On Wednesday, December 6th, The Arc of the Ozarks held the 22nd Annual Christmas Extravaganza. This event is a dinner gala with silent and live auctions. All the proceeds from this fundraising event go to the Rivendale. Rivendale is an alternative school setting for children with learning difficulties or autism. Rivendale’s child-centered approach focuses on fostering positive emotional growth, increasing academic, language, and behavioral competencies, and enhancing each student’s natural strengths.
The 220 individuals attending Christmas Extravaganza enjoyed a lovely meal and wine. Entertainment was provided by the Wings of Swing Big Band. The evening was held at the Bass Pro White River Conference Center with Ned Reynolds as the emcee. The auction included 90 silent auction packages from businesses around the Ozarks and 12 live auction items including jewelry from Maxon’s Diamond Merchants, a getaway to St. Lucia and a Springfield Date Night package with tickets to Faith Hill and Tim McGraw. The silent and live auction alone raised over $13,000 adding to the final total of $31,000 raised for the students of Rivendale.
The night also honored several special groups of people who help to make our community better. Bill and Betty Stone, a past President and his wife were honored for their tireless efforts to grow The Arc of the Ozarks from the beginning stages. The Community Partner of the Year and Guardian of the Year were also honored at this event. The Arc Community Partner of 2017 was Incredible Pizza for their work on the new Incredible Buddies Program, a sensory friendly program for children to enjoy all Incredible Pizza has to offer. Nancy Wilson was honored as the Guardian of the Year for all of the support she offers the staff that care for her uncle.
Guests enjoyed a night of holiday celebration for a good cause. Thank you to all of our sponsors and donors that made this event successful. The 23rd Annual Christmas Extravaganza is set for Wednesday, December 5, 2018.
