A Shining Hope luncheon fundraiser was held in Oregon to support local nonprofits Shining Star Children’s Advocacy Center and HOPE of Ogle County.
The May 21 event raised just over $8,000 and saw over 100 attendees. 14 community members were recognized for demonstrating leadership, support and courage.
Shining Star CAC is a local child abuse support agency. HOPE of Ogle County supports victims of domestic violence. The funds raised will help both nonprofits to continue their work in the area. The event included a networking reception, keynote speech, lunch and a 50/50 raffle at the River’s Edge Experience in Oregon.
“We wanted to do some fundraising and recognize people that do good things in Ogle County,” HOPE of Ogle County Executive Director Rebecca Laudati said. “This was an opportunity for our agencies to collaborate because we work so closely together. And we could recognize people in the community and have a nice luncheon and raise funds for the work we do.”
Community members recognized at the event included Kelly Richardson-Kempson, Carolyn Neal, Rhiannan Seible, Emily Anaya, Jessica Faivre, Daniel Welle, Michelle Pease, John Russell, Susan Davis, the Meiner family, Kathy Wickler, Ashley Patrick, Ralf and Tricia Herrera, and Connie Kessen.
Shining Star Children’s Advocacy Center Executive Director Jessica Cash said nominations for recognition were solicited from the community.
“We wanted to recognize those people that aren’t seen in the news every day that are doing great things,” Cash said. “Both of our organizations see hard things every day, so we wanted to highlight positive things. They’re such humble people that do great things and they deserve to be recognized. It was nice to see that when they stood up. That was the neat part of the event for me.”
Laudati said the event was “well-received” by the community in its first year. Both organizations rely heavily on grant funding, which is usually restricted to specific uses. The funds raised from the luncheon will be unrestricted, which will allow for flexibility when used by HOPE and Shining Star CAC.
Fundraising has also become more difficult due to current economic challenges, and because the From the Heart gala in Rochelle, which benefited both HOPE and Shining Star, ceased operations in 2025. The nonprofits pooled resources to bring about the new Shining Hope fundraiser.
“The community support of the event was great,” Laudati said. “We’ve done a lot of work in the past few years on promoting our service and being out in the community. The event also helped us to spread awareness. With all the people that came, they’re more likely to get the word out about our services. Everyone knows someone has been abused. Being able to come together and see that there are agencies that can help and people that support them is great.”
Shining Star will be opening a new expanded office in Oregon this year to better serve its clients in Ogle County. Cash said the Shining Hope event helped to bring more awareness to her nonprofit’s services.
The Shining Hope luncheon fundraiser will return for a second year on June 10, 2027. Cash and Laudati hope to build on the success that was seen in the first iteration of it.
“I enjoyed the positive aspect of seeing people recognized and being able to bring some positivity into the community,” Cash said. “Having something positive to look forward to and recognizing people is a cool thing. We want to thank everyone that attended and supported the event. We had in-kind donors that helped out. We’re looking forward to next year.”