On December 11th over one hundred MFA supporters gathered from around the state of Ohio for the Hope for the Holidays cocktail party, celebrating Ohio’s historic strides for farmed animals in 2010.
The inspiring evening was held at the Dragonfly Gallery in Columbus. Guests mingled with like-minded friends, new acquaintances, and MFA staff, while sipping their complimentary Frey organic wine. Splendid savory vegan hors d’oeuvres satisfied everyone’s taste buds, while Pattycake Bakery’s adorably shaped gingerbread men and snowman holiday cookies, and lemon, spice and strawberry mini-cupcakes kept the crowd extremely merry.
During a special Compassionate Leaders awards ceremony, three outstanding Ohio activists were honored. Danielle Dunne, the eleven-year-old recipient of The Youth Activist Award, commanded the microphone during her acceptance speech. David Meadows, honored with The Activist of the Year Award, shared the honor with others who collected signatures during the Ohioans for Humane Farms ballot drive. And Peggy Kaplan, The Hope Award recipient, had the crowd laughing as she recalled stories of her time on the front lines of animal activism.
Executive Director Nathan Runkle capped off the evening by debuting the 2010 MFA Year in Review Video and sharing the news of a generous triple-donation plea – Donate by December 31st and your gift will be tripled!
During the evening a handful of lucky guests took home terrific raffle and cruelty-free silent auction items, including a trio of handmade sterling pendants, dinner for two at Chrissie Hynde’s restaurant, The Vegiterranean, orchestra and theater performance tickets, an Earth Friendly products gift basket and more.
As friends caught up on old times and new friendships were formed, guests walked away from the intimate cocktail party with a sense of accomplishment and unity, and above all hope for a better future for farmed animals.
All proceeds from the Hope for the Holidays event will support Mercy For Animals’ lifesaving work to protect farmed animals from cruelty and neglect in Ohio.
