The Home for Little Wanderers’ annual Voices & Visions fund-raiser drew 1,000 guests and raised nearly $1 million for the home’s 20 programs on May 25. The event, held at the Seaport World Trade Center, Boston’s 50,000-square-foot convention space, incorporated children's art to raise awareness about the therapeutic benefits art provides to children with emotional and behavioral challenges.
The goal was to use art to represent the children and families the home serves and to expose guests to global cultures. In addition to the student artwork—which included more than 100 shoes decorated to represent places ranging from China to Puerto Rico, Asian-inspired paintings, and Egyptian sculptures—new this year was a strong presence representing the “voice” piece of Voices & Visions. The evening’s entertainment included a poetry reading and a singing performance by the Voices of Renaissance children’s choir, plus TV news anchor Liz Brunner.
After a cocktail reception and silent auction in a 20,000-square-foot space filled with art exhibits divided by culture and continent, guests entered a main dining space illuminated by green and blue, where the entertainment and award program preceded dinner.
The challenges of producing an event of this size, according to event producer and designer Barbara Edelin, were scale and budget. “The home’s art instructors are instrumental in working with children to create an exhibit and theme that will wow guests when they arrive,” she said. They aimed for that "wow" factor with brightly colored, handmade artwork on easels, placed on tables and hanging from the ceiling. In the main dining space, Home for Little Wanderers-branded glass centerpieces topped the 100 tables, a reusable and economical element the home added to the event last year and brought out again.
In addition to the child-centric artwork and entertainment, the event producers added an interactive element for the adult guests. The home’s focus on social media began in 2007 and picked up during this year’s event, where table cards with a hashtag for the event and the Home for Little Wanderers’ social media links were placed next to each piece of art, encouraging guests to post their comments about the work online.
