it was first class treatment the entire way.
When asked what made her decide to do this, she replied “I just felt that no matter what had happened to them in their lives that they needed to experience fun childhood memories just like any other child.”