EASTON, Pa. — A Saturday night shindig with a silent auction, music and refreshments will put the money it raises toward area social services initiatives.
Hope for the Holidays is planned for 6-9 p.m. Saturday in the Sigal Museum, 342 Northampton St., Easton.
Organizer Tricia Vermilya, owner of Tricia Vermilya Aesthetics in Easton, said the fundraiser happening alongside Bethlehem Emergency Services and Safe Harbor Easton will offer assistance to those in need during the coldest months of the year.
It's “about community coming together, lifting one another up, seeing one another fully and reminding every person that they matter,” Vermilya said in a release.
“We see firsthand how critical it is to meet individuals where they are, without judgment. ‘Hope for the Holidays’ helps us continue that mission.”Safe Harbor Director of Development Sarah Stehlin
Event admission of $20 ($23.18 with fee online) goes directly to the nonprofits in efforts to feed, temporarily house and support folks in need.
“We see firsthand how critical it is to meet individuals where they are, without judgment,” Safe Harbor Director of Development Sarah Stehlin said.
“‘Hope for the Holidays’ helps us continue that mission.”
BES Executive Director Bob Rapp told Bethlehem City Council on Thursday that current financial pressures on the social services system affect “every facet of transitional living in the city of Bethlehem, all the way up to being permanently housed.”
BES averaged 65 people a night last season, with nearly half of them experiencing homelessness for the first time, Rapp said.
He reported that 30-40 people still live in encampments around town.
Here's a list of what’s up for grabs at the silent auction, which includes gift cards to local businesses, aesthetics packages and even a one-night stay at the Grand Eastonian.
