Our second annual Dream Keepers ball was a success! More than 200 members of the community came out to the Grand Hyatt on Saturday, March 4th, to savor a delicious meal, bid on some great auction items, and help Champions for Children celebrate 40 Years of Keeping the dream. Throughout the evening, guests were treated to videos of our client families and children. produced by GoTeka, set to music from throughout the decades.

In her Weekly Wrap Up of the Tampa social scene, Tampa Bay Times staff writer Amy Scherzer had this to say about the 2017 Dream Keepers Ball:

“Liz Kennedy and a junior league committee dreamed up the Child Abuse Council in 1976, beginning with parenting education in a trailer parked behind Tampa General Hospital. In three months Paul D’agostino was executive director, expanding programs to keep children safe and thriving. Re-named Champions for Children and led by Brian McEwen since 2012, the agency celebrated “40 Years of Keeping the Dream” at the second Dream Keepers Ball on Saturday. Dining at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay, 200 guests viewed videos of kids and parents helped through the decades, tuned to the music of each era. They bid on auction offerings to continue the dream for 40,000 people a year. Lucky Michael Shimberg won…a week’s stay at [a] villa in San Sano, Italy.”

We’d like to thank all of our generous sponsors, without whom this even would not be possible:

Brown and Brown Insurance

Raymond James

Publix

Hill Ward Henderson

Regions

Care Team

The Bank of Tampa

TECO Energy

Shutts & Bowen

eLogic Learning

Zymphony

Florida Blue

Stahl & Associates Insurance

Kennedy Investments

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices

Brian McEwen

Tampa Bay Wallstreet, Inc.

Check out all the photos from the evening here: