Kelly Kaufman, Director of Advancement
On Saturday, March 3rd nearly 450 guests turned The Tangier in Akron into a night out on Bourbon Street. On behalf of Victim Assistance Program and our 2018 Mardi Gras Gala Committee, we want to thank the many individuals, companies and organizations who contributed to the success of this year's Gala. The generous support of our caring community allows us to carry out our mission of restoring lives impacted by crisis, violence and tragedy.
Event highlights include, Gary Rosen presenting the Bernard I. Rosen Community Service Award to Akron Chief Prosecutor Gertrude E. Wilms for her years of victim advocacy and dedication to the community. Additionally, our Executive Director, Leanne Graham, honored Ayauna Edwards-Bush with our 2018 Courage Award. Ayauna embodies courage and resilience. Witnessing Ayauna triump from hardship to healing is inspiring and uplighting.
Many thanks go out to our record number of event sponsors. Visit our website to view the full sponsor listing. In addition, our sincere appreciation goes out to all those who donated items for both our silent and live auctions as well as to all of those who made generous in-kind donations.
To view photographs of the evening, courtesy of Tim Fitzwater and Shane Wynn, visit our 2018 Mardi Gras Gala Photo Album. In addition, we welcome your feedback about our event. Please let us know what went well and how we can improve by completing our Event Survey.
Once again, thank you for directly impacting victims of crime and trauma in Summit County. All proceeds from our Mardi Gras Gala allow our highly trained advocates to provide 24-hour crime scene response, crisis intervention and court advocacy to over 6,000 victims every year.
