St. Jude supporters enjoy a miniature dessert at the annual St. Jude Hope in the Harbor gala.
Seven years ago, Keeley and her family wanted to give back to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where she was undergoing treatment for brain cancer, and did so by creating the St. Jude Hope in the Harbor gala in Baltimore, Maryland.
Keeley lost her battle in 2012, but the gala continued in her honor. This year’s event brought together 375 guests on April 14 to support St. Jude, raising more than $358,000. The event has now raised more than $1.9 million since it began.
St. Jude Hope in the Harbor featured tastings from 22 local restaurants, and was hosted at the American Visionary Art Museum. Some of the chefs even joined in on the bidding for auction items, and were the top bidders in some of the live and silent auctions.
During the Give to Live portion of the gala, when guests donate to St. Jude without bidding on an auction item, 140 supporters donated more than $101,000 to help ensure that no family ever receives a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food — because all a family should worry about is helping their child live.
Sponsors for the event included Maxim Healthcare; Allegis Group Foundation; Laborer’s Charitable Foundation; Master Security Company, LLC; Wilmington Trust; 1st Mariner Bank; Altus Partners; Bayada Home Health Care; BB&T; Ciena; CBC Retirement Partners; Dataprise; Donovan & Rainie LLC; Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott LLC; Ellin & Tucker; Erickson Living; Gordon Feinblatt LLC; GP Strategies; Howard County Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery; JP Morgan Chase; Kelly & Associates Insurance Group; The Koeblitz Family in Honor of Rollins Women’s Lacrosse Alumni; Miles & Stockbridge; PriceWaterhouseCoopers; Sandy Spring Break; SC&H Group; Silberstein Insurance Group; SunTrust; ULLICO; United Rentals; USALCO; Wells Fargo; Whiteford, Taylor & Preston LLP; and Willis of Maryland.