On Wednesday, November 18th, we held our Fifth Annual Women's Leadership Council Holiday Fundraising Luncheon. Thank you to everyone who attended. All ticket sales and 20% of vendor proceeds raised more than $5,000 for ReadingPals! Special thank you to our event sponsors Front Street Commercial Real Estate Group, Best Western Gateway Grand and Belk Oaks Mall.

More than 20 local vendors, including Kitchen and Spice, Stella and Dot, Alternatives Global Marketplace, and Scentsy, participated in the annual holiday shopping mall, available exclusively to luncheon attendees.

Keynote speaker Dr. Hardt shared her passion for connecting science and GIS mapping toward devising poverty solutions. In 2008, Dr. Hardt worked with the Alachua County Sheriff's Office to invent a new tool to zero in on poverty-stricken hotspots in the city, so public health professionals could devise comprehensive treatments and preventive care measures that targeted the highest risk communities. For her efforts, Dr. Hardt won the 2013 Sapphire Award for Individual Excellence. Her address during the Luncheon stressed the importance of early childhood learning and the importance of volunteer involvement to help underprivileged children in our areas.

In addition to Dr. Hardt, Senior Reverend Alan Struckmeyer spoke about his experiences as a ReadingPal for the past three years. He shared personal stories of how he and his ReadingPal Matthew have positively impacted each other's lives.