In early November, more than $150,000 was raised at The Chase Home’s 9th Annual Wine & Chocolate Tasting at Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club in downtown Portsmouth.
Event proceeds will support services offered at The Chase Home and in the community. “This event is our biggest fundraiser of the year and instrumental in helping us bridge gaps in our annual budget,” explained Meme Wheeler, Executive Director of The Chase Home.
These gaps, according to The Chase Home Board President Brian Gibb, are kids in crisis. “Every child deserves a chance to reach their full potential,” he said. “This event underscores the needs in our community.”
These needs continue to grow, as Wheeler said a volatile socio-economic landscape exerts “great pressure on all youth.” “These pressures are felt more acutely by youth who are struggling with food or housing insecurity,” she added. “Our services and programs are designed to help youth and their families stabilize and heal their traumas in order to attain permanency in their lives.”
Founded in 1877, The Chase Home in Portsmouth provides prevention, early intervention, residential, and community-based programs to at-risk youth, all of whom are involved with DHHS or the Juvenile Justice System. Some youth are served in the community while others live at The Chase Home.
The Chase Home’s 9th Annual Wine & Chocolate Tasting was sponsored in part by LeMay Family Goodworks, Seacoast Dental Implant & Oral Surgery Centers, J.Group Hospitality, Kennebunk Savings, Service Credit Union, and Centrus Digital.