Thousands of Kids Have 'A Place to Dream' Thanks to Record-Breaking Furniture Bank Event

Thousands of Kids Have 'A Place to Dream' Thanks to Record-Breaking Furniture Bank Event

Dean Todd, Stacey Todd, Cinde Matocha, Gary Matocha

HUNDREDS OF GUESTS packed River Oaks Country Club for The Furniture Bank's annual fundraising event. They hit the ballroom floor to ensure no kid sleeps on the floor!


Emcee Linda Lorelle introduced the "A Place to Dream" video documenting the efforts of founder Oli Mohammed and city leaders to give furniture to Houston families in need. The evening's honorees included Youval Meicler of Texas Mattress Makers, and the late Ralph Marek, whose son Stan graciously accepted the award.

A live auction led by Johnny Bravo got the crowd excited, and musician Doug Montgomery kept the energy high all the way through dessert and coffee. A record-breaking $300,000 was raised for The Furniture Bank, which has since 2018 provided beds to more than 4,000 children in need.

Aaron and Jessica Glick

Syed and Kelsey Iman

Ben Marek, Neha Dubey

Stan Marek and Regina Rogers

Bob Gulitti, Lisa Gulitti

Oli Mohammed, Jeff Cummins, Harry Cummins

Kevin Gilliard and Frank Billingsley

Michele and Youval Meicler

Mike and Francie Willis

Laura Barnett, Daniel Cavazos

John Parsley, Mike Holland, Stan Marek, Brent Ballard

Parties

What year was your organization launched? 1986 by a small group of committee community members that believed special needs children were not receiving basic life services.

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What year was your organization launched? 1938

What is your mission? March of Dimes was founded in 1938 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, to combat polio. The name “March of Dimes” was suggested by entertainer Eddie Cantor as a way to encourage people to donate even a small amount, like a dime, to help fight polio.

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