Furniture 4 Kids Announces Vogel Alcove as 2015 Charity Partner

G.L. Seaman and Company Executive Vice-President Ashley Lowrance, Laura Flores, Vogel Alcove President and CEO Karen Hughes, OFS Brands Area Manager Robin Rucker, Regina Bruce

Created by OFS Brands, Furniture 4 Kids, has got the 7-year itch and have decided to shake things up for this year's 2015 fundraiser. I attended last night's kickoff party to see what they had up their sleeve... Mark your calendar's for February 19th because you won't want to miss out on this evening. What's staying the same is that OFS Brands Dallas is once again partnering with presenting sponsor G.L. Seaman and Company to host Furniture 4 Kids in and that the key feature of Furniture 4 Kids will continue to be the Design Competition. What's that, you ask? Creative teams are given a plain wooden toy box and then they design and create a one-of-a-kind toy box that will be judged and auctioned off the night of the event (see photo below). Competition is fierce and entries are out-of-this world! A good analogy I heard last night compared this event to the fantasy playhouse's that are auctioned off every year at NorthPark Center. Same sort of vibe. Bidders may bid to keep or ‘Bid-to-Donate’ to Vogel Alcove. Robin Rucker of OFS Brands shared that because Vogel Alcove's mission is helping children soar, the theme for this year will be AVIATION.

Lisa Garza and Travis Selcer

So, while the cake isn't changing that much, it's the icing on the event that is. One major change announced is that this year's beneficiary will be Vogel Alcove, a local organization who's mission is to "provide the youngest children of Dallas-area homeless families with the foundation for success".

"When I say the word 'homeless' you probably picture a man sitting on a street corner holding a cardboard sign asking for money or some kind of help," said Vogel Alcove's CEO Karen Hughes. "But that is not the average face of homelessness in Dallas."

She then shared SHOCKING facts that the average homeless person in Dallas County is a 22-year old single mom with 2 kids under the age of 6. And that almost half of our homeless population are women and kids and that 50% of those kids are under 6. Did you have any idea that this was happening in Dallas, Texas?! Those are the faces of homelessness that Vogel Alcove serves. For 27 years, they have worked with other community partners to give these kids a safe, happy, secure place where they can come to learn, play and grow while their parents work with other agencies to receive training, education and assistance to get the family back on their feet and reintroduced into mainstream society.

Sixty Five Hundred on Cedar Springs will be the the site of this year's event. Private Jet and Zeppelin sponsors will enjoy impeccable cuisine by Celebrity Chef Lisa Garza, Owner-Operator at Sissy’s Southern Kitchen & Bar and Owner-Operator at Lisa Garza Taste Studio. The last new bit of news to announce is that Oh So Cynthia will be the official blog sponsor for this event. We are thrilled to help raise funds and awareness for such an amazing cause. Visit the website to purchase tickets or more information.

Examples of entries in the toy box design challenge from previous year's to how you how creative these teams get! These started out as a plain old wooden box! I can't wait to see what is created for this year's event!