Lumina Alliance hosted its annual Lumina Nights Gala at the Atascadero Lake Pavilion last weekend. Not only did they raise more money than anticipated, but according to CEO Jennifer Adams, they hit record-breaking numbers. The funds will help the organization keep its doors open and serve victims of intimate partner violence.
The three-day gala included a dinner, silent auction, live auction, and "Dancing with our Stars" event, which was the biggest hit of the weekend. It raised $175,000 of the $522,000 for the gala.
“What the community did by showing up so strongly for all six of our dancers for the three-night event was they told survivors, you're not alone — we're not going to leave you hanging, we're going to make sure that we're here for you,” Adams said.
Six county leaders paired with famous choreographers like Doriana Sanchez, a longtime choreographer for Cher, to raise both votes and dollars.
“Each of us create a routine around what their theme was this year, transformation, and then we perform," said District 5 County Supervisor Heather Moreno. "But for the last several months, we've also all been raising money to support Lumina, and that has really been the biggest part of it. They're the real winners in this."
Each dance routine represented the organization's six major programs: the 24-Hour Crisis and Information Line, emergency shelter, transitional housing, advocates, therapy, and prevention education.
Lumina relies on 50 grants for its $5 million budget.
“At Lumina Alliance, about 47% of our grants come from federal funding," Adams explained. "That translates into a potential loss of about $1.8 million.”
So far, they’ve lost their emergency food and shelter program grant, transitional housing grant, and are experiencing cuts at both the county and state levels.
To help fill that gap, former Atascadero mayor and current county supervisor Heather Moreno offered her dancing shoes, taking home second place and raising about $47,000.
“I really started out by saying, hey, I want to raise $20,000 for one year of transitional housing," Moreno said. "I got there very quickly and I said, let's go for two years… I think transitional housing, I see in my position, how important that is for those who are particularly vulnerable that Lumina takes care of, so I'm really grateful to the generosity of so many."
“I'm a survivor myself," Adams said. "I called our 24-hour crisis hotline 30 years ago. I know how difficult it was to do that. I can't imagine finally getting up the courage to make that phone call and somebody not being there on the other end to answer it.”
Lumina Alliance has Lumina Days and the Light the Way Campaign to help make up the $1.8 million lost to federal funding this fall.
Anyone impacted by sexual or intimate partner violence can call (805) 545-8888 for Lumina Alliance’s 24-Hour Crisis and Information Line.
