Thank You for Celebrating With Us at the Family Promise Annual Gala!

On Thursday, October 17, Family Promise of Bergen County welcomed nearly 300 guests to Edgewood Country Club in River Vale for our biggest night of the year—the 2024 Family Promise Annual Gala. Thanks to our many guests, donors, and volunteers, our event was a great success! We raised significant funding for our vital housing, support, and meal programs on behalf of working families facing homelessness and our food insecure neighbors.

This year, our theme was “Celebrating the Journey Home,” with the evening focusing on the extraordinary accomplishments and successes of the hardworking families and individuals we serve. The Gala also celebrated three incredible honorees, recognizing the profound impact they’ve had on the lives of those facing homelessness and hunger: longtime volunteer Pam Biggs (Volunteer Impact Award), Valley Bank (Philanthropic Impact Award), and First Congregational Church of River Edge (Community Impact Award). In honoring FCC, we also remembered congregant and beloved Family Promise volunteer Helen Koons, who tirelessly led the church’s involvement until her passing in March. She is deeply missed by all who knew her.

For the first time ever, our Gala featured performances by a live band, the Brooklyn-based act Astrograss, who kept the celebratory energy going all night long with their bluegrass-infused covers of classic rock, pop, and top 40 hits. The fabulous Alina Albano, director of our Youth Council and member of the Family Promise Board of Trustees, returned as our MC for the fourth consecutive year.

The event again included our ever-popular Wine Pull and expansive silent auction, giving bidders the opportunity to win exclusive prizes such as exclusive vacations, premiere dining experiences, designer fashion accessories, and VIP tickets to sporting events, film festivals, TV tapings, and more. The 2024 Family Promise Annual Gala Event Journal commemorated the event, and featured special messages and ads from supporters, sponsors, and local businesses.

We are deeply grateful to everyone who joined us for this special evening and supported our Gala through donations, journal ads, contributions to the silent auction and Wine Pull, and countless other generous acts. We also want to thank Jamie Berna for creating the beautiful video featured in the evening’s program, as well as A/V tech Michael Aiellos, photographer Ricardo Rivera of Bearded Rooster Productions, and our amazing team of volunteers, whose hard work and dedication were key to the success of our event!

The 2024 Family Promise Annual Gala was made possible thanks to the generosity of our many sponsors: Promise Sponsors Bogota Savings Bank Charitable Foundation, Valley Bank, UnitedHealthCare and Buck, Seifert, and Jost, Inc., Star Sponsors Bob & Ann Benson and PSEG, and Family Friend Sponsors Visions Federal Credit Union, SHARP Electronics, Zampolin & Associates Architects, First Presbyterian Church of Rutherford, and MRCC.

Thank you again for supporting the 2024 Family Promise Annual Gala. We look forward to seeing you again next year!