“Twenty-nine years ago, a group of volunteers, many of whom are still involved, opened their homes, decorated them for Christmas, baked some cookies and charged admission in an effort to keep Child Advocates of Fort Bend’s (CAFB) doors open,” stated Lisa Moore, Child Advocates of Fort Bend Development Director. “They raised $2,000, kept the doors open and the lights on and began a new Fort Bend County tradition. Historically, the two-day Home Tour has hosted visitors from all of Fort Bend County and surrounding areas. Over 3,000 guests take part in the event each year, including 1,000 volunteers who take their time to participate and make it an amazing event! With the current nature and ensuring safety, we have decided to proceed with a virtual event this year.
“Because the Christmas Home Tour kicks off the holiday season for many families in Fort Bend, we are excited to be able to continue that tradition again this year,” said Moore. “With the help of our homeowners, decorators and some fantastic new partners, we are thrilled to offer an innovative and fun event to help the community get ready for the holidays. We’ll have seven fully decorated homes, along with videos and highlights of previous tours, entertainers, a wreath raffle, silent auction items and demonstration videos with “how-to” topics, such as how to select the perfect Christmas tree, tree decorating 101, making a perfect bow, designing a tree topper, cocktails, entertaining, setting a holiday table and more. In addition, we are creating a variety of festive gathering opportunities for girlfriends, couples or families to safely share the joy of exploring our Virtual Christmas Home Tour. Stay tuned to our website to be the first to grab one of these exclusive offerings.”
Learn more about CAFB’s mission of helping abused and neglected children in Fort Bend, win one of the giveaways and purchase a raffle ticket to win one of the wreaths in the 7th annual wreath raffle. Sponsorships are available at www.cafb.org/events/home-tour/ and include fun perks including a personally delivered Jingle Box. Tickets to view the programming online are $30 and wreath raffle tickets are three for $30. Content will be available beginning at 9 am on December 11th. The wreath raffle and auction will close on December 17th at noon, but access to view the content is available through January 4th.
Nationally, one in four girls and one in six boys will be sexually abused by the age of 18, and it is estimated that only one in 10 ever tell anyone. “The number of children and families served by our agency has increased 13% during the COVID health crisis on top of a 53% overall increase over the past five years,” stated CEO Ruthanne Mefford. “By sponsoring or participating in the Home Tour, you can help us ensure that all child victims of abuse get the therapy and healing services they desperately need.”
The Home Tour is one of the Child Advocates of Fort Bend’s largest fundraisers. “Our team works extremely hard to keep our costs low so that 94% of every dollar raised goes toward our programs and services. Sponsorships are critical to our ability to do this,” continued Mefford. Sponsorship opportunities ranging from $100 to $10,000 are available. To become a sponsor, purchase tickets or for more information, go to www.cafb.org/events/home-tour. For questions or more information contact Tarina at TSheridan@cafb.org.