RAD Karaoke & Entertainment. RAD Karaoke owner, Luke Ellers, along with Hopeworx Inc and Christ Church are hosting a prom style dinner/dance for the homeless on April 18th.
Tonight they present The CHARITY SILENT ART AUCTION, 1 of 3 planned fundraisers to support the upcoming Ball. The Silent Art Auction will take place at two locations in Norristown, in the STEFANIA LUCIANI Galleries: 601 Chain Street, Norristown and 108 E Main Street (across from Five Saints)
“Most of us take for granted the fact that we get to go home and have dinner every night. For a lot of people it’s just not a reality. I can’t imagine how hard it is dealing with all of life’s normal problems and on top of that adding not having a place to sleep or something to eat. Everyone needs a night out to forget about their problems and have a good time, but for many this is impossible. Hope Community Ball is a collaborative effort on behalf of Rad Karaoke, Hopeworx Inc and Christ Church UCC offering the people who are homeless in the greater Norristown a night of fun to encourage the hope that comes from loving neighbors. This free, adult prom style event is designed to offer dignity and hope to people without a place to live within our community who are underrepresented and in need of our encouragement and support. We will offer resources and support with showers and haircuts as well as services such as make-up, mini-massage, nails, and outfitting prior to the event. The event itself will include live and DJ’d music, a meal, awards, and photo opportunities.”
According to an update on their gofundme: Organizers have currently secured the venue, tables, chairs, dinnerware. “We’re starting to get volunteers together, with your help we can take this over the top!”
visit radkaraoke.com or https://www.facebook.com/TheresHopeCommunityball/ for more information
Offering showers, hair cuts, makeup, nails and formal clothes to 80 homeless people, before taking them to Christ Church for the Hope Community Ball.
Leading up to the Ball the organizers will host 3 fundraisers (A Silent Art Auction, Painting with Spirits and a 5k) and with raffles.
This huge undertaking is need of some additional support. Want to know how you can help? Spreading the word about clothing donations, monetary donations, volunteers, or fundraisers and the Ball itself goes a long way.
https://radkaraoke.com/theres-hope-ball
Happening (iN)TOWN had the opportunity to correspond a with Luke, see what he had to say about the upcoming Ball:
What inspired you to organize this event?
I drive a truck(I pick up those big construction dumpsters) I was picking one up at Norristown State Hospital, when I was leaving I passed a homeless shelter and a couple of people were sitting outside taking. At the time I was going through a divorce and I was feeling sorry for myself, but When I looked over and saw those people talking it got me thinking about how hard their life must be and how they don’t get to ever get away from it. I DJ at least every Friday night and that’s my time to let loose, have a couple drinks and have fun. But they don’t get that, ever. I wanted to do something. I don’t have money to give, so I thought maybe I could give then at least one night that they didn’t hand to worry about everything and just hand fun.
Do you hope this will be an annual event or just a one time event? I do, I’d like to be able to do something like this a couple of times a year. It has really amazed me how much this is not only helping the spirits of the homeless, but of all the people helping. It’s bringing a lot of people together that would normally not have interacted with each other.
How will you reach the homeless population you intend to attend your event?
I’m working with Hopeworx Inc and CSP, both of which work with the homeless on a regular basis and I’m leaving it up to them as to pick who would benefit the most from this.
What if any sponsors are already on board?
We’ve have a couple of businesses helping us, the biggest being Five Saints Distillery. They’ve been incredible offering us a place to have fundraisers and raising money for us. Chick filet donated 80 gift cards to put in the gift bag were giving to each attendee and Mission BBQ donated a gift card and other items for a gift basket. But most of our support has come from the local community.
Anything else you’d like to share with us?
The 2 biggest things that I’ve come away with so far is..
1. How bad the homeless situation is in Norristown. I had no idea things were this bad.
2. How amazing the people of Norristown have been. I’m pretty new to the area and I don’t have any connections here, but people have been coming out of the woodwork to help.
