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Escambia County Habitat for Humanity is preparing for the groups spring fundraiser and it’s bound to be a treat for every southern woman – and man – in the area.
Lisa Tindell, executive director for the organization, said the event will be an opportunity to enjoy an evening out while helping to make a family’s dreams come true.
“We are planning a ‘Dinner & A Movie’ event that we think will be a fun evening and help raise funds for our projects at the same time,” Tindell said. “We are excited to have the opportunity to celebrate such an iconic movie in this area at this event.”
The evening, set to be held at the Brewton Community Center behind city hall on Douglas Avenue, will consist of a lovely sit-down dinner, followed by a movie and silent auction.
“We will be showing the original ‘Steel Magnolias’ which is celebrating their 30th anniversary this year,” Tindell said. “It’s one of my favorites, and I think there are a lot of people that feel the same way about this movie. We are excited to have secured the rights to show the movie here in Brewton.”
Tindell said doors will open at 5 p.m. for the evening. General admission is $25 and includes dinner and the movie as well as the reception following the presentation.
“We also have some VIP seats for this event,” Tindell said. “The VIP ticket is $50 and includes reserved seating, first service for dinner and the reception, movie snacks and a personal copy of the DVD to take home.”
Tickets are on sale now from any board member of the organization or by visiting the Habitat Restore on Douglas Avenue next to Jalisco’s.
“We encourage everyone that can to get their tickets by May 1,” Tindell said. “We’d love for everyone to come, but there is limited space at the community center. Once we sell that number of tickets, we won’t be able to allow anyone else to come to the event. We are bound by the fire code and only a certain number of people can occupy the building at one time. So, getting your tickets before show day will allow you to make sure you can get in to join in all the fun.”
Tindell said the event is being made possible, in part, with help from the Brewton mill of Georgia Pacific.
“We are so excited to have Georgia Pacific as a partner for this event,” Tindell said. “Their sponsorship for this event is helping to cover many of the costs involved in putting on a fundraiser. That means that funds we receive from the silent auction items will go toward helping make a home for another family in our county.”
Tindell said the silent auction items are continuing to grow with several local merchants jumping in to help out.
“We are always looking for more donations, whether it’s a cash contribution or a donation of an item for the auction,” Tindell said. “We have the support of several merchants already, but we are excited to say that we expect the list of items up for auction to continue to grow right up until show time.”
Tindell said that Habitat for Humanity is completely donation driven and no public or federal funds are used for the organization’s projects.
“We don’t receive any funding from public sources,” Tindell said. “We are always looking for ways to raise money needed to build or renovate homes for our partner families. We only receive funds through donations, small grants or fundraisers like this one. We work hard and everyone knows that building or remodeling a home takes a good bit of money. That’s money that we work for every day.”
The Habitat Restore is also a source of revenue for home projects of the group, Tindell said.
“The Restore is a wonderful place to shop and give to our cause,” Tindell said. “The staff makes sure that there are items that the public is interested in purchasing. Through new and donated item sales, the Restore helps to fund some of our projects. We are thankful to have such a useful store in our community and one that helps move our mission forward.”
Tickets to the “Dinner & A Movie” event are available at the Habitat Restore Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information or for delivery of tickets, call the Habitat office at 867-0095.