Idaho Falls YMCA hosting gala to raise money for its programs
Published at
IDAHO FALLS — The Idaho Falls Family YMCA is holding its fourth annual fundraising gala and is seeking the community’s support with the event.
The gala will take place on April 5, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. It will be held at the Elks Lodge, 640 East Elva Street in Idaho Falls. Donovan Stokes, the YMCA financial and program/community director, said the gala’s purpose is to help continue to finance its scholarship program.
“We have a lot of … people that maybe have some financial challenges that are trying to get into programs. We are a stickler on not turning someone away for the inability to pay,” Stokes stated. “The gala is designed to help us keep our programs functioning and develop more programs. It helps with operations but mostly (it helps with) our scholarship (program).”
The YMCA has different programs, such as the Learning Center, which is for toddlers through sixth grade before and after school; a sports program, which includes soccer, flag football, volleyball, and basketball; and multiple summer programs.
“The gala’s designed to bring awareness to the community and, hopefully, through that, motivate individuals to continue to invest in our programs and gala so we can have the funds necessary,” he explained. “We are a nonprofit so everything we do is either through fundraising or community partners and grants.”
The luau themed-gala will feature a dessert dash where people can bid on the desserts they want, a raffle, music and food. Dr. Matt Larsen, who is double board-certified in adult and child psychiatry, will be the keynote speaker.
Individual tickets to the event are $100 or $800 per table. Multiple sponsorships are also available, with different perks and levels of acknowledgment included, ranging from $15,000 to $500.
“Each sponsor level comes with a package so their information will be noted during the gala either through screens or we’re going to create some banners so everyone will know who our great sponsors are,” Stokes said. “We want to make sure we appreciate all of our sponsors for investing in the lives of our children, which is our greatest investment.”
If there are businesses that want to be a sponsor but won’t be able to attend the gala or for people who want to make a donation and can’t attend, reach out to Stokes at (719) 205-3750. Stokes said they are also looking for more raffle items and dessert donations. To donate, contact Stokes.
The deadline for all sponsors, dessert donations and raffle items is March 24.
EastIdahoNews.com comment boards are a place for open, honest, and civil communication between readers regarding the news of the day and issues facing our communities. We encourage commenters to stay on topic, use positive and constructive language, and be empathetic to the feelings of other commenters. THINK BEFORE YOU POST. Click here for more details on our commenting rules.