This year, Jeans for Genes decided to switch it up with its annual black-tie fundraising dinner, with a new venue, new theme and new name! Thrive came on board to help up the ante and make sure that everyone knew about this not-to-be missed event.
Previously known as the Jeans for Genes Gala and Art Auction, the ball took on a new name as the “Jeans for Genes Excellence Ball” as we celebrated those who had gone above and beyond in their fields for CMRI.
Director of CMRI, Professor Roger Reddel, presented three Excellence Awards to special guests at the event for making a lifelong difference to children’s health through their ongoing support. These included:
2016 CMRI Individual Supporter of the Year awarded to Rod Glover, Head of Corporate Facilities Management at Woolworths
2016 Corporate Fundraiser of the Year received by Stanford Brown, who became a corporate fundraising supporter in 2015. The team has committed to raising $90,000 over three years to support a PhD student, and has already raised close to $30,000 in their first year
2016 Philanthropic Supporter of the Year accepted by David and Linda Penn on behalf of the Penn Family
Australian Olympic champion swimmer, Daniel Kowalski, was master of ceremonies and took attendees on an uplifting journey, highlighting the great achievements of CMRI and the night’s special guests.
Inspirational Olympians, Paralympians, footy stars, actors and other VIPs showed up in numbers to support the event. The night included a very special Q&A session with the official Jeans for Genes Day 2016 ambassador and breast cancer survivor, Sally Obermeder from Channel 7, with four time Paralympic gold medallist, Ellie Cole. Talk about inspiration women tugging at the heartstrings 😉
Familiar faces included, 2015 Jeans for Genes Day Ambassador, Jodi Anasta, Australian actress and model, Emma Lung and Sydney Swans AFL player, Josh Kennedy.
As one of the most important charity calendar events of the year, the Jeans for Genes Excellence Ball hit many social pages, including a ¾ spread in the Sunday Telegraph the following weekend and an abundance of online and print stories to showcase the event’s success.
The event itself was a huge success and raised a total of $400,000 including a $200,000 dollar cheque presented by Staples for researchers at Children’s Medical Research Institute (CMRI), who work tirelessly to discover treatments and cures for children born with a birth defect or genetic disease, which currently affects 1 in every 20 Aussie kids.
