This year, around $400,000 in donations is needed to empower more children with disabilities to showcase their talents and skills, according to Richmondite David Wang, founder and president of the Social Diversity for Children Foundation (SDC).
Concord Pacific 2021 Once Upon a Shine Gala, an annual event dedicated to fundraising more programs at SDC and covering costs associated with planning, teaching and etc., will be held this November.
The demand for programs at SDC has skyrocketed amid the pandemic, said Wang.
The annual gala, he explained, is extremely important as the funds raised from last year’s event were able to keep more than 60 programs running and support over 360 individuals and families.
“We were able to provide extra-curricular activities for many children during these unprecedented times, even when many other institutions were closing their doors,” said Wang.
“The sad reality was that there are so many families out there, hoping to be a part of our programs, and who can benefit from resources that we can provide, but we were out of funds to make it happen.
“This is why donations, as well as the upcoming gala, are so important to us - we want to stop saying no to families that we could help out if we had access to more resources,” said Wang.
Donations will benefit many programs, including Building Bridges of Music (BBM), Education Through Creativity (ETC) and Drama for Diversity (DFD).
Wang said for him, the most rewarding part of the work is to see smiles on children’s faces.
Unlike previous years, this year’s event will turn to a hybrid model, combining an in-person gala and live-streaming meetings, to keep everyone safe.
For more information, visit: socialdiversity.org.
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