“Get your green on, and come on down to join us for dinner!
The Pat Porter Active Living Center is once again hosting their Annual Fundraising Banquet! This year’s theme is Lucky & Charmed, embracing Saint Patrick’s Day with Irish flavors and entertainment.
The Center’s executive director Audrey Harder is looking forward to yet another wonderful opportunity to gather with friends and neighbors. The menu for the event includes corned beef, colcannon, salad, and Irish soda bread, and entertainment for the evening features the McConnell Irish Dancers, and comedian Matt Falk.
As the name suggests, this event is first and foremost a fundraiser. Harder notes that a large misunderstanding that people have about the Pat Porter Active Living Center is about how they are funded.
"I think people assume is that we're completely, 100% funded by some government body who likes to give out money. We're not. 22% of our funding is from the Regional Health Authority, so that's not a lot. The accessible transit is fully funded by the City of Steinbach, so that's a little different. But the rest of it is all our rentals, our fundraising, our people who come in and throw a tip in the jar for coffee. People who attend programs. It all adds up in the end, and helps us pay for our bills. We couldn't do it without all of that.”
Harder says that the amazing community support is what keeps the Center afloat, including donations, participation in events, and program signups.
“Without this event, we would really struggle to run- we would have to do many more fundraisers or even increase pricing,” she admits. “So this event is our one-time-a-year large event that really covers the additional costs. Our programming and our rentals are at good, affordable prices, and we want to keep it that way.”
Harder notes the regimented style of many other organizations of this type, and shares that nothing could be farther from the truth at Pat Porter.
“It’s very welcoming- no matter who you are, no matter what you need in the moment, there’s always somebody there that can help you through that. You come there, you feel supported, you
feel loved, you feel understood. The only expectation we have is that, when you come in, you treat people with respect and spend some time with people.”
If you haven’t already purchased your tickets, Harder shares that they’re getting close to selling out… but that there’s still time.
“You get to have some music, watch some dancing, enjoy great food, and you get to end the night with tears in your eyes because you’re laughing so hard. It’s going to be wonderful!”
The Pat Porter Active Living Center’s Lucky & Charmed Fundraising Banquet happens March 13th. Doors open at 4:30 PM with dinner at 5:30 PM. Tickets are $60.00 with a $40.00 tax receipt, available at the Center and online.