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MEDIA ADVISORY
VICTORY PROGRAMS’ 2017 DINNERFEST RED PARTY + AUCTION IS NEARLY SOLD OUT
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Victory Programs’ 27 annual Dinnerfest RED Party + Auction revs up to smash fundraising records for hope,
health and housing as the organization prepares to open its newest women’s residential recovery program,
New Joelyn’s Home.
On Sunday, April 23 from 3 to 6 PM, Victory Programs will celebrate another year of health, housing and prevention
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services with nearly 300 supporters at the 27 annual Dinnerfest RED Party + Auction fundraiser at the Red Lantern
on Stanhope Street in the Back Bay. Last year Dinnerfest raised more than $120,000 for men, women and children
facing homelessness, people living with HIV/AIDS, prevention services to reduce disease transmission and improve
community health outcomes and recovery services for individuals suffering from substance use disorder. Victory
Programs has a proud, 42year history of standing on the front lines of emerging public health challenges impacting
our community here in Boston. Every penny raised at Dinnerfest and the organizations other signature events is put
right back into services that benefit the most vulnerable members of our community.
This year the event coincides with the opening of New Joelyn’s Home, a state-of-the-art, 24-bed women’s residential
recovery program housed in a freshly renovated Victorian home in Roxbury. The opening of New Joelyn’s Home
represents the latest chapter in Victory Programs efforts to rebuild their women’s recovery services in the wake of
the unexpected permanent evacuation and closing of the first Joelyn’s Family Home in October 2014 when the only
bridge to Boston Harbor’s Long Island where the program was located was closed on short notice due to structural
issues. Between the opening of New Joelyn’s Home this year and the expansion of two other women’s residential
recovery programs, New Victories for Women and Shepherd House, Victory Programs has built back 98% of the
women’s residential recovery capacity it had when the bridge closed.
With a new program on the verge of opening and the ever growing need for more recovery services posed by the
escalating opioid crisis, Victory Programs is once again hoping this year’s Dinnerfest will set new fundraising records.
Dynamic, professional auctioneer Kathy Kingston has agreed to return after her stellar performance at last year’s live
auction and ‘Fund-A-Need’ during the event. This year’s live auction prizes are outright impressive, including trips to
South Africa, Tuscany and Bali, two in-home parties for ten with gourmet food and wine pairings orchestrated by top
tier local chefs, and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to throw out the first pitch at PRIDE night at Fenway Park. A
great deal of credit for the quality of this year’s prizes for both the live and silent auctions goes to the event’s
working co-chairs, Tiffani Faison, Richard Gordon and Scott Kearnan, who rose to the challenge of bringing in
tantalizing dining experiences and other unique prizes and to honorary co-chairs Attorney General Maura Healey and
Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh for lending their support to the event.
Dinnerfest offers a slew of fun activities for attendees in addition to scores of amazing auction items. This year’s
event will feature a celebrity-style step-and-repeat banner, complimentary appetizers courtesy of Red Lantern and
the always popular RED raffle for guests who sport at least a splash of the signature color. Despite the party
atmosphere, this fundraiser serves to address a real, ongoing need for additional resources for public services like
those provided at each Victory Program’s 17 programs in Boston, Cambridge and Topsfield, which is why the shared
experiences of one of Victory Programs’ current clients will take center stage at the height of the event to bring
home the mission and put a face on the very real impact giving can have.
About Victory Programs
Victory Programs has more than 40 years of experience opening doors to hope, health and housing for individuals
and families in need. Since its inception in 1975, the agency has expanded to 17 health, housing and prevention
programs providing shelter and recovery services to more than 2,300 people annually. Victory Programs has a storied
history of responding to emerging needs in the community – from being one of the first agencies in Massachusetts to
allow HIV positive clients into its addiction recovery programs in 1981 to launching a mobile prevention unit in 2015
to reach individuals and families in the community and better serve their needs. Throughout its organizational
growth, Victory Programs’ commitment to those struggling with homelessness, drug and alcohol addiction and
chronic illnesses like HIV/AIDS always remains its top priority.