Twilight Benefit Gala

2013 Twilight Ball and Benefit

The 2013 Twilight Board and Honorees.

A great time aboard the Ovation Yacht, traveling down the Detroit River.  

Twilight Benefit Golf outing

Annie getting down at the auto show

Written by: Dan

Annie, Stacy, Saylor, Kevin, Christy, Marvin, Mary and I went to the charity preview of the Detroit Autoshow.  I had never been to the Autoshow before, let alone the black tie preview.  We met up at MGM Grand before the show and took a shuttle over (highly recommended   Cobo traffic was unreal).

Once inside I was blown away by the event.  It was neat to be in a tux (this event made my finally purchase a tux).  The show wasn't packed, but quite crowded.  I am told this is a good sign from people who have been to the show in years past.  Still, there was enough room to go from booth to booth, see the cars, and talk with people from each company.  We even saw some GM friends.

One nice thing about the show is you can open the cars, get inside, even pop the trunk.  This makes the experience even better.  Beyond the cars, each company has something extra to draw your attention.  From buttons in the chevy booth, small give aways, an even an interactive display (below).

I really liked seeing the new cars.  Annie really enjoyed the old ones.

Charlie Porter Research Grant

The Twilight Benefit Foundation is thrilled to announce that after a long fundraising effort, we will be giving $80,000 to two young researchers, Drs. Andrew Harris and Sung Choi, of University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital. They are performing innovative research on pediatric AML and acute graft vs. host disease.  On November 23, we will be presenting them with our money, our gratitude, and our hope for the future.

Thank you to our hundreds and thousands of supporters who have donated time, money, and resources to help us achieve this goal.

Banbury Cross Walk

Written By: Hobee

This is one of my favorite days of the year.  Annie and Julie take Fergus and I to the Banbury Cross Walk!  The girls raise money by making this walk through the beautiful fall countryside.  Fergus and I run, off lease, through the woods.  We see tons of people, other dogs, and even horses!  I'm still not sure about horses.

2012 Twilight Beneift Gala and Civic Awards

Written By: Dan

Today was our annual Twilight Benefit River Cruise and Civic Awards Gala.  The weather held up for the most part (a little cold for the top deck of the boat, but overall nice).  We had great award winners, and a fantastic host (Spike from Mojo in the Morning).  Annie did a great job of getting donations for the silent auction and raffle.  In years past we have purchased items on consignment and made little to no money.  With Annie's help this year, we raised thousands.  She got great donations:  Golf packages, vacation packages, gift cards, jewelry, and more.

The cruise went off without a hitch.  Thanks to Aunt Donna, Lynn, and Annie's parents for coming.

View of Detroit (and Canada) from the back of the Ovation yacht.

Hobee meets horse

Written By: Hobee

I met a horse today!  During our annual Banburry Cross Charity Walk we went by a horse farm.  I was curious.  Never seen one of these things before.  They seemed interested in me too.

Charity Golf at Atlas Valley Country Club

 

Written by Dan:

Golfed 18 at Atlas Valley Golf Club.  A benefit for The Twilight Benefit Foundation.

Twilight awards gala

 

Written By:  Dan

This is one of my favorite days of the year.  The Twilight Benefit Awards Gala.  Again, this year's gala was held on the Ovation Yacht.  This year's award winners ( L. Brooks Patterson, Dawn Estelle, Stewart Francke, Laurie Tarter, and Johnny Imerman) were presented by honoree's from last year (Ryan LaFontain, Richard Bernstein, and Abbie Hamilton), and local personalities (Mrs. Teen Michigan, Phil Bertolini).   More about the awards and the recipients can be found here.

This year we were pleased to have some of our family join us.  Aunt Donna, my mom, Rick, and Suzanna joing us on the boat.  A great time was had by all.  We raised a lot of money for the Charlie Porter Research Grant and The Rainbow Connection.  It was great to see the hard work of the Twilight Board pay off.

   

Oakland Hills

 
View from the veranda. 

Written By: Dan

The Twilight Benefit Foundation hosted their annual Golf Outing.  This year was at Oakland Hills.   Because of great sponsors, we had the privilege of playing both the North and South Courses.  The event was a hit.  We haven't put on a better outing to date.  Because of Great sponsors, a great venue, terrific volunteers, and generous players we raised a lot of money for The Rainbow Connection and The Charlie Porter Research Grant. 

