A Romantic, Fun Evening for a Cause

How would you like to take a romantic trip to Venice without leaving the state? The Family Alliance of Paulding is offering just that at next month’s Dinner/Dance fundraising event.

The annual event, in its fifth year, is being held Saturday, Feb. 11, from 6 to 11 p.m. at , 86 Poplar Springs Road in Hiram. Tickets are $50, or $500 for a table of 10. Sponsorships also are available and range from $250 to $5,000, with the various sponsorship levels granting donors a number of tickets and advertising; donations of cash and/or silent auction or raffle items also are being accepted.

Linda Verscharen, executive director of the Family Alliance of Paulding, says that while the event has seen increased attendance since its inception, its biggest turnout was three years ago when it was held on Valentine’s Day, leading organizers to move the date back from its usual March scheduling to close to Valentine’s.

“Hopefully folks will want to forgo the long restaurant lines and just come with the spouse, date or friends and enjoy a wonderful dinner catered by The Olive Tree, some awesome music and dancing and not even have to leave Paulding,” Verscharen said. “And while having a blast, they are supporting one of the largest non-profits in our community. And if they just want to go out on Valentines Day, they still can.

“Three years ago when we did it on Valentine’s Day, we chose Paris, a city of romance, so this year we still wanted to stick with another romantic city, and Venice seemed perfect. Each year we like to do a city theme,” Verscharen added.

Proceeds from the Dinner Dance will go toward programs assisting at-risk families in Paulding.

“The Family Alliance of Paulding Inc. runs all of the programs at the Family Alliance Center, which houses numerous programs—[Alcoholics Anonymous], [Narcotics Anonymous], the Paulding Adult Literacy programs which include the GED and English as a Second Language, several court-mandated programs for parents and teens, parenting classes, mentoring programs and even several Brownie troops.”

Funds will also go toward drug and alcohol prevention education in the community and the supervised visitation program for the county, in which families that see their children removed from the home by the state’s Division of Family and Children Services are supervised until reunification can be granted.

For more information on the Dinner/Dance or to purchase tickets or sponsorships, contact Verscharen at 770-842-6786 or lindav883@comcast.net.