That’s a wrap! On Sunday, December 2nd, LIFT-Los Angeles hosted its fifth annual Holiday Fiesta at Two Bit Circus in the Arts District, bringing together over 500 LIFT guests, including 100 member and sponsor families, for a special day of connection and celebration.
What began as a small gathering of families at our office in Magnolia Place has now evolved into LIFT-LA’s biggest event of the year. In the spirit of the holiday season, the Holiday Fiesta is a party for our hardworking LIFT families to experience generosity and joy. More importantly, it’s a unique opportunity to celebrate everything our member families have achieved throughout the year and allow them to connect with each other and their sponsor families for an afternoon full of fun, food, festivities, and more crafts and holiday photo-ops than our families know what to do with!
Stepping into Two Bit Circus at this year’s Fiesta, our families were transported to a world of virtual reality (VR) experiences, classic arcade games, and endless amounts of family-fun. Families wrote holiday cards, decorated sugar cookies, designed their own holiday stockings, and created stunning ornaments. Families also enjoyed performances by an all-female mariachi group and a “Let It Go” sing-a-long with none other than Elsa and Olaf from Disney’s Frozen!
Our Holiday Fiesta is a unique event that reimagines what a fundraiser looks like. When our generous supporters sponsor a LIFT member family at the level of $3,500 for the Holiday Fiesta, they allow one LIFT member family to receive one-on-one LIFT coaching services for an entire year and a holiday gift card so that their member family can buy necessities or gifts to help them get through the winter and add some warmth and cheer to their family holidays. More importantly, we pair each sponsor family with a LIFT member family, giving them the opportunity to meet and connect at the event.
Throughout the day, member and sponsor family meet and greets were filled with excitement, laughter, smiles, and tons of selfies! This year, we asked our member and sponsor families during their meetings to answer the question: “What are your hopes and dreams for your family and your children?” While mothers with children adorably passed their babies and toddlers from one parent’s lap to another as they chatted, families connected over their mutual hopes and dreams and their shared experiences as parents just trying to raise their children as best as they can. And while the Holiday Fiesta happens only once a year, the connections made between LIFT member and sponsor families go beyond the one-day event—our families stay in touch through letters and updates during the year and continue to work together to make their children’s futures brighter beyond the holidays.
LIFT member Nancy described it best when she wrote to her sponsor, “thank you for making our dreams and wishes come true. You are such an inspiration and I hope to one day be able to give back like you. Knowing that you grew up in an area so close to mine and seeing how wonderful, loving and giving you are gives me hope that one day I can also give my children a better life and future.”
To see more photos from this year’s Holiday Fiesta, visit our Flickr.
Holiday Fiesta 2018 could not have been possible without the love and support from our incredible family sponsors, hardworking volunteers, and dedicated LIFT-Los Angeles Board Members.
Our endless gratitude goes out to our stellar event Co-Chairs Vicky Mara Story & Tim Story and our fabulous Host Committee Members:
Adam Rodriguez & Grace Gail
Carrie Southworth Johnson & Coddy Johnson
Cash Warren & Jessica Alba
Jordan Brown & Paul Rusconi
Kendra Cole Hand & Kevin Hand
Tonia Davis & Amanda Crawford
A big, heartfelt thank you to LIFT-LA’s Holiday Fiesta sponsors Bank of America, Bank of Hope, Capital One, Capital One Café, City National Bank, Munger, Tolles & Olson, Pair of Thieves, and United Talent Agency.
And a special LIFT-up to our in-kind sponsors Capital One, Pair of Thieves, The Giving Keys, and The Honest Company for the awesome goodies in our Holiday Fiesta swag bags and our incredible hosts at Two Bit Circus.