Members of the St. Jude Detroit Gala committee attend this year’s event. From left to right: Nina Fares, Raghad Farah, Sarah Ford, Manal Saab and May Akkary.
The St. Jude Detroit Gala brought together 470 supporters of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital on October 21 at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.
This year’s gala raised more than $349,000 for St. Jude, and has now raised more than $1.3 million since 2012, when the event was re-launched as a gala in celebration of the 50th anniversary of St. Jude.
St. Jude founder Danny Thomas was a Michigan native, and this event has existed in various forms since the 1960s. Events like the St. Jude Detroit Gala help ensure that families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food — because all a family should worry about is helping their child live.
Guests at this year’s event enjoyed dinner and live and silent auctions. The program was emceed by Devin Scillian from WDIV-TV.
The St. Jude Detroit Gala is chaired by Sarah and Calvin Ford. George Simon, a member of the ALSAC/St. Jude Boards of Directors and Governors, and Manal Saab, an emeritus member, serve on the event’s planning committee.
Ford Motor Company Fund was the presenting sponsor for this year’s St. Jude Detroit Gala. Other sponsors included: Ghassan and Manal Saab; Soave Enterprises; Ghafari Associates; United Cedars Foundation; Armaly Brands; Ilitch Holdings, Inc.; the Detroit Pistons; Jet’s Pizza; MAHLE; and Woodworth, Inc.