An evening of “blue jeans and bling” awaits patrons of Civitan Services at its next fundraiser — Denim and Diamonds, set for 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Hill Barn Event Center, 100 Hill Road in Bryant.
“Denim and Diamonds is a new endeavor for us,” said Bekka Wilkerson, special events coordinator at Civitan Services.
“We have never done this before. It has a lot of potential. We hope our patrons will buy into this first year so we can make it an annual event,” Wilkerson said.
“We are so excited about this new event — technically a new twist on a former event,” said Leah Henderson, executive director of Civitan Services.
“This will be the first time we have ever hosted an event in Bryant. The venue will create an atmosphere conducive to a laid-back, fun evening with friends. We hope people will come out ready to kick up their heels and party or prop up their boots and relax while enjoying fantastic food and great live music,” Henderson said.
“It’s hard to believe that adult services has already been in our new building for a full year,” she said, noting that Civitan Services moved that part of its operations from Benton to the Bryant location in March 2016.
“Although we’ve had a few adjustments to make in daily routines, the transition has been fairly smooth, and we could not be happier. Not only has there been an impact economically for our community with the addition of open positions to be filled, but this growth has also allowed us to focus on expanding our supported employment opportunities for our clients and assisting our adults with finding competitive employment within our community,” Henderson said.
“The addition of this beautiful campus has provided opportunities for growth beyond our expectations. Not only have we seen an increase in the number of men and women being served in our adult-services programs, but we have also experienced steady growth in our preschool program as well (that component of Civitan Services remains in Benton). We are excited to be a part of an organization accomplishing such amazing things for our disability community and look forward to what the future holds for Civitan Services,” she said.
The Denim and Diamonds gala will feature a full, sit-down dinner provided by Gina’s Catering, a “jewelry pull,” and live music presented by the Just Sayin’ band.
The menu will include smoked sliced chicken, smoked pulled pork, smoked sausage, baked beans, baked-potato casserole, coleslaw, side salad, yeast rolls, and banana pudding, chocolate lasagna and strawberry-shortcake shooters. Beverages will include sweet tea, raspberry lemonade and water.
“Our jewelry pull is sponsored by the ladies of Baker’s Fine Jewelry,” Wilkerson said. “We will have 20 wrapped boxes available for purchase at $25 per box.
Each box will contain a beautiful piece of jewelry valued at the purchase price, but one lucky winner will take home a fabulous piece of jewelry valued at $300.
“All of the packages will be displayed when you come in,” she said. “All you do is pay and pick a box. We will begin selling the boxes when the doors open.”
Denim and Diamonds will also feature a silent auction. Among the items up for bids will be client art, a resort vacation package to Antigua and even a bicycle or two.
“We will have a little something for everyone,” Wilkerson said.
Flowers & Home of Bryant will decorate the barn, which was hand-built by Ralph Hill in 1949. The barn was part of the Herbert F. Hill Dairy farm from 1957-1964. The land and barn were then used for cattle and horses until the property was sold in 2011 to the Bryant School District.
The barn is now leased to Terry Harper of Bryant.
“I’ve leased it from the Bryant School District for 30 years,” Harper said, laughing. “As an event center, the barn can be used for weddings, anniversaries, receptions and other special events, like Denim and Diamonds. Chris Treat, pastor of Hope Church-Saline, will use it on Sundays and Wednesdays.”
Civitan Services has had a presence in Saline County for more than 50 years, providing services for approximately 300 people with developmental disabilities of all ages. In order to keep those programs going, Wilkerson said, the nonprofit organization sponsors four fundraisers each year.
“We seek to have the best fundraisers in Saline County. We just had our golf tournament in April. In October, we will have our murder-mystery dinner, and in December, we will have our revamped 5K and are calling it the 12Ks of Christmas,” Wilkerson said.
“We are really excited about this new benefit, Denim and Diamonds, which was my idea. It’s my baby. We hope the community will enjoy it,” she said.
“We want to emphasize that the money we raise goes directly back into Civitan Services. [It] is a particularly special organization because we are not part of any larger conglomerate — all the funds we raise, grants we acquire, etc., stay right in here and benefit people within our community,” Wilkerson said.
“Families you interact with or are a part of on a daily basis receive 100 percent of these benefits, so your dollars are going to provide opportunities for neighbors, family members, people you do life with or go to church with on a daily basis,” Wilkerson said. “We were fortunate enough to be able to build a beautiful adult-services campus just over a year ago, and we are still working to retire that debt.
“However, the majority of the funds raised from this and other Civitan Services fundraisers is poured back into the clients across both the preschool and adult-services campuses in order to continue to grow our existing programs and be able to implement new activities to assist our children and adults with developmental disabilities in living life to the fullest potential.”
Tickets for Denim and Diamonds are $65 each or $600 for a table of 10.
“We have a special promotion going on now,” Wilkerson said. “Register online, and enter the promotion code ‘Bling’ for tickets at $45 each.”
Tickets may be purchased online at www.civitanservices.com.
For more information, call Civitan Services at (501) 776-0691.