Save the date for CGNKY’s Happy Feet Ball on September 17 at Newport Aquarium!
Charities Guild of Northern Kentucky’s mission is ‘happy feet’.
The mission is simple, but the impact is immeasurable. For more than 40 years, the Charities Guild of Northern Kentucky (CGNK) has provided shoes to thousands of children who need them.
Founded by a group of women from Kenton County in the early 1980s, CGNK is now a volunteer based non-profit organization of up to 50 women serving together and raising funds each year to help local schools, foster care agencies, and churches purchase shoes for children in need.
Many families in poverty make the difficult decisions over which basic necessity to meet between food, shelter, or clothing. The CGNK Shoe Fund supports families by providing the foundational basic need of shoes. And it has enormous benefits. When children arrive at school with shoes in good condition, school officials report that they are able to focus more effectively on learning.
Through the Shoe Fund program, children have the opportunity to select the new shoes themselves through an Amazon platform. A Holmes High School official commented about their Shoe Fund partnership, “the fact that these women will even help shop for the shoes with our students online really connected with me. Whenever you can help empower the students and help them feel like they are given the same opportunities as their peers is amazing.”
In 2021, CGNK began a new program focused on student athletes. They partnered with the Dayton High School football team to provide athletic shoes and are currently working on a partnership with the women’s soccer team at Holmes High School in Covington.
In addition to raising money for the Shoe Fund, members volunteer their time at other organizations that support women and children, attend social gatherings, receive professional development experience by leading committees, and plan their annual fundraiser, The Happy Feet Ball. This event was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19, but it is back for 2021 and the organization is looking forward to bringing the community together for this important cause.
The 2021 Happy Feet Ball is Friday, September 17 at 7 p.m. at the Newport Aquarium and the theme is luau. Attendees are encouraged to wear Hawaiian-themed attire. Tickets are $75 per person and include open bar, heavy hors d’oeuvres, live music from The Menu’s, silent auction, games, a photo booth and more. The 2021 title sponsors are H/R Real Estate and the Fogarty Family.
General donations are also accepted on the website, such as becoming a Pair Partner for $25 or a Sole Mate for $50. Cash or checks can be mailed to P.O Box 75126.
To purchase event tickets, click here or follow Charities Guild of Northern Kentucky on Facebook.
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2021 Charities Guild of Northern Kentucky Members:
Olivia Amlung
Beth Bach
Megan Bankemper
Lyndsay Barto
Elizabeth Berryman
Liz Birkenhauer
Hilary Blau
Lindsay Bujnoch
Sarah Cameron
Dianna Coley
Sarah Contner
Kristin Cropper
Kaeli Erskine
Kendal Fields
Kristen Gerrein
Amy Hahnel
Kendall Herold
Julie Hogan
Sarah Houseman
Kristy Hudepohl
Molly Jacks
Emily Keller
Lindsay Keogh
Michelle Klingenberg
Hannah Kramer
Katie Kremer
Meghan Laux
Liz Lucas
Maggie McCluskey
Kara McCord
Lana McCoy
Carson McKenzie
Alison Montoya Warken
Traci Nestheide
Lauren O’Brien
Karen Reed
Elizabeth Reeder
Melissa Rosenhagen
Marci Schroder
Paige See
Alysia Sester
Erin Sizemore
Christine Smalley
Katherine Stevenson
Kristin Turner
Mary Kate Vanderglas
Katlyn Williamson
Sara Zimmerman