Kids In Need hosted the first annual Valentine Dinner Dance fundraiser called Heart to Heart on a wintry Saturday evening in February. Even though it was cold outside, it was warm and very festive inside the grand ballroom of the Doral Eaglewood Resort in Itasca. KIN’s event Chairperson, Sandy Mitsch said, “We chose the Doral Eaglewood because it was so convenient and since it was recently remodeled, we would be one of the first organizations to actually use this brand new facility. It was just perfect for us!”

Sandy Mitsch was perfect for the event too. Don Katz and Warren Gnau asked Sandy in September if she would consider being the chairperson. It didn’t take Sandy long before she said, “OK, when can I have my first committee meeting?” Sandy took charge and quickly organized and assembled an outstanding committee of volunteers. “Sometimes people don’t realize how much work goes into a dinner dance”, Sandy said, “but when you have such a great group of volunteers like we had for this event, it turns out to be fun not work.” KIN did have a great group of volunteers too. The eight committee members sold tickets, solicited merchants for the marvelous raffle gifts, designed and constructed all the decorations, and made sure the guests had a wonderful time.

President and Founder Warren Gnau said, “The Heart to Heart Dinner Dance was just perfect for our charity. The name fits so well with what we do for kids. This will definitely become our annual event. The dinner dance allowed people to not only support our organization, but helped them to get rid of a little winter ‘cabin fever’ too.” The number of guests attending the event was proof of that. Over 175 guests attended the dinner, celebrated with their Valentine, and danced the night away.