Local charity bets on success for fundraiser
Las Vegas’ glitz and glamour will pay a visit 7 p.m. Dec. 7 at Wine Country Bistro and Bottle Shop, 4801 Line Ave., when the Betty and Leonard Phillips Deaf Action Center holds its biennial Las Vegas Night fundraiser.
Tickets for the black-tie affair are $250 per person, which includes $400 in chips for playing blackjack, roulette and craps – all with professional dealers. The fundraiser also includes a live and silent auction and a live band.
“This is our biggest fundraiser and whatever we earn from this night keeps us going,” said Cindy Herzog who, with her husband Michael, chairs the silent auction. “It’s so important that we support [the Deaf Action Center] and keep the funds for the people in this part of the state,” Herzog said. “We do other small fundraisers, but this is our huge fundraiser that we really count on to get us through the next couple of years.”
The Deaf Action Center, established in 1982, promotes independence for the deaf, hard-of-hearing and multi-handicapped in Louisiana.
“We offer interpreting and case management services, as well as interpreter training and classes in sign language,” Shannon Phillips, co-chair (along with her husband, Christopher) of the event, said. The center also provides life skills classes to assist the deaf to become self-supporting as well as assistance obtaining legal services in partnership with the Shreveport Bar Foundation Pro Bono Project.
“This is the only resource that the deaf have in the area. There’s a community center where the deaf and their loved ones can come and be with and share with others that have the same experiences,” Shannon said.
The center was renamed the Betty and Leonard Phillips Deaf Action center in 1985 after Christopher’s grandparents. “We volunteer and help carry the torch. We get so much out of it,” Shannon said.
Attendees will have a variety of items to bid on during the Las Vegas Night auctions. “We have LSU memorabilia – a football signed by the entire team and a piece of the goal post signed by Les Miles,” Herzog said. “We also have weekend getaway packages to Biloxi – one to the IP Casino with two overnights, dinner and spa package and another to the Beau Rivage with dinner and a spa package at the Hard Rock that’s been grouped together.”
There will also be various certificates from restaurants including the Village Grille, a Sunday brunch at Bistro Byronz for 20, Lucky Palace and a private cocktail party for up to 18 people at the home of Delton Harrison catered by Silver Star Catering.
“It’s such a great cause,” Herzog said. “There will be trips, jewelry, wine, tickets to sporting events. It’s a big deal and a lot of fun.”
The live auction also promises to have some great experiences to bid on as well. “There’s a trip to Boot Ranch [the Hal Sutton-designed championship golf course in Fredericksburg, Texas] for six people to play golf with a private airplane to get them there,” she said. “We also have a VIP package to the Louisiana Film Prize next year with a full film prize experience and a Richard Petty Racing experience at the race track in Dallas.
“There is also a New York Fashion Week experience with all transportation and lodging included. The party is always a blast, and the live auction is really fun.”
The Deaf Action Center’s Executive Director David Hyland said the nonprofit hopes to beat the amount they raised at the previous Las Vegas Night. “Our goal is to raise $325,000 this year,” Hyland said, which is a $25,000 increase over funds raised two years ago.
Tickets for Las Vegas Night are available by contacting the Deaf Action Center at 425-7781. “The live auction is always tons of fun. It’s the alternate year from Christmas In the Sky, so it’s really the event of the season for Shreveport,” Herzog said. “It always sells out, so we are really encouraging people to get tickets as soon as possible because it’s guaranteed to sell out again. And it’s all for a great cause.”
– Mandy Byrd
