Local nonprofit Love in the Name of Christ will host its secondannual Fall Festival of Love on Saturday, Oct. 5 at Johnny T’s Bistro. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the night will include dinner, a silent auction, and a performance by comedian Tim Chappell. Early bird tickets are being sold for $40 each or $70 for a pair until the evening of Oct. 4. They can be purchased in the Love INC. office located at 55 Barry St. or by calling (517) 253-5299. Tickets will also be available at the door for $50 each.
“It went well last year. We made a little over $6,000 last year,” clearinghouse coordinator Jessica Hurley Fawley said. “We definitely want to increase that number.”
According to Fawley, there are currently 54 auction items available with an estimated total value of $7,000, from which Love INC. hopes to earn at least $4,500. Last year they raised $3,200 from action items valued at $6,250.
“This branch has been five years in the making,” Fawley said. “We just started our clearinghouse office in May. Our goal is to raise funds to cover our resources and administration costs and expand out network.”
Chappell is returning to Hillsdale after his performance at Love INC.’s first Fall Festival of Love last year. According to Love INC’s Facebook page, Chappel is a well-known comedian who has traveled all over the world and performed alongside Tim Allen, Jeff Foxworthy, and Al Ernst.
Prizes in the silent auction include gift baskets from local churches, a car wash bucket from Jim Knox Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM, and even a day with the mayor of Hillsdale where the winner can tour all the office buildings and meet city employees.
Love INC. is a national nonprofit with 134 locations that seeks to bridge the gap between the community and the churches by teaching life-skill classes such as budgeting, helping people get plugged into a local church, and donating clothes, food, and other resources to families in need. The nonprofit was established in 1997 and opened an office in Hillsdale in 2015.