CCS thankful for strong community support for this weekend’s virtual Home for the Holidays Gala

By Rob Paul

Few organizations, if any, are as revered and appreciated in Caledon as Caledon Community Services (CCS) for the work they've done for the last 50 years to help those in need through programs and initiatives. 

Without funding and support from the community, CCS wouldn't be able to have the widespread positive impact on Caledon that they do – and that's why things like their annual Home for the Holidays Gala are imperative.

The gala began in 1998, hosted in homes across Caledon, as a way for CCS to fundraise while also bringing holiday cheer to the community.

The funding goes towards programs, initiatives, and activities that feed the hungry, ensure senior independence, help people find sustainable employment, assist businesses grow healthy workforces, provide transportation, encourage and train youth, welcome newcomers, lift the self-esteem of hundreds of children by providing tangible supports including organized recreational and camp opportunities.

“The gala and the Santa Fund, which is running now, are the two biggest fundraisers we have in the year,” said Donna Cragg, CCS Director of Communications and Marketing. “They are critical to us continuing to provide the services we provide in Caledon in poverty, transportation, food support, and basically they're at the core of ensuring we're able to do these programs and continue services throughout the entire year.”

In a normal year, the Home for the Holidays Gala would be a big in-person event in Caledon, but for the second straight year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the gala will be virtual. It will be held live online, and people will be able to stream it directly into their homes. 

This year the gala will be held Saturday, December 4 at 7 p.m. and each ticket includes a delivered gala package (including a bottle of wine, a gift card for a local fine dining restaurant for your meal, early access to the auction, and other surprises). There will be plenty of entertainment throughout the gala including a DJ.

“It's basically like a mini television production,” said Cragg. “Behind-the-scenes it's an incredibly complex event to set up. We've had around 50 community members and staff working on it since the last gala ended—they started back up right away. There's going to be three hosts this year and it's like they're hosting a television show and it will have a lot of ad-libs and they'll play off each other. They're three powerful entertainers—Sarah Clarkson (a jazz vocalist), Howard Lopez (a solo pianist and in a jazz trio), and DJ Kid Soul. 

“We will have the DJ when the program ends to allow people to be able to dance into the evening beyond when the formal part of the gala concludes—that was very well received with the last virtual gala we did. There will also be an auction going on throughout the evening (the auction opened November 29) and registered attendees will get a link to be able to bid. There are some pretty exciting things in the auction like getaways, premium Leafs and Jays packages, a playoff for the pros package, and other things to bid on. Of course, the reason for the gala is the gifts from the heart people can bid on which are the feed a family and the gift of independence.”

The transition from the regular in-person event to a virtual event in 2020 allowed for 2021's gala to come together very smoothly, in part thanks to those who have stepped up to get everything ready. 

“An in-person gala may actually be more difficult because you're decorating a whole hall whereas here, you're just decorating a set,” said Cragg. “The same group who worked on the last in-person gala did the sets last year and this year and they're very talented local interior designers—they knock it out of the park whether it's live or a virtual set. Fairhart Productions is the productions sponsor and they've taken care of the media end, which is a complexity that we aren't used to. They're handling the webcast and that's not something we would have to do with the in-person gala. There's distinct differences in how the two mediums operate.”

Moving to the virtual event last year, Cragg says they didn't know what to expect with it being such a different experience, but with a lack of holiday events in 2020 it drew a strong crowd which helped bring more attention to this year's gala. 

“It was well received last year and because of that there's been a little more buzz heading into this year with people saying, ‘You can't miss this, it's so good,'” she said. “I believe we're going to sell out the tickets this year other than the unlimited $20 tickets, which I think will be good for new people who want to check it out and see what it's all about. I think lot of the people who decide to check it out this year will be in for the full experience next year.”

Based on how ticket sales have gone thus far, Cragg expects the vast majority of tickets to sellout this year, but one of the pluses of being virtual is the ability to have an unlimited audience which is why CCS is offering a lower cost ticket onto of the VIP tickets, and Gala experience tickets.

“We've sold out all 150 tickets attached to the dinners (VIP Catered Gala Experience catered by Gourmandissimo), but anyone can come just for the festivities and dancing and those tickets are just $20—we have an unlimited amount of those,” she said. “It's still one of the most exciting events Caledon has over the holiday season and it's a good launching pad for starting to feel the holiday spirit. The theme of being home for the holidays is so deep in the roots of Caledon because it was started by a group of volunteers in people's homes 24 years ago. It's really got that come home for the holidays warmth to the entire event and we really work hard on maintaining that in the set design to capture the warmth of the holiday spirit.”

Having worked on it for essentially an entire year, the CCS staff and volunteers couldn't be more eager for it to begin on Saturday with all their handwork culminating in one of the most popular events in Caledon.

“We're all very excited,” said Cragg. “Everyone is just thrilled, and I think this year will be even a little bit more fun because last year we had two hosts and this year we have a trio of hosts, so you get that interpersonal synergy. I think it'll be a really fun group and it's thrilling for everyone involved because we started the relaunch of the event in 2016 and more volunteers have been added, but many of them are the same each year and they're always looking to do something better than what they did the year before.”

Despite the tough times COVID-19 has brought people, the support from Caledon throughout the pandemic for CCS never wavered and Cragg and CCS couldn't be more thankful for having such a strong community. 

“Caledon is an amazing community,” she said. “They've been very thoughtful and giving, it's almost as if they say, ‘I can't do much, but if I can give just a small donation it will make a difference.' We've seen a strong uptick in the number of participants in things like the Santa Fund and the gala support has been full-fledged. When we had an in-person gala we were selling 300 tickets, whereas in this environment our major tickets are limited to 150, but whatever isn't going towards the gala seems to be going towards other ways to help us in helping the community.”

To purchase a ticket or learn more about CCS' Home for the Holidays Gala, visit ccs4u.org/donate/annual-home-for-the-holidays. To learn more about the Santa Fund or to donate, visit ccs4u.org/donate/santa-fund.