WESTSIDE -- The annual Sunshine Gala, benefiting the Sunshine School and Development Center in Rogers, will be held this year at Horton Farms, 15799 Bethlehem Road in Gravette. The event is scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday, April 2, and will feature a steak dinner, dancing under the stars and live and silent auctions. Single tickets can be purchased for $125, with tables of 10 available for $1,250.
Sponsors say it's a casual and laid back affair "and often cited as one of the most fun fundraisers in Northwest Arkansas."
Each year the Sunshine School hosts the Sunshine Gala as their signature event. This year's theme is "Country Chic." The event is attended by more than 500 guests and all proceeds go directly to help the children and adults the school serves by providing funds for better therapy tools, top-notch therapists and teachers and state-of-the-art toys and equipment. Sponsors hope to raise $250,000 this year through silent and live auctions and donations the night of the gala. The school has several corporate sponsors which provide support with products for the auction. Donations are received throughout the year from other entities, but the bulk of the funds for the year are raised during the gala.
The Sunshine School and Development Center has been in operation over 50 years, making it one of the oldest nonprofits in the state. The school was started in 1958 in the basement of a local church by two area couples so that their children with Down syndrome and cerebral palsy could have learning opportunities like other friends their age. At that time, children with developmental delays and disabilities were not integrated into the public schools and parents had little educational choices for them.
The school serves children with a variety of delays and disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy and many more, through speech, physical and occupational therapies, support and education, according to Nathan Pollet, events and communications coordinator for the school.
"We also serve a large adult population through our community support services," Pollet said. "Our professional staff provides direct and daily assistance to individuals with disabilities in the community who need help and are approved through the Arkansas Waiver Program. We currently employ 200 individuals throughout our many programs and services.
"As part of our preschool campus, we include many typically developing children in the classes as peer role models and bar-setters for the kids. It helps all of the kids learn to work together and understand each other through empathy and service. In addition, we have three 'Arkansas Better Chance' classrooms that serve children in the at-risk category, ensuring as many kids as possible in Benton County have access to high-quality preschool education and are prepared to enter kindergarten," Pollet explains.
Gala tickets can be purchased through the Sunshine School website, https://nwasunshineschool.ejoinme.org/SunshineGala, or by calling Cyndi Bilyeu at 479-636-3190, ext. 118.
General News on 03/02/2016