Jaden's Ladder Gala

Last night I attended a charity gala for Jaden's Ladder, a non-profit dedicated to helping female victims of domestic violence get out of their abusive relationships and get back on their feet in a new life. It's actually a really great organization - they give people all the tools their need (which mostly consists of money for rent, groceries, etc and resources for jobs and support groups) to be able to break their tie to their abuser. One of my co-workers (technically, my boss) does web development for them and is on their board of directors, so a few of us from my department at work had a good time there last night.

It was held in the gorgeous State Room at the top of 60 State Street in Boston, MA (a great place for a wedding, if you're looking), and was everything you can possibly think of as a high class event. The food and drinks were great, there was a silent auction (I bid on and won some salon services at a great salon on Newbury Street), a live auction with some awesome items (cruises, Sonoma wine tours, a Ben and Jerry's ice cream party for 100 people, Lady Gaga tickets), and some really heartfelt presentations by the founders of Jaden's Ladder and some survivors of domestic violence.

The best part about this foundation is that pretty much everything is donated - the spaces they work in, all the time of the volunteers, and even all of the items being sold last night, so the money they receive from events like this goes DIRECTLY to women in need. The second best part about this foundation, in my opinion, is that they really require the women they help to WANT to leave their bad situations. They have a two-year program, in which the women are required to attend meetings, cut of all contact from their abusers, etc, so you know money is going to women who really want the help and will really succeed in their goal because of Jaden's Ladder's help.

Silent Auction items were going anywhere from $25 to $1000, and all ten of the live auction items sold for between $500 and $2500. The cost of attendance was $175/plate, and various other things, like raffles and jewelry, were being sold for the charity. Although I can't really do the exact math to come up with a number, I'm sure the event raised quite a bit of money.

It was a great night and I'm attaching some photos (albeit crappy ones since they are from my iPhone).

The view of Boston from The State Room, including the second photo which is a bird's eye view of Fanueil Hall at night:


The State Room and the band which performed (they were awesome!):




The silent auction room, which included a lot of celebrity-signed posters, guitars, sports jerseys, and gift baskets and gift certificates for various things:



A really terrible picture of me in the dress I wore: