Kelli and Kristin Schell talk community and connection at the turquoise table.
Last Friday, October 20, Hand to Hold and our supporters gathered around the turquoise table for our 4th Annual Baby Shower Luncheon at the JW Marriott in downtown Austin, TX.
We started the day with mingling, champagne, and bidding on generously donated Silent Auction items ranging from party boat rentals, a getaway at a Lake Marble Falls home, tickets to a taping of Austin City Limits, and more. We also auctioned off four turquoise tables to be placed at four different hospitals in the Austin area, to foster community among NICU parents.
Guests enjoyed a delicious lunch while listening to live music from country singer Randy Rogers of the Randy Rogers Band. Randy has a special connection to the services Hand to Hold provides – his daughter Rumer passed away in 2015 at only six days old, after being diagnosed with a rare condition that causes seizures, difficulty breathing, lethargy, muscle weakness. We cannot thank Randy enough for joining us and helping us honor NICU and bereaved parents.
After Randy’s performance, Kelli sat down at the turquoise table with author Kristin Schell, who launched the Turquoise Table and #FrontYardPeople movements when she felt the need for a greater connection among her neighbors. Kristin and Kelli’s candid and heartwarming conversation inspired us all to open our hearts and our homes to those in our community.
To wrap up the afternoon, our event chairs Brandon and Melissa Cason led a fun and invigorating Paddles Up auction, where guests raised their bidder paddles for donations that will provide funding for various Hand to Hold programs such as our podcast, peer mentor program, in-hospital resources, our online support forum and more.
Our giving thermometer for money raised at the event currently stands at $87,000 – over twice as much as we raised at last year’s luncheon! The money raised from these generous donations allows Hand to Hold to expand support and programs for the NICU families in Central Texas and in communities across the United States. We cannot thank our generous donors for all of their support.
Thanks to you – our sponsors, table hosts, individual donors and planning committee – together we can continue to provide powerful resources for the whole family, and most importantly, one-on-one mentoring from someone who has been there.
Country singer Randy Rogers performs for the guests.
Honoring NICU and bereaved parents, grandparents, and loved ones.
The theme of the day was community, and author Kristin Schell gave inspiring advice on how to foster community in our own areas.
Kelli with 2017’s Event Chairs Melissa and Brandon Cason.
Special thanks to our amazing Event Chairs, Melissa and Brandon Cason, for their outstanding work on this event, and thank you to all who came, for ensuring a bright future for NICU and bereaved families. We would love to see your event photos! Tag them using #h2hbabyshower17.
A special thanks to our sponsors:
Friends & Neighbors Sponsors
Lana Macrum-Craig & Jeff Craig &
Lemonade Stand Diaper Pull Sponsors
Heather and Patrick Nichols
Bake Sale Silent Auction Sponsor
Front Yard People Sponsor
Turquoise Table Sponsors
Austin Fertility Institute & Vivere-Austin Surgery Center & Fertility Lab
Austin Maternal Fetal Medicine
Austin Regional Clinic
Benyousef Consulting & Helmbrecht Consulting
Melissa & Brandon Cason
Chelsey & Vernon Bryant
Cook-Walden Funeral Homes & Cemeteries
Covert Chevrolet Buick GMC, Bastrop, TX
Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas
Donald D. Mateer Foundation
Haegelin Construction
JE Dunn Construction
Kelli & Michael Kelley
Law Firm of Latra Szal & Texas National Title
Pediatrix Medical Group
Becky Pemberton
Roots Real Estate – Wendi Slaton Anderson, Broker
Media Sponsor
