On February 8, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay hosted its "Big Night" event at the House of Blues—and Little Brothers and Little Sisters were in attendance, too. "The driving force behind Big Night and our fund-raising goal is to continue to match children facing adversity into long-lasting, one-on-one friendships," said the nonprofit's director of fund-raising events, Tricia Keck. Having the organization's young beneficiaries at the event "helps connect our donors face-to-face with our mission, but it also allows our 'Bigs' and 'Littles' to be interactive with those who make their friendship possible," Keck said.
Since the event's guest list comprised two age sets—the over-21 crowd and teenagers and younger kids—planners had to entertain both groups and find creative ways to let the kids and adults interact. Here's a look at how they achieved the task, using chalk, props, and more. And apparently, these techniques were effective: The night raised $2 million, which exceeded its $1.6 million fund-raising goal.