On Thursday, July 25, Between Friends’ supporters, clients, partners, and staff came together to celebrate An Evening with Friends at Room 1520 in the West Loop. The event was both a festive celebration of the work Between Friends has done in the last year and a reminder of the importance of our ongoing mission. Be sure to check out the gallery of photos from the event on our Facebook page.
Our chef sponsors — Joe’s Imports, Mount Everest, Chef Atzimba Catering, and Red Hot Chilli Pepper — provided delicious food, with Joe’s Imports winning attendees’ vote for tastiest dish for their Parmesan Puffs. Guests also enjoyed signature cocktails designed by Boozist especially for the event! Excited guests took part in a raffle and won a range of wonderful prize packages, all donated by generous local and national businesses.
In the interactive display, “Growing in Community,” guests wrote what they valued most about Between Friends on a paper leaf and hung these messages on branches, to create a tree representing the community of support that we’ve created. In another interactive station, a number of Between Friends clients shared pieces of their stories to help others better understand their experiences as survivors of domestic violence. A powerful piece performed by former client Melissa M illustrated the ways in which survivors are still linked to past trauma.
We honored our client Maria L and Wintrust Bank – Rogers Park for the work they have done with us to create a survivor-led empowerment program. We’re so grateful to everyone who made this night a success: to our sponsors, to the night’s speakers and performers, to our master of ceremonies Chris Hush from NBC, to our Board of Directors and Advisory Council, to Room 1520 for a wonderful venue, to our Event Committee, and to all our staff.
Most of all, we’re grateful to everyone who attended! Together we raised around $30,000 to support Between Friends’ work. If you made a pledge at the event, or if you weren’t able to attend but would still like to join those who gave at the event, you can make a donation here now!