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What started as a way for a group of women to enjoy a night of high fashion has turned into a large event that continually change lives.
For 14 years, the Brazos Valley Rehabilitation Center, a local nonprofit provider of life-changing medical therapies, has hosted the Power of the Purse event celebrating a night filled with handbag auctions to raise money to support the continued efforts of the clinic to help better serve its patients.
Attendees will be treated to live music, both a silent and live auction, a cash bar and will hear from keynote speakers alongside with the announcement of the honored Kid of the Year. Each year, the honoree, who embodies the clinic’s mission of determination and progress, is nominated and voted on by the staff before being announced at the event.
“We want to provide an opportunity to recognize their efforts and acknowledge their amazing progress in therapy”, Brazos Valley Rehabilitation Center Chief Executive Officer Alina Fifer says. "Their testimonial speaks to our collective power to make a difference, and support everyone in our community."
The idea of this type of fundraiser was brought to the Brazos Valley after volunteers attended a similar event out of state, Alina says. And, thanks to the incredible support of local businesses and individual donors, it’s grown into a large community event that brings more than 300 people together to celebrate the work the clinic has done in the community since 1957.
“It all started as a volunteer effort,” Alina says. “It grew from being a group of ladies who wanted to go out and spend money on high fashion items into a large community event that now accommodates over 300 people.”
Although the event was originally marketed as a girls night out, Alina says the staff noticed men were also interested in the event and they have now added items including messenger bags and wallets to allow everyone a chance to enjoy high-end items and give back to the clinic in the process.
“Power of the Purse plays on the literal meaning of purses as items in our silent and live auctions, and the figurative power of your giving, the difference that your contribution can make in the lives of so many in the community we serve,” she says.
In addition to the items up for auction, the clinic is also raffling off a custom made necklace from Perez, valued at $6,500, and a bottle of Blanton Whiskey, Alina says. “With love and support for our mission, Perez agreed to custom design a piece of jewelry specially made for our event,” Alina says.
“The winner will also take home a bottle of Blanton Whiskey, which is highly coveted among collectors. Each state gets a limited number of bottles and many collectors will save the tops, because they’re horses, so when you put them together, it looks like the horses are galloping.”
As the event continues yearly, Alina says the staff hopes to see the event grow each time and to continue to educate the community on the services the clinic has to offer.
“We hope that Power of the Purse continues to be an event that brings the community together,” she says. “We want to make sure that we are able to serve the rehabilitation needs of everyone on our caseload.”
The 14th annual Power of the Purse event will be hosted on Friday, April 28 at the Ice House on Main in historic Downtown Bryan. Tickets, both for the raffle and event, can be purchased at brazostherapy.org/ support/power-of-the-purse. All proceeds benefit the Brazos Valley Rehabilitation Center, helping the clinic to achieve its goal of providing therapy services for all, their ability to pay.
