HNF’s First Annual Fundraiser
HNF hosted our inaugural fundraising event, a private concert, held on Saturday, December 2, 2023. 100% of the proceeds were raised to support YSS, an organization in Ames, Iowa, that provides addiction and mental health services to young people, with a particular focus on those that do not have stable homes. YSS’s depth of resources is only matched by the love they share. With the generous help of over 50 family members, friends, and additional donors, Honoring Neighbors Foundation raised more than $10,000, enough funding to support annual services for 5 youth in need.
We chose YSS as our featured beneficiary after meeting CEO and ‘95 YSS Alumnus Andrew Allen in late 2022. We learned about the programs they provide to youth in need during multiple conversations, and ultimately visited the YSS facilities in November 2023. Each time we spoke with Andrew, we felt there to be a divine reason for our connection. Our full-day tour with Andrew began with a surprise: his pre-planned visit to the home where Nancy was born, in Pella. From there we toured facilities, meeting enthusiastic staff members along the way. Of greatest impact to us was our opportunity to sit down with several girls at Ember Recovery at the Seven-12 House who shared their experiences and their hearts. The day culminated with a visit to the nearly completed, consolidated Ember Recovery campus, a trauma-informed recovery campus which will provide crisis stabilization, shelter, and residential addiction treatment to even more youth.
December 2nd was a true celebration of love in action, held at the newly opened Outta the Rabbit Hole venue in Derwood, Maryland. The evening began with Andrew, who joined us in person. He gave his personal testimony about the life-saving support he received from YSS, which culminated 25 years later when he rejoined YSS as its leader. Following was a beautiful set of original music performed by HNF’s Creative Arts Award winner Lena Traynham, accompanied by the incredible Mark Williams on guitar. Her charisma was contagious!
The pinnacle of the evening was the performance by David Wilcox, one of our family’s favorite singer/songwriters, who played masterfully, spoke eloquently, and connected his performance to the HNF message and to the heart of YSS.
Notable quotes from the evening include:
From YSS, “We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all the individuals who joined us at the HNF Evening with David Wilcox. Your presence and contributions have helped YSS create hope and opportunity for youth.”
From Andrew Allen, “It was amazing. I can’t tell you how special the evening was, not just for me, but for so many others I witnessed. Well done. Thank you. Excited for what’s next.”
From Blake, “We were able to achieve our goals for YSS with a warm room full of family and friends. David’s performance was mesmerizing. He joined us for the evening, absorbed what we are all about, and masterfully fed it back to us through his performance. It was as though he explained to us what our work is all about in a way no one else has!”
