Gingerbread Ball Supports Military Families

Three of the season’s favorite things – gingerbread houses, a festive celebration, and making the holidays brighter for others – will come together on the evening of Saturday, December 3, 2016 for the Annual Gingerbread Ball, benefiting the Fisher House Foundation, to be held at the Sheraton Eatontown Hotel from 6:00 to 11:00 p.m. Fisher House is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization that provides a “home away from home” with free temporary lodging for active duty military, veterans, and their families while their loved one is receiving treatment at a Military Center of Excellence Hospital. There are now 72 homes in the United States, Germany, and United Kingdom that provide such housing so military and veterans’ families can be close to their loved ones during a medical crisis and focus on what’s important – the healing process.

These homes have provided a safe haven for many of our New Jersey military members, veterans, and their families. “New Jersey soldiers and their families have greatly benefited from the Fisher House Foundation,” explained Kit Roache, chair of the Gingerbread Ball and vice president of programs for the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Monmouth Chapter. Fisher House Foundation also operates the Hero Miles program, using donated frequent flyer miles to bring family members to the bedside of injured service members, and the Hotels for Heroes program, using donated hotel points to allow family members to stay at hotels near medical centers without charge.

What can you do to help? First of all, you can attend the Gingerbread Ball gala, which is open to all who would like to come and help support these families who have served our country so honorably. Second, you can make a contribution in the form of an event sponsorship, an ad in the program book, or a donation of a new, unused item for the silent auction baskets. Or you can enter the Gingerbread House Contest; see details below.

With tickets priced at $125 per person, guests at the festive gala will enjoy a cocktail hour with butler passed hors d’oeuvres, champagne toast, an elegant plated dinner, cash bar, entertainment, a silent auction, DJ, dinner, dancing, and a photo booth. The guest speaker for the evening will be Brian Gawne, Vice President, Programs and Community Relations, Fisher House Foundation, Inc. Attire is formal, or dark business suit or cocktail dress. For registration information, contact Laurel Gaudio at (732) 927-0258 or Laurel.Gaudio@gmail.com. Registration payments may be made via PayPal at www.ausa-monmouth.org.  

In addition, there will also be a fun Gingerbread House Competition and Auction. Bakeries, amateurs, and professional bakers alike are invited to showcase their culinary skills. One hundred percent of all entry fees are donated to Fisher House Foundation, and contest participants may opt to donate their gingerbread house to be auctioned at the Gingerbread Ball. All professional bakers who compete will receive a free half page ad in the evening’s Commemorative Program Book, and each baker/bakery name will appear on an ad display during the dinner and on the website at www.ausa-monmouth.org. Ads are due by November 21. Contact Yvonne Bova, Gingerbread House Competition chair, at (732) 779-7111 or ybhomemail@gmail.com.  

For further information on sponsorship opportunities, contact Myron Cichanowsky at (732) 261-3787. To contribute to the silent auction, contact Ellie Smith at (973) 216-3090. For additional information, contact event chair Kit Roache at (732) 788-4005.