JFS Perspectives

Honorees Harvey and Sue Allon, JFS President & CEO Yana Vishnitsky, and Honorees Ken and Rebecca Gart

As we promised in last week's blog post, here is the update about Reel Hope you've all been waiting for...

On December 8, Jewish Family Service supporters headed downtown to the fabulous Ellie Caulkins Opera House for Reel Hope 2011, the agency’s annual film benefit. More than 500 attendees celebrated with honorees Harvey and Sue Allon and Ken and Rebecca Gart and enjoyed the U.S premiere of the spy thriller, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

Attendees sipped on “Vodka Reels,” the signature cocktail for the event, before enjoying a delicious boxed dinner prepared by Kevin Taylor, popcorn, and candy.

Thank you to event co-chairs Debra Duke and Kerry Shelanski, event advisor Carla Bartell, and emcee Lisa Belkov-Snyder for their roles in making the event a success! Thanks to the hard work of our outstanding co-chairs, committee, honorees, and staff, the event was a huge success! A big thank you to an anonymous donor who generously provided a $25,000 match, allowing us to raise additional funds during the event. In the end, Reel Hope grossed $435,000. Our heartfelt thanks to all the wonderful community-minded individuals and organizations that support the agency through this event - check out the list of sponsors!


Board Chair Alan Mayer addresses the crowd and shows the electronic tribute journal

Check out more event photos by Chris Schneider! View the heartfelt video, The Chain Reaction of Good, which was shown at the event. You can also take a peek at the electronic tribute journal and see all the wonderful accolades our well-deserving honorees received.

If you attended Reel Hope, thank you for your support. We'd love to hear your feedback! Please leave comments below.

Please save the date for our next fundraiser, the JFS Executive Luncheon on May 8!

-Alaina Green and Kari Alpen, JFS Marketing Department

What an incredible week of support we've had! On Tuesday, December 6, supporters generously donated to Jewish Family Service through Colorado Gives Day. Colorado Gives Day is an initiative to increase philanthropy in Colorado through online giving within a 24-hour period (which turned out to be 36 hours because of website glitches). Coloradans gave more than $12 million to 900 nonprofits and we were fortunate to receive more than $15,000 of that money to support our programs and services! And thank you to Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill for partnering with us on this day to help us raise awareness and money.

Then, last night we had our annual film benefit, Reel Hope 2011 at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House. Thank you to all the people who attended and generously donated money during the event!

 

Since we're exhausted from a long day yesterday, we will provide a full re-cap and photos from the event soon. Here are a few photos we snapped while we were setting up to tide you over...

Stuffing and setting up bags for the event. In case you were wondering, this is what 550 bags looks like!

The signature drink of the evening.

Kari proudly displaying her duratran featuring the honorees, Harvey and Sue Allon and Ken and Rebecca Gart!

The red carpet is ready for the guests to arrive!

-Alaina Green and Kari Alpen, JFS Marketing Department

If you’ve been to Reel Hope, Jewish Family Service’s annual film screening benefit, you know that it’s been held at a movie theater since its inception. On December 8th, the event is moving to the elegant Ellie Caulkins Opera House at 14th and Curtis in the Denver Performing Arts Complex. Earlier this week, we went for a site visit to plan the details of the event. We are excited to share some fun facts about the new venue and caterer, Kevin Taylor, with you!



The Ellie Caulkins Opera House, colloquially known as “the Ellie,” is the premier venue inside of the historic Quigg Newton Denver Municipal Auditorium. The Ellie is one of only three opera houses in the United States, one of nine world-wide, with seatback titling at every seat in the house. Like JFS, the Ellie has a longstanding history. It was built in time to host the Democratic National Convention in 1908. Before becoming the Ellie Caulkins Opera House in 2005, it went through several renovations and name changes.



Chef Kevin Taylor is a Colorado native with a reputation for his creative, unpretentious approach to American cuisine. Early in his career, he was cited as a rising star by national magazines, was a guest at the James Beard House in New York City, and has cooked for the Taste of NFL. His dishes such as the Smoked Sweet Corn Soup with Barbecued Shrimp and Open Ravioli of Maine Lobster, Asparagus and Sweet Corn have become signatures in the industry.

So mark your BlackBerry, iPhone or other calendar for Thursday, December 8th at 5:30 p.m. and plan to join us as we honor Ken and Rebecca Gart and Harvey and Sue Allon at Reel Hope 2011!

-Alaina Green and Kari Alpen, JFS Marketing Department

Thank you to everyone who came to Reel Hope-Take 15 last night to honor Dean Prina, M.D. and Charlie Gwirtsman! It was a great success and we hope you enjoyed all the new touches to this year's event. We'd love your feedback - please leave us comments on the event if you were there!

Now that da movie event is over, we are preparing for da Executive Luncheon featuring da coach of da Bears, Mike Ditka! We are proud to welcome the legendary NFL player and coach as the speaker for our seventh annual JFS Executive Luncheon and fundraiser on May 17, 2011 at the Grand Hyatt Denver at 1750 Welton St. Tickets are $150 and sponsorship packages start at $1,500. For more information or for tickets, contact JFS at (303) 597-5000 or buy them online.

It was great to see everybody out supporting JFS last night and we hope you'll join us for the JFS Executive Luncheon!

-Alaina Green and Kari Alpen, JFS Marketing Department

Reel Hope-Take 15 is one month away from today so we are having a ticket giveaway! All you need to do to win is leave a comment with your guess as to who the people are in the pictures below:

        

All of the correct entries will be entered into a drawing for two tickets to Reel Hope-Take 15 on December 9th. To be eligible, you must leave a comment with your name and email address by November 19, 2010.

Hint: Look at your Reel Hope invitation.

Good luck and happing guessing!

-Alaina Green and Kari Alpen, JFS Marketing Department

Take a totally radical trip back to 1983 for the 15^th anniversary of our annual movie themed fundraiser! Pay tribute to our wonderful honorees, Dean Prina, M.D. and Charlie Gwirtsman in a BIG way at Reel Hope, and watch the ‘80s classic, The Big Chill on the big screen again (or for the first time)! Tickets are on sale now, so grab your friends and get ready for an exciting evening of laughter, tears, and nostalgia all while supporting JFS. 

What Do You Remember About 1983?
Do you remember kids playing with Rubik’s Cubes, Cabbage Patch Kids, Care Bears, and Hacky Sacks? Did you dance to "Thriller" or watch the "A-Team?" Did you put "Baby on Board" signs on your car? Was your hair big and your shoulder pads bigger?

Tell us what you remember and what you were doing in 1983!

-Alaina Green and Kari Alpen, JFS Marketing Department