Yacht Fundraiser Helps Special Needs Children

Amanda Mitchell, Director of Development at Children’s Diagnostic & Treatment Center, faced a challenge when cuts in government grants left her nonprofit no longer able to cover health care costs for children with special needs in Broward County.

An avid boater in Fort Lauderdale, Amanda turned to friends and contacts in the marine community for help, resulting in the first Waterway Soiree, a benefit aboard yachts set for May 30 at Bahia Mar Resort & Yachting Center in Fort Lauderdale.

The inaugural event aims to draw more than 400 people and raise at least $100,000 for the Children’s Diagnostic & Treatment Center (CDTC).

Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill and his wife, Lauren, are among celebrities who have signed up to dine with guests at this year’s soiree, said Mitchell, development director for the nonprofit.

The CDTC, a nonprofit affiliate of Broward Health, now operates with an annual budget of about $14 million per year and a staff of 160. It helps infants, children, and youth with chronic illnesses, disabilities, and developmental delays with medical care and social services, regardless of a family’s financial situation.

Its funding comes mainly from state and federal governments, but cuts in grants now leave a shortfall of about $1 million per year to serve more than 11,000 children yearly in Broward, said Mitchell.

“We want to see more children and increase the quality of the care,” said Mitchell. That includes helping more children with HIV-AIDS.

The soiree will feature a dinner with celebrities on different yachts and then dessert and dancing during an Intracoastal Waterway cruise aboard the 125′ charter Grand Floridian.

Tickets for the yacht hop, dinner, and dessert cruise are $750. Yacht owners who enter their boats receive admission for up to 20 guests for $15,000. Tickets for the dessert cruise alone are $100. All donations are tax deductible.

The nonprofit Boys & Girls Club of Broward County already organizes the world’s largest megayacht event for charity. Its annual Rendezvous, begun more than 25 years ago in the Fort Lauderdale area, now is held in the Bahamas and has netted more than $1 million annually in some editions.

That mega yacht event helps 12 Broward clubs that serve more than 12,500 at-risk youth yearly with after-school programs, meals and other aid. The Broward clubs now operate with a budget topping $10 million yearly.

For more information on first annual Waterway Soiree to benefit the CDTC, contact Amanda Mitchell at 954-728-1019, amitchell@browardhealth.org.

Source: Doreen Hemlock, Sun Sentinel