The Razzle Dazzle Ball is the biggest fundraiser of the year for Crisis Nursery, which provides a short-term safe haven for children whose families face an emergency caused by illness, homelessness, domestic violence or overwhelming parental stress.
This spring, the Razzle Dazzle Ball had to be cancelled, but their story offers the perfect example of the kind of people and businesses that make up St. Charles County…
"When it was canceled, although we agreed it was the correct thing to do, we were heartbroken and worried. Our annual budget was counting on $320,000 from the Razzle Dazzle Ball to keep 1,200 children safe.
Without the Razzle Dazzle Funds, we would have to reassess our plan for the year, and we were concerned that many children who needed the safety of the Crisis Nursery would have to be turned away.
We did the only thing we could; we turned to our incredible supporters…the businesses, individuals, families, and groups that make up the Crisis Nursery Family.
We said, “Please help if you can; the children need you.”
And then magic happened.
It started with the major sponsors, Centene, Edward Jones, and Emerson, who all said we could keep the sponsorship money for the children. Then we heard from the rest of the sponsors—all 21 of them – who all said they, too, believed in the mission of the Crisis Nursery, and they knew the money was crucial for staying open during this crisis.
We had sold out the room—500 tickets, and we thought requests for refunds would begin to trickle in. But it never happened. Not one person requested a refund.
But we knew that at least one-third of the money from Razzle Dazzle comes in on the night of the event: raffle tickets, silent auction, and the live auction. Every year, after our CEO, DiAnne Mueller, talks about the Crisis Nursery…the video plays, and the emotion, the excitement, and the energy in the room take over, and people bid on items and donate to Sponsor a Child.
How could we reach our goal without the atmosphere of a live event?
Once again, our supporters came through. Between the online auction, the online raffle, and the online Sponsor a Child, we raised an incredible $123,000!
In total, we raised over $340,000 from the Razzle Dazzle Ball!
We are humbled and grateful, and completely awestruck, at the seemingly boundless generosity of Crisis Nursery supporters. We do not have the words to adequately express how profoundly thankful we are for the support shown to the Saint Louis Crisis Nursery."
These were the winners of the annual H.U.G.S. & K.I.S.S.E.S. Awards, normally presented at the Razzle Dazzle Ball:
Karen & Sardon Wool: Couple of the Year
Karen Evans: Woman of the Year
Foundation of the Year: Youthbridge Community Foundation
Community Partner of the Year: St. Peter’s United Church of Christ.
Young Professional of the Year: Lisa Rose