Pink Ball to celebrate “12 years of hope, compassion, and love”
The 12th annual Pink Ball will be held on Aug. 9 at the Dusit Thani Guam Resort.
This year’s theme is The Pink Ball at Emerald City: A Wicked Affair, inspired by the hit Broadway musical and movie, “Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz”. Pink Ball chairwoman, Leah Beth Naholowaa, told the Journal that this year, the committee wanted to do something different.
The Pink Ball hosted a press conference on Aug. 7. Photo by Skyler Obispo
“I think our audience is looking for something new, something different, because it’s always been rock,” she said. “This year we made sure that it’s different.”
Proceeds from this year’s Pink Ball will benefit the Guam Cancer Care, Harvest House, and the Edward M. Calvo Foundation.
According to the Pink Ball, since 2014, the black-tie dinner event has raised more than $405,000 to support local non-profit organizations on Guam.
George Prudente, a senior navigator at the Guam Cancer Care, said at a press conference held on Aug. 7, said that the Pink Ball has helped the organization to continue to guide cancer patients through their treatment.
Bethany Taylor, executive director of Harvest House, told attendees that when the organization started in 2009, there were 80 foster children in foster care. That number has since ballooned to 720 foster kids across its five shelters on the island.
Taylor said that without the Pink Ball and the help from the community, Harvest House would not be around today.
Jennifer Calvo, president of the Edward M. Calvo Cancer Foundation, said that the fiscal support it receives from the Pink Ball and community partners is critical for the treatment of its applicants.
Calvo said that the EMCC foundation issues approximately 45-50 grants per month which is valued at about $50,000. Calvo explained that the cancer treatment journey lasts for years and that many applicants are receiving as much as their sixth EMCC foundation grant and some are on their 15th.
“[The donations were] not only helpful, but also critical to help us kind of bridge the gap between the grant funding that we received and kind of addressing this interim period where we were really trying to manage our resources,” she said.
Marie Calvo-Monge, EMCC foundation board member and CEO of KUAM Communications, echoed Calvo’s sentiment saying that through the Pink Ball, the EMCC foundation has been able to sustain its operations.
Naholowaa told the Journal that some of the funding for Guam cancer treatments have been cut and that the island has been experiencing a shortage of support.
“Whatever we can do to help the community and to augment that support to Guam cancer care, that provides support to patients on Guam, we will do it,” she said. “[The Pink Ball] is our love letter to the community. This is our love letter to the Guam patients.”
Prudente, Taylor, and Calvo all said that for the next year, their organizations will continue to expand services to their patrons through continued outreach events, funding, and new facilities.
Providing live entertainment for the night is Tanisha Ross, vocalist and performer who has starred in the Broadway and National Tour of “Hair”, and veteran Broadway actor and Tony and Grammy nominated producer, Louis Hobson.
Tickets start at $300 and corporate tables are priced at $3,000. mbj
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