2 minute read

Record-Breaking Generosity at Festival of Trees 2022

from Inspire Magazine - Spring 2023

from Inspire Magazine - Spring 2023, page 12

Your Giving in 2022

After two years of celebrating Festival of Trees virtually, Festival Co-Chairs Tom & Kjersti Lane welcomed the community to the beautiful winter wonderland at Tulalip Resort’s Orca Ballroom for Festival 2022. The extraordinary generosity and community spirit of the attendees broke all records, raising more than $1.67 million for Providence Children’s Services.

A bit of winter weather gave guests an early taste of Christmas spirit during Festival week, but the snow didn’t stop the celebration! The week began with tree and wreath designers working their magic during designer day, revealing their stunning creations at the free Community Day on Wednesday, November 30.

Community members of all ages enjoyed the trees and wreaths along with local musical performances, crafts, visits with Santa, cookies and cocoa, teddy bear store, raffles, and more. Activities of the day benefited Providence General Children’s Association.

Guests at the Holiday Gala on Friday, December 2 were greeted with a champagne reception before enjoying a festive evening filled with family, friends, exquisite food, fine wine, and a spirited live auction including Festival trees, wreaths, and unique experiences. It was an all-out bidding frenzy throughout the night from the trees and wreaths to vacation getaways and special desserts—including a very popular coconut cream pie with a winning bid of $5,000!

The largest auction purchase of the night came from Rich & Judy Boyden as winning bidders of the Lego wreath—at a whopping $26,000! They generously donated the wreath, along with dozens of Lego sets, to the Providence Boyden Family Autism Center that bears their name. This is the generosity the Boydens are known for. Over countless years they’ve raised their paddle high at Festival of Trees and inspired others to do the same—even virtually! This is a true testament to why the Boydens were also the recipients of the 2022 Spirit of Festival Award and were honored that evening for their unwavering support of Providence Children’s Services.

The overwhelming generosity continued into the fund-a-need portion of the evening, supporting the future expansion of Providence Everett’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. For the first time in Festival history, the fund-a-need donations topped more than $1 million! (Read about Baby Afton, the “star” of the 2022 fund-a-need on page 8).

A special thank you to local clothing company Little Bipsy who generously matched all paddle raises of $250 up to $20,000 during the fund-a-need, inspiring some attendees to raise their paddle a second, third, or even fourth time.

Thank you to all the guests, volunteers, and sponsors who helped make the 2022 Festival of Trees events an overwhelming success.

PRESENTING SPONSOR

DISTINGUISHED

PLATINUM SPONSOR ank you to all who were a special part of the 2022 Festival of Trees. Because of you, more than $1.6 million was raised to support Children’s Services at Providence Everett