Bowling

Written By: Dan

Annie, my mom, and I went Bowling tonight.  This was a fun event for Cameron's Crusade.  Annie bowled a 38 in her first game!    

Mac And Cheese and Wine Tasting

Written By: Dan
Pictures: Didn't bring a camera, need your photos.....

I think this is our 3rd or 4th year in a row going up to Annie's parents for Old Mission Mac and Cheese and Wine tasting.  As always it was a great time.  The night before we were given a show by "Check Your Stool."  It was their annual concert/practice.  This year they added a Fiddle (or Violin) to the band.  Annie played both the fiddle and guitar.

 

The next day things went our way.  We got started early, which necessity for this event.  We took a new route, starting in the middle this year. These two things made the lines short.  The shortest we have seen in years.  We were only outside for one winery - Chateau Chantel.    The weather was cold and windy, and the people who work at Chateau Chantel we found to be cold and rude - but the rest of the stops were second to none.  We brought back a ton of wine, and tasted some great Mac & Cheese.*  And to top it off, 15% of Gross sales went to local charities.  It is a great event,  I would recommend it to anyone. 


* Our favorite was a Mac and Cheese from Soul Hole made with Velveeta cheese and Cheetos! 

GoodShop

Written By: Dan and Annie


Hi Everyone. If you do your Chrismas shopping online, do me a favor. Go to this site first:
GoodShop is a charity website. Here is how it works. Go to the link (http://www.goodshop.com/?charityid=894241 ). From there find whatever site you usually shop at (Best Buy, Sears, Target, etc...) to do your shopping. After you are done that store will send The Twilight Benefit Foundation a portion of the money you spent online.

This is not a scam. We've been doing this for about two years now and have gotten almolst $900! Just by a few of us shopping online. And it is the same website you usually shop at. The consumer pays no extra.

This year The Twilight Benefit Foundation is raising money to start a research grant relating to the etiology, treatment & cure of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) in children. It is a great cause and a great charity. You can find out more at http://www.twilightbenefit.com/ . And you can help by just going to a website before you do your holiday shopping online.



If you have any questions, see us!



Thanks for your support



Dan & Annie



http://www.goodshop.com/?charityid=894241

Banbury Cross Walk A Thon

Written by: Hobee

For the second year we did the Banbury Cross Walk A Thon.  Banbury is the place Annie and Cameron go for riding lessons (and the reason Fergus and I hang out on Saturdays).  The group at Banbury is great.  They do a ton of good work, and help a lot of people.

We took a different path this year.  It was great.  Fergus and I walked the entire route off leash.  We played, ran around, and behaved the whole time.

Dave Thomas Celebrity Cookoff

Written by: Dan

Benefiting Speaulding for children, the Dave Thomas Celebrity Cookoff was held at the Benihannas (sp?) in Troy.  I went with my Dad, Jean, and some folks from his BRG group.  Our celeb was a director at a TV station (Celebrity?) - but he was funny.  Since he was not at the training, he had no idea what he was doing.... it added to the entertainment.  It was a great time, and a great cause.

Charliebration

Backyard concert benefiting The Charlie Porter Research Grant.

2010 Twilight Gala River Cruise

Written By: Dan & Annie


Last night was our annual Twilight Benefit Gala. This year the board decided to hold it on the Ovation Yacht. It was a great venue. For 3 hours the Ovation cruised up and down the Detroit River, offering guests splendid view of Downtown Detroit, The Renaissance Center, Belle Isle, and Canada.

We had a great time. The event also had community civic awards. This year's honorees included Mike Babcock, Charles Pugh, Richard Bernstein, and Abbie Hamilton, and Lisa Dancsock. Huckleberry Groove played another great show on the top floor of the ship, while we ate a great meal below.


Pictures should be available at http://www.twilightbenefit.com/ soon.
 

Twilight Benefit Wine Tasting

Written By: Dan


We do many things to raise money for Twilight.  Drinking wine is one of my favorites.  Today, at the Frase household we held another wine tasting event.  It was a great time.  We raised a lot of money, and sold a bunch of tickets to the river cruise gala.

Twilight Benefit Bowling Benefit

As Annie put it, thanks to everyone for coming out to the Twilight Benefit Bowling Benefit.  It was a great success.  Twilight raised over $500 in just a few hours!  High Score 223.  Low Score 48.