Break the Barriers (BTB) and FC are teaming up to host a fundraiser for the Mentoring Program that they have formed between their organizations, April 5. This event will be held from 6-9 p.m. It includes dinner, a performance by Break the Barriers, recognition of outstanding Fresno Christian alumni, and will feature NFL quarterback Tim Tebow as the keynote speaker. This fundraiser will take place in the Fresno Convention Center in the Exhibit Hall.

Tickets will be sold at $150 each, but attendees also have the option of purchasing a sponsor table at $2500. Sponsor tables have been available since January and individual tickets are now available as of Feb. 19. The funds raised through this event will go toward the further development of the Mentoring Program.

FC alumna and event organizer Dawn Steele, ’03, has been planning this event for months and hopes the event proves to be inspirational for attendees.

“The theme of the event is Inspire Gala,” Steele said. “Throughout the evening we want to inspire guests to live lives of significance, lives committed to impacting others. Tim Tebow says it best, ‘Success comes in a lot of ways, but it doesn?t come with money and it doesn?t come with fame. When you have the ability to do what you love, love what you do and have the ability to impact people, that?s having a life of success. That?s what having a life of meaning is.’ We invite people to join us and help us inspire a movement.”

Steele has been working with the steering committee to coordinate all aspects of planning the event, including logistics, marketing, public relations, sponsorships, volunteers, program and ticket sales. She has found the entire process of planning the fundraiser very fulfilling.

“It has been very rewarding,” Steele said. “I have the most hard-working committee members and I couldn’t do any of this without them.”

Superintendent Debbie Siebert hopes that this event will bring the community together and inspire listeners to make changes in the way they live.

“It?s called the Inspire Gala, so we?re hoping that we?ll inspire our community to think differently about breaking the barriers between ourselves and working more collaboratively to make connections and build relationships in order to strengthen our community,” Siebert said. “It?s going to be the heart of the whole idea.”

Siebert and Steele decided that pairing up with another organization would be a good idea, and BTB seemed like the obvious choice due to the ties that FC already has with BTB.

“Dawn and I felt like it would be good if we could coordinate with another organization in the community and so we prayed about it and thought about who we might be able to partner with,” Siebert said “We already had a relationship with Break the Barriers because Mr. {Dan} Harris is their music director and our second grade teacher Courtney Romundo works with their gymnastics and performance teams. Break the Barriers also came over and performed with us for our winter choir performance, so we already have a relationship with them.”

Siebert notes that she had already been wanting to find a way to help the community in some way in order to build new relationships.

“I?ve been trying to find ways that we can go out into the community and partner with other organizations,” Siebert said. “I want to come along side them, help them with their program and benefit our students as well just learn more about our relationships with other people that you wouldn?t ordinarily be able to have relationships with. We decided that Break the Barriers was the one and wanted to see if they were interested. Dawn went over to Deby Hergenrader who?s the founder of Break the Barriers and she got excited so we?ve been working together since then to coordinate the entire event.”

Siebert believes Tebow is the ideal speaker for this fundraiser because of his faith, his story and his outlook on life.

“When I first heard about Tim Tebow speaking at the event, it seemed like he was a perfect fit for what Deby Hergenrader and I think about life, more or less,” Siebert said. “He?s a man of faith, he?s faced some obstacles in his life and we?re hoping he?ll have a message of inspiration for listeners. He also has a heart for children who are differently-abled, so it just seemed like he was a perfect fit to be the person who could be the message-bearer for our community.”

Siebert notes that this fundraiser is significantly larger than past fundraisers that FC has put on. By expanding the fundraiser into such a large event, Siebert believes this is an opportunity for the wider community to be reached rather than just FC families.

“This fundraiser is really huge,” Siebert said. “Typically our fundraisers have focused more on our internal community. We?ve reached out a little bit to our community beyond our constituents but it?s mainly been people that we know. But with this event we?re hoping to reach the valley community, from Bakersfield to Sacramento, a broader spectrum of people. We just want to get the word out about Break the Barriers and Fresno Christian so that more people are aware of both of our organizations in the broader Central Valley community. It is much larger than anything we?ve ever tried before.”

PODCAST: Break the Barriers partner with FCS. Deby Hergenrader speaks with Debbie Siebert: Feb. 20, 2013–

Hoping for a good turnout, Siebert says the facility can be expanded if necessary.

“We?re hoping it?s a sold out crowd,” Siebert said. “We?re hoping to have to expand the facility. Right now we?re at a 2,000 capacity but we have the capability of expanding all the way to 3,500 capacity. As the response comes in, we?ll see what we need to do.”

For more news, read the Feb. 14 article, BRIEF: Student Leadership hosts PCA. Readers can also keep track of the event by using the Twitter feeds from: @InspireGala, @theFeather and @FresnoChristian.