The fundraiser that was once held in the small confines of Hattie's on Fat Tuesday has outgrown itself over the years and will be hosted this year at the National Museum of Dance from 6 to 10 p.m. It will feature exciting entertainment from Garland Nelson's Soul Session band, sumptuous hors d'oeuvres and desserts, a live mission-based auction and a silent auction. The theme for this year's event is an evening at Moulin Rouge as the Museum of Dance will be transformed into the magic and beauty of Victorian-era Satine-style period.
People attending are encouraged to dress in period-style clothing, but it is not required as jeans and a t-shirt are as welcome as a tuxedo.
Last year's event raised $45,000 for the YMCA of Saratoga Scholarship fund and this year with more and more people turning to the Franklin Community Center for support the restaurant's owners, Beth and Jasper Alexander, decided it would be a good time to use the popular event to help support the center and its services.
"For more than 25 years Franklin Community Center has been vital to the community in terms of clothing and educating children, feeding the homeless and assisting families who are less fortunate during the holidays," Beth Alexander said. "With tough economic times falling on many individuals in the area we thought this would be a great time to help support an organization that gives back to those who are less fortunate."
In addition to raising money for the center at this year's event, Alexander said they are also asking people to bring a non-perishable food item to help restock the organization's food pantry that serviced a record number of individuals in November.
To help fulfill the center's needs the event will also include a live mission-based auction with purchases that range from $7,500 to fill the Franklin Community Center's food pantry for one year, $2,500 to provide a family propane for a year to heat their home to $250 to provide gas gift cards to a family to travel to and from work and school.
"This special auction should really help reinforce the point of why we are raising the money for the community center," Alexander said.
There will also be a silent auction where those in attendance can bid on such things as a dinner with jockeys Edgar Prado and John Velazquez to a day at one of Saratoga's luxurious Spas. In total, there will be 45 items up for auction.
Jennifer Loeffler, Coordinator of Development at the Franklin Community Center, said fundraisers are extremely important as far as getting the word out about the center and helping the organization to continue providing its services to the community.
"We have never had such a large benefit for the center so this is going to be great in terms of creating a buzz and awareness for the organization and that leads into helping all the needy individuals in Saratoga as well," she said.
She added that the organization relies heavily on the community to help fund the operation of the center and to help them continue on with such services as the food pantry, distribution center and after school programs.
"It creates such awareness about our center and all the programs we have. We have already seen a difference in people knowing what the community center is because of this," she said. "This is coming at a very good time for us."
The Franklin Community Center is a non-profit human service agency located at 10 Franklin Street in Saratoga Springs. It has been providing basic needs and services to less fortunate individuals and families in Saratoga County for more than 25 years. The organization relies heavily on community donations and fundraisers to continue its services, which helps to serve approximatley 1,500 individuals each year.
Admission to the fundraiser is $75 per person. For more information and to find out how to purchase tickets call (518) 584-4790.
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