After a year of publishing, promoting and building relationships with the most influential community members of Destin, Destin City Lifestyle Magazine celebrated with an event to give back. On September 7, Marina Café was the scene of the inaugural Dress to Impress event benefiting the Ellison McCraney Ingram Foundation. Sponsors for the night included Merrill Lynch Destin, Seaview Glass, Five-Channels, Marina Cafe', Bella Flora 30A, Tout Sweet and A World of Signs.
Not only did Destin partygoers show up in spectacular attire, but the locals showed out by raising almost $15,000 for the foundation.
“We were honored to host this event to benefit the Ellison McCraney Ingram Foundation,” said Carmen Ionascu. “This partnership with the community places the focus on raising money for children in need. Our objective is to annually host a Dress To Impress event, aiming to both celebrate fashion and support children in need within our community."
The Ellison McCraney Ingram Foundation honors the memory of Ellison McCraney Ingram, a 9-year-old Destin boy who passed away suddenly from a brain tumor in 2021. The Ingram family had always worked to support children’s organizations in the Destin area and so after his passing, a group of close friends of the family founded the Ellison McCraney Ingram Foundation to raise scholarship funds for less-fortunate high school seniors.
“In my eyes, it’s a great honor to be able to represent the foundation and to be able to award the scholarships on Ellison’s behalf,” said Foundation Board Member, Paul Barcus. “We saw the need for scholarships, as there did not seem to be anything at the time to help high school seniors.”
Since its formation, the Ellison McCraney Ingram Foundation has awarded three scholarships and can award up to five scholarships per year, each up to $10,000 per student. Awardees are high school seniors who have been a beneficiary of one of the charities that has worked with the Destin Charity Wine Auction Foundation.
“It’s all about helping kids build their own foundation in life,” said Paul, noting that the scholarship can be used for technical school or college tuition. “We are just trying to do our part on Ellison’s behalf.”
“We were honored to host this event to benefit the Ellison McCraney Ingram Foundation," said Carmen Ionascu. "This partnership with the community places the focus on raising money for children in need.”