It was a night of fun, food and dancing at the Successful Women Always Networking (SWAN) fundraising event on Saturday night at the Portuguese Cultural Centre.
After months of preparation, the members of SWAN got together to put on their very first glow-in-the-dark party, GLOW sponsored by local company, Green Leaf Roofing.
The evening started off with a dinner, provided by local Portuguese restaurant, Poleiro’s, followed by desserts from bakery, Sweet B’s Catering and Confectionery.
After dinner, SWAN president Natasha Leskiw spoke to the crowd, thanking everyone for coming out to support SWAN in their yearly fundraising event.
All money raised from the evening’s event went towards Cross Trainers Canada, a nonprofit organization in town that provides free clothing to those in need, and The Hub youth centre in downtown Bradford.
Director of The Hub in Bradford, Becki Leyenaar spoke after Leskiw, thanking the audience and local businesses in town for their support.
Shirely Norman and Katie Slykhuis from A Hand Up Clothing Room were also in attendance on Saturday night, along with Mayor Rob Keffer and wife Jean and Coun. Gary Baynes.
Bradford Board of Trade President, Tina Morrison was also present to show her support for the group’s fundraising event.
Jackie Kozak (also known as) DJ Jackster of Scaraoke Entertainment, provided the soundtrack for the evening, a mix of classic crowd pleasers and today’s dance hits.
Local businesses in town made the event possible through sponsorships and donations. There were plenty of raffle prizes and silent auction items generously donated from many businesses in town like Rebel Fit, SweetLegs Bradford with Kelly and Jess’s Fab Food.
There were glow sticks and glow-in-the-dark hats made available for guests who took a thrn in the instaselfie booth and the arched balloon banner, made by SWAN member, Jen Feeney and her company, Jen Feeney Events.
Guests participated in a 50/50 draw. Coun. Gary Baynes was the lucky winner of $370, which he donated $130 of the winnings back to the charity.
All together, the event raised $6,731 for Cross Trainers Canada.
“We could not throw fundraisers and support our local charities each year without the generosity and support of our community, and they are the ones that made GLOW a success” said Leskiw.
