Wow! Thank you so much to everyone who came out Sunday evening to celebrate and support the work for orphaned children. So far you have given over $363,000 to support orphans, disadvantaged children, and single moms!

This year Allies hosted its annual Color Their World banquet at two locations – Walnut Ridge Baptist Church in Mansfield and The Hills Church in North Richland Hills.

Allies supporters and guests at Walnut Ridge listened to Allies Founder and CEO Chris Burgin share the vision for the next 10 years including reaching even more orphans, increasing support to single mothers and foster families, and continuing to find new partnerships with other organizations that are helping others locally and around the world. Chris recognized longtime volunteer Chuck Frankenfield as this year's recipient of the Allies Empowerment Award, who said his weekly volunteer day at the Allies warehouse is like coming home. "Allies has done more for me than I could ever do for Allies," Chuck said. 

Wayne Hassler, an Allies supporter from the very beginning, talked to the audience about being a good steward and using our hands to do God's work. Donor Sally Pinon then gave a heartfelt pep talk, sharing how her own heart was moved to partner with Allies and how she's been blessed by that partnership.

At The Hills Church, guests enjoyed an entertaining and emotional chat with Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn. He discussed the problems orphans face after aging out of the orphanage, which also included the story of how he came to adopt four Russian orphans right out of the orphanage. He concluded by challenging the audience to take that frontier spirit of our forefathers and make a difference where we are, how we can, with what we have – however great or small. If you can’t save 100, save one. 

Events at both locations were followed by live auctions. We're grateful to our talented MCs, Travis Modrall and Ryan Young, who kept guests engaged for the evening. 

Because of the overwhelming support of sponsors, partners, and donors, Allies will be able to serve and mentor another 2,000 orphans in the coming year! Thank you to everyone who made the event a success for the children we love and serve.

If you would like to donate to the orphans and the Allies Endowment to ensure the long-term sustainability of our programs for the children, visit our donate page now at alliesyouth/org/donatenow. If you were unable to attend the banquet, you can watch the Mansfield video at https://alliesyouth.org/banquet