News
Transforming in a Year of Change
Issue Date: January 30, 2009, Posted On: 1/30/2009
Local organization adds volunteerism for 2009
By Tierney Kaufman
Society Editor
Board members at the annual Cheers for Charity holiday party.
It is being said that 2009 is the year of change. For the members of the local nonprofit organization Cheers for Charity, these 12 months are exactly that: a time to transform their charity.
“We have to look at the current economic crisis as an opportunity and not a hurdle,” said the charity’s founder and president, Miki Johnston. “It’s a great opportunity for Cheers for Charity to re-evaluate its mission.”
The 15-year-old organization has added a volunteer element to its established monetary and in-kind donations. After raising $46,000 in 2008 for Community Partners of Dallas’ Rainbow Room, Cheers is aiming to raise $25,000 this year while creating a full-day service project for an as-yet unnamed beneficiary.
Cheers for Charity's work offers 160,000
reasons to raise a glass
09:01 AM CST on Thursday, November 22, 2007
By KRISTEN HOLLAND / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News
MIKE STONE/Special Contributor
How did a nonprofit grow from a low-key holiday wine tasting to a year-round endeavor that nets tens of thousands for local children's charities?
The women of Cheers for Charity are preparing for their fundraiser Nov. 29 to benefit Rainbow Days. Each year, the group focuses on one Dallas children's charity.
Miki Johnston, a University Park resident who founded Cheers for Charity in 1994, points to a unifying trait among the group's all-women board of directors.
"We are friends who all believe in one common thing and that is to improve the lives of disadvantaged children in Dallas and give back to our community the values that we want to instill in our own children," she said.
Park Cities People
by Jessica Hoover, Staff Writer
Charity Grew from Wine-Sippers to Kids Benefactors: PC resident to host femme holiday bash for Buckner
She was just a girl from Chicago who ended up in Park Cities after falling in love with her husband. A few friends later, Miki Johnston decided to join in some holiday revelry.
"My friends were all interested in wine back then, and we thought, 'Let's have an all-girls wine tasting around holiday time'," she said. Johnston's friend, Gerry Jones, suggested that they collect items for children to give to the Family Gateway Homeless Shelter, instead of exchanging gifts.
What started as 50 women gathering in Johnston's living room 12 years ago for some wine samplings has now led to the creation of Cheers for Charity Inc., a nonprofit organization complete with 20 board members and quarterly meetings. The women's mission is to raise funds and collect donations for different children's organizations through an annnual Christmas party.
More than 325 women are expected at this year's 12th annual holiday bash, which will be held from 7 to 10 p.m. Dec. 8, at the home of Park Cities resident Tracy Castleman. The event has always been free- patrons recieve mailed invitations.
"It has grown, and grown, and grown, but every year the thing that has always been so important to us is trying to benefit people, and mainly children who are less fortunate than us," said Johnston, the president and founder. "When we started we weren't mothers, but we still set out to help children."
Over the past decade, the charity has helped thousands of underprivileged children. They once collected 1,500 teddy bears for the Dallas Children's Advocacy Center, and have made contributions to Attitudes and Attire, the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital, and the Elisa Project, for children with eating disorders, among other organizations.
"One of the most amazing things is that we've realized that small acts of kindness can make such a big difference, no matter how large or small the participation is," said Jones, who is now the vice president. She said the last charities they have been involved with allowed them to see the impact their donations make. In one of their most notable accomplishments, they collected more than 800 books, establishing the Cheers for Charity Library at the David's Place Head Start Program.
"The first year that we benefited David's Place, I was standing in books up to my calves and had tears in my eyes, and it felt so right," Johnston said. "Everyone was dressed up and beautiful, and they were coming with bags of books when we had only asked them to bring one." This year, the organization has raised a whopping $33,000 through underwriters and donors, most of which will go to the foster-care program at Buckner's Children's Home. The group, mainly comprised of Park Cities women, became incorporated this year, Johnston said, and they've been inundated with support.
Central Market is providing the hors d'oevres, Tart pastry boutique will bring batches of desserts, Andrews Distributing will provide beverages, Elements will provide favors, Forty Five Ten is putting together top-level sponsor gift bags, and Polka-Dots provided the invitations. With all of those treats, the party is sure to be a hit.
"It's a way to get together and do something for children who are not as blessed as our children," Johnston said. "The Park Cities is a very blessed place, and its important for us to think outside 'the bubble'."