Hanging for a girls night out? We have an idea…

Posted on 27 April, 2021

Yeah, us too! Finally, after a COVID-19 break in 2020, the Domestic Violence Crisis Service (DVCS) is hosting its annual fundraising Gala Ball!

Due to popular demand, the event on Saturday 15 May sold out. But don’t panic—DVCS has opened up a second night on Friday 14 May.

“We were acutely aware of the impacts of last year on our community and conscious this might impact our ability to fundraise, including getting people to our events,” said DVCS Interim General Manager, Glenda Stevens.

“However, we have been blown away with the response. We very quickly sold out our first night. Shortly thereafter our Board and team agreed to host a second Gala Ball on the night before, being Friday 14 May 2021. We have already sold over two-thirds of the tickets for our second event.”

DVCS host their Gala Ball each May. It is their major fundraising event. Last year the event was postponed and then eventually cancelled due to COVID-19.

The Gala Ball is attended by a number of their Ambassadors, including HerCanberra’s founder Amanda Whitley, Kristen Davidson, Adam Shirley, Sue Webeck, Juliet Moody, Andrew Muirhead, Alan Tongue and Genevieve Jacobs—and this year won’t be any different.

“We were a bit hesitant at first to open up a second night. Once our event partners Hotel Realm, HitParade, Eclipse Lighting & Sound and ShowPony all jumped onboard, we felt a lot better about moving forward,” says DVCS Community Development & Engagement Manager, Alanna Davis. “And given we have sold over two-thirds of our tickets, we know we made the right decision.”

“This year we have some amazing items up for grabs, including beautiful homewares, accommodation at Jamala Wildlife Lodge, stunning artwork, a lot of health and beauty items and some really fun experiences.”

“We are excited about pair of Budgy Smugglers signed by Josh Papalii of the Canberra Raiders. The print is of his famous try saving tackle last season. These aren’t available for purchase, so are unique. I’m interested to see how these go”.

All silent auction items will go live on Allbids.com.au from early May, which means anyone can bid on them, not just those at the Ball.

The Gala Balls Hosts will be DVCS Ambassadors, Adam Shirley, Genevieve Jacobs, Juliet Moody and Sue Webeck, with support from Kristen Davidson.

This year’s entertainment will be from Canberra band, HitParade and a very special performance which is being kept top secret at the moment.

“HitParade is always a big hit with our guests and we can’t wait for everyone to see our secret performance which is a joint effort between HitParade and another group,” says Ms Stevens.

All money raised at both events will pay for things such as emergency accommodation, school holiday picnic and activities for the children and families supported, mobile phones and credit, groceries and petrol, interstate travel and other essential items.

“Our workload continues to grow. Last financial year we engaged in over 70,300 contacts, that’s about 192 per day. As of the end of March 2021, we have engaged in almost 60,000 contacts which is about 245 per day. This is an increase of 28% and unfortunately, we don’t see this changing any time soon,” added Ms Stevens.

The Domestic Violence Crisis Service is an inclusive service supporting children, young people and adults impacted by domestic and family violence within our community.

If you want to support their work, please get along to their Gala Ball on Friday 14 May 2021.

DVCS is a charity, however, it recognises the gender pay gap, and the effects this has on women impacted by domestic and family violence.

It is for this reason DVCS ensures all performers, who are mostly women, are fairly remunerated for their time and skills.

HerCanberra is a proud supporter of DVCS ACT