It appears that Saturday, October 1, is going to be a very busy night. The black-tie crowd will be fundraising at the Meyerson for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra Gala and the Hyatt Regency Downtown Dallas for the SPCA’s Fur Ball.
But for those whose tuxedos are on sabbatical, there’s another event whose very name brims with non-stuffy festivities. It the 2022 CitySquare Block Party.
Event Co-chairs April and Mark Anthony have not only arranged to have the party take place at The Empire Room, they’ve also locked down philanthropists Betsy and Jim Sowell as honorary co-chairs.
It wasn’t a hard ask. After all, it was back in 1988 that Jim was so moved by the problems associated with poverty that he “worked with friends to launch the Central Dallas Food Pantry in a strip shopping center at Henderson and Central Expressway.”
Two years later, after receiving 501(c)3 status and due to a growing demand, the Pantry was moved to larger quarters on North Peak in East Dallas.
By 1994 the program had been rebranded as Central Dallas Ministries, with Larry James coming on board in an executive role and an additional building on North Haskell being acquired.
Still another name change took place when the group became CitySquare, “in order to better reflect the commitment to equality, inclusiveness and recognition that fighting poverty involves bringing the entire community together in the heart of the city.”
Four years later the little pantry that had started in a strip shopping center was relocated to the 53,000-square-foot Opportunity Center at Malcolm X Boulevard and I-30.
Thanks to Jim’s ongoing “concern for the problems associated with poverty,” 56,000 adults and children have benefited from CitySquare’s six primary areas of impact: housing, food, healthcare, legal support, financial empowerment and youth services.”
Presented by AMN Healthcare, the 2022 CitySquare Block Party’s night of dining, bidding and partying will “honor some of the most innovative CitySquare poverty fighters, including CEO Emeritus Larry James.”
Sponsorships are available here.
* Graphic/photo provided by CitySquare