SPARC, a non-profit organization that provides day programs for adults with disabilities, hosted its inaugural Gratitude Gala at the Washington Dulles Marriott Hotel on Nov. 4, raising more than $152,000.
The reception drew more than 200 attendees and featured silent and live auctions, food, awards and paintings created by SPARC participants with their wheelchairs.
SPARC attendees selected the event name to show their appreciation for supporters. Participants also chose the red carpet and formal format since they do not have the opportunity to dress up and attend events. In a show of support, non-profit Women Giving Back provided appropriate attire for SPARC participants and their personal support attendants.
The reception-style gala raised funds to support SPARC’s unique program serving young adults who have aged out of the special-education support provided by the K-12 system and are not eligible for other community-based programs that serve individuals with severe disabilities. During the event, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine and state Sen. Dick Saslaw were recognized for their significant support of SPARC and the people it serves.
The Washington Dulles Marriott donated the space and food, and members of its executive team gave of their time to cook and serve attendees. Other lead sponsors included the Tullman Family Office, Google, The Washington Group, Washington Gas, Dominion Energy and Claude Moore Charitable Foundation.
SPARC hosts centers that operate five days a week at various locations in Fairfax and Arlington with staff-led programming based on a curriculum rooted in therapeutic-recreation principles that consist of continued education/leisure learning, skill-building, exercise, excursions, cooking, music, art, lectures, discussion groups and more.
SPARC’s participants require support with daily activities and, without SPARC, they are often neglected and forgotten. SPARC’s annual cost per participant is $9,000; if the SPARC participant instead attended a Medicaid provider, the taxpayer cost would average $39,000 per year.
Funds raised at the Gratitude Gala will defray the costs of running the centers and support expansion to serve more people across the Northern Virginia region.