Brook Lane hosted its inaugural Bridge to Hope Affair fundraiser on Saturday April, 30, 2022 at the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts.
“This event allowed us to gather in collective support to help Brook Lane realize its vision and put its mission into motion,” said Jeff O’Neal, CEO of Brook Lane. “This is a step forward to an exciting future for Brook Lane, grounded by the ministry and teachings of Jesus Christ.”
This evening wouldn’t have been possible without the support of our sponsors, vendors, guest speakers, board of directors, development council, and everyone who attended. The event raised $47,056 in sponsorships, donations, and silent auction items.
We also would like to give a special thanks to the people who donated their time and effort to create gift baskets and items for our silent auction. The auction opened two days prior to the event with the opportunity for donors to bid on items by desktop, smartphone or text, which allowed the auction to be a hybrid event.
EVENT RECAP
The evening opened with a welcome reception featuring live jazz music by Kerensa Gray. During the reception, Benny’s Pub provided an open bar of beer and wine, featuring beer from local breweries like Antietam Brewery Co., being poured into Belgian souvenir glasses with Brook Lane’s logo engraved. As people were mingling, the auction items were on display for attendees to peruse and bid on using their smartphones.
Photo by Wornden Ly Photography
At the conclusion of the welcome reception, Jeff O’Neal offered a few opening remarks and introduced our first guest speaker, Dr. Michael Hann, Brook Lane’s Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Hann spoke of the importance of having hope in the healing process.
After dinner, our second guest speaker, Jason Marren, shared his personal story of struggling with addiction and how receiving help from Brook Lane set him on the road to hope, healing, and recovery. Marren shared his experience with those in attendance in hopes of helping others in similar situations. He works as a Peer Recovery Coach, connecting and sharing his story of success on a daily basis to bring hope to others. Marren was very inspirational and a recording of his speech can be found on our YouTube channel.
Jason Marren speaking at the Bridge to Hope Affair. Photo by Wornden Ly Photography
The event concluded with dessert from Lillian’s Bakehouse, a craft coffee bar provided by River Bottom Roasters and music and a photo booth from Electrolinear Entertainment.
Desserts from Lillian’s Bakehouse. Photo by Wornden Ly Photography
River Bottom Roaster serving coffee to guest at Brook Lane’s Bridge to Hope Affair. Photo by Wornden Ly Photography
Photos of the event can be found, and downloaded by clicking the button below (use pin 5948 to download photos). Photos and video of the speeches were taken by Wornden Ly Photography.
