Over 200 White Pony Express volunteers, donors, partners, and supporters gathered at the Club House at Boundary Oak on Thursday, September 26th, 2019 to celebrate the wonderful work done by our growing community of support in tackling the tough issues of food insecurity and homelessness in Contra Costa County.
Guests were greeted with a White Pony Express gift bag, containing a WPE hat and a personalized laminated placemat. That personalized touch that surprised the volunteers, donors, and partners came from several groups of children, teens and adults who all devoted late nights and weekends to give a bit of themselves, their passion, time and energy to support those of us in need. Their essence embodies the White Pony Express pursuit of all of us taking care of all of us.
Our friends at Boundary Oak were kind enough to offer their entire venue for our event at no cost, where guests enjoyed a happy hour with wine, bites and great conversation with ample space to gather inside and outside, and of course an amazing dining room for the main events, dinner, and dancing!
Other highlights included a photo slide show with memories shared from the start of WPE through today, a busy Yellow Tulip Fun Booth with props beyond this world, and of course the Groove Doctors band that kept our community on our feet all evening.
WPE Executive Director, Mary Brooks shared sincere words of appreciation toward our community, announcing all that we have accomplished together over the years. To wrap up, Mary announced the door prizes, where over 40 guests located hidden gift certificates for dinners, spas, hotels and other fun, interesting attractions throughout the Contra Costa County area.
We want to send thanks to the following community companies for sponsoring the door prizes:
54 Mint il Forno, Blackhawk Museum, California Fish Grill, Cheesecake Factory, Crumbs, El Charro, Five Little Monkeys, Happy Hollow Park & Zoo, Lamorinda Performing Academy, Life is Sweet - gluten-free bakery and café, Lokanta Mediterranean Grill and Bar, Main Street Kitchen, Marriot Courtyard, Painting with a Twist, Santorini Mediterranean Restaurant, SF MOMA, Sideboard, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, Spavia, Sunrise Bistro, TuTus Lafayette, Urban Putt and Vanessa’s Bistro.
And a special thanks to a couple of special volunteers who added a whole lot of love to the party. Thank you to volunteer Danya Bain with Happy Heart Bakery for donating 200 WPE cookies and thank you to Volunteer (and Volunteer Manager of Volunteer Services), Mandy Nakaya for donating all the flowers and lovely table arrangements for the event.