For $75, guests can enjoy an island-themed party that includes dinner, dancing and cocktails.
By EMILY NIPPS, Times Staff Writer
Published September 9, 2005
TAMPA PALMS - Four years after opening, the New Tampa YMCA is finally hosting its first fundraising event.
The YMCA teamed up with Hannah Bartoletta Homes to create an extravagant "Passport To Paradise" island-themed party on Oct. 1, where guests can pay $75 to enjoy cocktails, dinner, and dancing. A Napa Valley resort vacation, a Hummer birthday party, limo rides to concerts and a 10-person cooking class hosted by Roy's Restaurant are among some of the gifts up for grabs in silent and live auctions.
Even with all this, though, fundraising for the YMCA might be a tough sell given the disasters that have hit Louisiana and Mississippi.
"People are probably going to be a little tapped right now," YMCA development director Liz Crowley said. "And that's okay."
Crowley is just hoping some generous New Tampa folks might have a little left over for their own community. If nothing else, the event's organizers hope to make people aware of what the YMCA does for the area. This includes a scholarship fund that subsidizes dues for almost one in five members.
"People see all the large homes (in New Tampa) and think everyone here is well-off," YMCA volunteer chair Angelia Hunter said. "But we have many families that live in apartment complexes or single-parent homes that have three kids. That's where the need starts to get greater, and we like to be there to bridge that gap."
In addition to their own fundraiser, Crowley said, YMCAs all over the Gulf Coast region (including the New Tampa branch) are also helping with the relief effort by accepting tax-deductible donations for the hurricane victims.
Anyone interested in attending "Passport to Paradise" can contact Crowley at (813) 866-9622. Tickets are $75 and seats are limited to 150.
