After 15 years at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, organizers of Reach for the Rainbow’s 22nd annual Crystal Ball made the move to a new facility for Saturday’s benefit—becoming the first fund-raiser to be held at the Toronto Congress Centre North. “Our whole mandate was to raise more money. So we made some decisions, moving the event being the biggest one, and it was largely a financial decision,” said Donna Trella, the organization’s executive director.
“We anticipated some reaction that wasn’t particularly favourable, and there was probably a 1 to 2 per cent reaction initially. But on the night, I didn’t get one negative comment,” she said of the move from the downtown core to the airport area. However, being the first charity event at the centre—which opened earlier this year—presented several challenges. “It took a lot longer for us to sort through the logistics,” Trella said. “The facility wasn’t 100 per cent complete…they didn’t have door handles.”
Trella reported that the centre approached the organization about the possibility of moving the event in the summer of 2007. The final decision was made shortly after last year’s event. “One of the big cost savings was valet parking,” Trella said. Had the charity remained at the convention centre and foregone the valet service, guests would have been left to pay an additional fee. “I couldn’t see charging people $700 a plate and having to ask them to go in and pay for parking on top of that,” she said, noting parking at the new location is free, which saved the organization about $25,000.
Although the amount raised is still being tallied—the organization was aiming to bring in $700,000—Trella said the auction likely took a hit due to the current economic climate. “We have a lot of decadent things—a $20,000 baby grand piano, for example—and most of us right now who have financial portfolios are thinking, 'Do I want it, or do I need it.' A lot of our items are wants. I think when the numbers settle we many have been impacted a bit. So thank God we made the move," she said.
The charity, which integrates children with disabilities into regular summer camps and year-round programs, also decided to forego the usual theme concept for this year’s event. (Past events have been designed around The Endless Summer and From Russia With Love.) “We decided we would commit the evening to the children,” Trella said of this year's theme, "The Heart of Possibilities."
Trella called on Decor & More to create a woodsy, cottage-country feel for the event. The company dressed tables in an assortment of earth-toned linens and created rustic centerpieces using greenery, wooden lanterns, and glass urns. The decor company also lit images of children at camps along a wall near the entrance and used greenery and Muskoka chairs to create a series of vignettes throughout the venue.
