Helping Hand

Posted by Maria Costasnovo in Santa Fe

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern New Mexico recently held its annual gala, a fundraising event for the organization, this year held at Buffalo Thunder Hotel, drawing volunteers from all over northern New Mexico—including Santa Fe University of Art and Design.

“Preparing an event like this is always hard, but fun at the same time. It is really important for Big Brothers Big Sisters since it’s one of the sources from we get most of the funds of the year for the kids,” says Chris Leslie, one of the organizers of the event.

A lot of different business and people from all over northern New Mexico donated items ranging from furniture and jewelry to hotel rooms and trips. SFUAD student Dani Vondrak, a regular volunteer for BBBS, helped gather volunteers for the event.

“On the event day we showed up and ask some of the people who were in charge what we could do to help out, and a lot of them were telling us that we should be behind the booths of the art pieces or vacations that are bet on, to kind of exemplify what they were about and explain why they should bet on that,” says SFUAD student Victoria Ann Dailey.

This event also was an opportunity for some of the students to put their skills to use. Charles Austin Ross, a film student, helped in the gala with his camera:

“I got this project by a stroke of luck. I was talking to Ron Nunnely over at the [Driscoll Fitness Center] and a friend and member of the gym came in to talk to him. Chris Alexander of Big Brothers Big Sisters was that friend, a really nice guy. He asked my major and I told him Film and so he extended an offer my way.”

After the auction, all the assistants went into the convention center of the hotel, where there was a show to try to sell the last pieces, and where they could enjoy a dinner.

“I was asked to be one of the girls that went up on stage while everyone else was just still helping out on the booths to advertise some of the last pieces that weren’t initially betted in the selling auction,” Dailey says. “So I went up on the stage and give them the clipboard and walked around and passed out the betting sheet to see if anyone wanted to bet on the piece that was on my clipboard.”

Dailey also had the opportunity to talk with those directly impacted by the program.

“One man informed me that…he had had a Little Sister for 11 years now, and has been watching her grow up from 11 to 22, and he’s been going to this charity events for years, and he said that they really do make a big difference, and it’s amazing being able to give the kids the funding to have a live that they deserve. “