Home of Guiding Hands, headquartered in El Cajon is celebrating its 50th annual fundraising gala on April 17 at the Pendry Hotel in San Diego from 5:30 – 11:30 p.m. This annual fundraiser with the Glitz and Glam theme, guests will enjoy live entertainment, food, complimentary cocktails at the Oxford Social Club, dinner and wine service, a casino, and more.
Serving San Diego and Imperial counties, this evening will benefit more than 4,500 infants, children, adolescents, and adults with special needs. For more than five decades, HGH has been committed to providing quality community support, critical housing and life skills training for children and adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Home of Guiding Hands’ commitment goes beyond providing quality programs; they are deeply invested in creating a community that actively empowers people to create and lead fulfilling, high-quality lives.
HGH CEO Edward Hershey said there are two reasons that make this year’s event especially important.
“In general, this is our largest fundraiser, and all the funds go directly towards the clients,” he said. “It is not just the services that are provided. It meets their needs. If there is something that they do not have access to, for example, if they are on MediCal, and they are given a wheelchair, they are only allowed one wheelchair every few years. If it breaks, they cannot get it fixed and cannot get access to a new one unless use their own money. We can use funds like this to help provide equipment individuals might need. It might be a communication tablet for someone who is nonverbal to communicate what they want or need, or what they like. Where state funding does not assist them, we are able to meet that gap. That makes me so excited.”
Hershey said what makes this year particularly unique is that the organization is facing a $1 billion cut to the industry with the governor’s proposed budget due to the state’s deficit.
“It is the largest single cut to any program in the state is receiving,” he said. “That to me is just ridiculous. We have been underfunded for decades as an industry. They did a rate study that showed that we have been underfunded by $1 billion. So, the surplus we had last year and the year before were built on the backs of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Having them do another cut or a rate freeze is asinine. I do not really understand it. But funds we receive through events like this help us to keep our mission and connect the services that these individuals desperately need.”
For more information, to purchase tickets, sponsor, visit www.hghgala.org.
