Oh, what a night!

More than 450 community partners, family, friends, Rise team members, and people we support attended the 8th Annual Celebrate Rise Fundraising Gala. It was held October 21 at the Minneapolis Marriott Northwest in Brooklyn Park and was a festive evening of great food, fun and games, special honor awards, and much more!

Through our guests’ and sponsors’ generosity, we raised more than $140,000! Proceeds from the fund-a-need ask went to Rise’s Advancing Lives Fund which supports people we serve with one-time awards of up to $500 to finance items needed for employment and independence not covered by other sources.

Additional funds raised went to Rise’s general operating budget to support our employment, housing supports, and life enrichment program services.

We were honored to have Karla Leis, vice president and general manager of nVent’s Enclosure Segment shown here, give opening remarks.

We were proud to honor the 2019 Rise’ing Stars, Denise Coppess, Bob Hagglund, Lauren Ireland, Ashley Kimlinger, Jacob McMahon, and Ia Thor, in addition to Champion of the Mission Casey Strack, Making a Difference Honoree Dixie Mengelkoch, and Community Partners: K-Tek Wisconsin, Medtronic, and the New Brighton Community Center.

Photos from this year’s event posted on Rise’s Facebook page: Rise, Incorporated.

Thanks to everyone who attended, supported, volunteered, donated, and sponsored our 2019 Celebrate Rise Fundraising Gala! We appreciate your generosity and hope you had a great time!

Next year’s gala is already set for Monday, October 26, 2020. Hope to see you there!

This article appears in the December 2019 issue of the Rise Reporter.