AIDS organization wins honor for 4th year in a row
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| Deiadra Burns |
Black Tie Dinner Inc. this week announced that the AIDS Interfaith Network has received the “Volunteer of the Year” award for the fourth consecutive year. The award is given each year to the dinner’s beneficiary organization that contributes the highest total number of volunteer hours to the fundraising event.
AIDS Interfaith volunteers contributed 237 hours valued at $4,448 to the 2006 Black Tie Dinner, according to a statement Black Tie officials released on Monday, June 4. Over the past four years, AIDS Interfaith volunteers have put more than 537 hours into the Black Tie Dinner events, worth $10,429, the statement said.
Volunteers with the Resource Center of Dallas put in 200.25 hours of volunteer work (valued at $3,758) into the 2006 dinner, while White Rock Friends volunteers contributed 131 hours (valued at $2,458) and volunteers from AIDS Services of Dallas contributed 127 hours (valued at $2,383).
Volunteers for beneficiaries of the 2006 dinner contributed a total of 1,685 hours of volunteer work, Black Tie officials said, adding that the estimated value of those hours is $31,627.
Deiadra Burns, co-chair of the 2006 and 2007 Black Tie Dinners, said, “We are so proud of AIDS Interfaith Network and all of our volunteers. Our volunteers work hard and regularly sacrifice their own personal time to help us with the dinner. We could not do it without their support and they help us keep the dinner expenses to a minimum.”
The 2006 dinner which featured keynote speaker Geena Davis and Elizabeth Birch Award winner Alan Cumming and marked the event’s 25th anniversary distributed $1.35 million to the Human Rights Campaign Foundation and the 18 local beneficiaries. That brought the dinner’s 25-year total to almost $10.5 million.
The 2007 dinner will be held Nov. 17 at the Adam’s Mark Hotel. But events are already underway leading up to the main event. The 2007 program commences with the annual Launch Party on Thursday, June 14 at 6:30 p.m. in the Austin Ballroom of the Adam’s Mark.
The launch party is open to anyone who wants to learn more about the 2007 Black Tie Dinner, how to become a table captain or sponsor, or how to purchase Black Tie Dinner tickets.
For more information about the Black Tie Dinner or this year’s event, call 972.733.9200 or visit www.blacktie.org.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition, June 8, 2007.