On September 29, more than 80 supporters came out to the Mars Gallery in the West Loop to help support UCAN’s Auxiliary Board’s 2nd Annual Future Leaders Gala. We are pleased to announce that they exceeded the goal by raising more than $12,000 to date.
This inspiring evening was marked with great food, fascinating art work, an exciting raffle and silent auction, and brought together old and new friends of UCAN.
We honored two of Chicago’s brightest young professionals: Ashton Clark, business process partner and internal consultant, MillerCoors, and Matt DeFano, senior software architect and manager, STA Group, LLC.
“We have to take a step back and give back to the environments in which we serve because it starts with us. I encourage everyone to get involved, give back and continue to support organizations like UCAN,”said Clark.
DeFano stated,“People always say, when they talk about the challenges in the city, that we should do something. I think people have a hard time defining specifically what that is. My thought is that UCAN is that something and everyone who came out to support this event is doing something.”
The evening was highlighted by 16- year-old Bobby Olive, recipient of the Future Leaders Award. Bobby’s early high school graduation with honors, receiving the Principal’s Award [one of the highest honors for graduates of high school] and becoming a member of the Youth Advisory Council lead to his nomination.
“I felt shocked when I first found out,” he said. “Now I feel very proud of myself. I feel like I’m doing right and going down the right path.”
We appreciate our generous sponsors for helping make this event a success:
Host Sponsor:
Anonymous
Reception Sponsor:
Matthew & Margot DeFano
Award Sponsors:
Christopher Dupuis
Simintha Esson
Anthony Rodriguez
Andrew Selcke
Katherine and Steve Selcke
Rob Wisniewski
Beverage Sponsor:
Thank you to everyone who supported the event through ticket purchases and your presence at the gala. We would not have exceeded our goal without you and we hope to see everyone again next year!
To view pictures from the 2016 Future Leaders Gala please click here.