Final Call to Purchase Tickets for the Black & White Ball
October 6, 2024 – The John C. Fremont Hospital Foundation invites you to a premier Mariposa fundraising event: the Black and White Ball. It’s happening Saturday, November 9, at the Fairgrounds starting at 5:00 PM. The theme is Planting the Seeds.
Get your tickets now; ticket sales end Tuesday, October 15.
Your $120 tickets include amazing appetizers and dinner from Chef Heidi Pusina, music from The Soul Galaxy featuring singer Cynthia Huddleston-Bennett, a no-host bar operated by 1850 Restaurant + Brewing Company, professional photos in a formal photo setting by local photographer Amber Edwards (results available for purchase online two weeks later), and a chance to mingle with friends and community members in an elegant, festive atmosphere in support of a most worthy cause. It’s going to be a night of fun with a few surprises along the way.
Tickets can be purchased online at givebutter.com/JCFbwb2024 or in person at the John C. Fremont Healthcare District’s administration office located behind the hospital.
Dress to the hilt or in whatever mountain formal means to you, but don’t miss this first class event. Make it an evening out with your friends. Purchase a table of eight for the discounted rate of $920.
Chef Heidi Pusina is preparing a feast including your choice of entree: roast beef tenderloin with roasted autumn vegetables, garlic mashed potatoes, and an orange horseradish sauce; poached filet of salmon with roasted autumn vegetables, basmati rice with fresh herbs, and pomegranate glaze; or spinach stuffed gnocchi with roasted autumn vegetables, vegan sausage, and pumpkin-sage sauce.
Three-piece band, The Soul Galaxy, is adding singer Cynthia Huddleston-Bennett for the night. They will set the mood with background music during dinner followed by up tempo rock, blues, reggae, and funk music for dancing after dinner.
Photographer Amber Edwards is setting up a booth to take beautiful, professional pictures of you, your loved ones, your friends - whatever grouping you would like. Photos will be available for purchase in various formats on the Amber Edwards Photography website about two weeks after the event. You can get anything from a digital download to professional prints. This is a wonderful opportunity to get a beautiful keepsake that will last a lifetime.
In addition, the fundraiser includes fantastic items in both a silent and live auction as well as a raffle. Professional auctioneer, Buster Hewlett of Hewlett's Antique Auctions in Le Grand, is returning to turn up the excitement of the live auction.
A sampling of items available for bidding: Tenaya at Yosemite - complimentary Lodge room for two nights including breakfast each morning, complimentary Explorer cabin for two nights including your choice of recreation activity, dinner for four at Jackalopes (excludes alcohol), and a 90-minute spa treatment for one; a wood-fired pizza dinner for four at the home of Saralynn Nusbaum and Don Melcher; a beautiful honey pot and butter dish from potter Phyllis Becker; four tickets to the Mariposa Yosemite Symphony Orchestra’s December performance, a set of balsamic vinegar and oil from CostaLivos; and so much more. One big raffle item is two electric bikes donated by David Raboy. A lucky winner will ride off with both!
Like and follow the Foundation’s Facebook and Instagram pages at JCFHospitalFoundation, or bookmark its website, JCFHospitalFoundation.org, to keep posted on what items will be available. The Foundation will continue to update these pages as donations come in, as well as share additional information.
All proceeds from the Black and White Ball directly benefit the Healthcare District’s programs and services, such as the hospital, Home Health and Hospice, and outpatient services, as well as scholarships and community health programs in our surrounding rural areas.
“This year, we awarded $3,000 in scholarships to graduating seniors pursuing healthcare careers,” said Heather Bernikoff, Foundation President. “We also provided $2,000 in scholarships to District staff to advance their skills and training.”
“Through fundraising at the Black and White Ball,” continued Bernikoff, “we hope to provide more workforce pipeline support. This improves access to a local, trained workforce and quality of care.”
“Last year, we promised to provide a neonatal/infant warming table, which is expensive. We have not been able to fully raise those funds yet,” stated Bernikoff. “Our youngest patients deserve up-to-date, life-saving equipment, and we continue to reach out to the community for their help. This is one of the things we can only do with the public’s support.”
“Speaking of support, we are extremely grateful to our returning sponsors, and we have added some new ones,” said Mike Wichmann, Events Committee Chair.
As of this writing, sponsoring the Black and White Ball at the Acorn $5,000 level this year are the MACT Health Board, Inc. and Yosemite Hospitality, a division of Aramark. Red Bud $1,500 level sponsors are MERCO Credit Union, WestAmerica Bank, Sheila Raboy, and Balanced Rock. Sponsoring at the Sunflower $500 level are Sierra Asset Management, Tim Barnes, DDS, Marco Noia and Foster's ACE Hardware. Sponsoring at the Poppy $250 level are Supervisor Bobby Macauley (Madera County), Trubridge Inc, and the Bernikoff-Raboy family.
“We are planting the seeds in our community for connections that will help us advance our mission,” said Wichmann, “which is in part to maximize health through partnership and philanthropy. The partnerships around the Black and White Ball help us broaden the coalition of support for the Healthcare District and community health in general.”
“We appreciate our sponsors signing on to our vision,” Wichmann continued. “There is still time for businesses, organizations, and individuals to sponsor this event.”
For more information or questions, contact the Foundation at (209) 966-1166, jcfhospitalfoundation@gmail.com, or visit our website at jcfhospitalfoundation.org.
To stay up to date with the Foundation’s latest news, like and follow JCFHospitaFoundation on Facebook and Instagram. If you would like to support the work of the Foundation but cannot make this year’s ball, you can donate via check to JCFHF, PO Box 1093, Mariposa, CA 95338, or through the online fundraising site at givebutter.com/JCFbwb2024. Donations are tax deductible.
Pictured: The wheelchairs are here! John C. Fremont Healthcare District Imaging Assistant/Administrator Kim Hopman stands next to JCF Hospital Foundation Treasurer Saralynn Nusbaum and the three new wheelchairs the Healthcare District was able to purchase thanks to Foundation funding. The Healthcare District requested funds from the Foundation to purchase these chairs to replace existing chairs that are older and not functioning well. The three new wheelchairs have improved features such as lap belts, IV poles, well-designed swing-away leg supports, and a hook for oxygen tubing. Wheelchairs are used daily at the hospital. This is a great example of how the Foundation uses the donations received by the community to improve the quality of care for hospital patients and decrease risk for both patients and staff.
Thanks to Foundation Funding John C. Fremont Hospital Purchased Three New Improved Wheelchairs
