As 600 people in sun dresses and white pants filed into Audi Cape Fear for Saturday’s Last Chance for White Pants Gala, the organization it supports, the Lower Cape Fear Hospice Foundation, nearly tripled its fundraising haul for the annual event.
This year’s event raised more than $150,000; 2014’s raised $53,000.
“We are absolutely sold out — packed to the brim,” said Lindsey Champion, the foundation’s events and development manager of the Aug. 29 event.
Linda Brown, event co-chair and Lower Cape Fear Hospice trustee, said the gala is fortunate to have a tremendous amount of community support.
“We are very blessed to have a lot of support. We’ve had more sponsors than we’ve ever had,” she said.
Some guests dined on the building’s sleek black-and-white furniture while others hit the dance floor as The Free, a party band from Atlanta, played jazzy covers of Avicii’s “Wake Me Up,” Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” and Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire,” among others.
Champion said the 2015 event was the biggest one yet. Last year, Coastline Conference and Event Center hosted 500 guests.
The foundation raised $150,000 by selling 1,500 raffle tickets for a white 2015 Audi A5 Cabriolet 2.0T convertible/Tiptronic. Southport resident Catherine Beacham won the car.
The fundraiser also featured a prize for children. During the live auction, a toy A5 Audi convertible sold for $3,300. General Electric matched the bid with a donation.
“It’s amazing that we made $6,600 off a child’s car,” Brown said.
Former Red Sox baseball player Trot Nixon donated an autographed bat and baseball to the auction, and Polka Dot Palm donated a children’s backpack.
Brown, who has served on the gala’s committee for three years, said she appreciates the opportunity to spread the message about hospice and its purpose.
“It’s great because you get to talk to so many people about hospice who might not have known about it otherwise,” she said.
Brown was also impressed by the caliber of work the other five committee members put into organizing the event, which was a year-long process.
“Everyone worked hard all year. It came together beautifully,” she said.
Committee member Kelly Thomas will chair the 2016 gala.
Since 1980, Lower Cape Fear Hospice and LifeCare Center has served patients with cancer and other end-stage diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, congestive heart failure and Parkinson’s disease by providing end-of-life care.
In 2005, the organization’s trustees established the Lower Cape Fear Hospice Foundation to raise funds to support operation expenses. Since its inception, the foundation has raised more than $2 million annually, which is used to treat patients in their homes and at their treatment facilities in Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus and New Hanover counties.
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