Women’s Resource Center Announces New Fundraising Gala

The Women’s Resource Center serving Newport and Bristol Counties (WRC), a nonprofit domestic violence intervention and prevention services agency, announces its inaugural fundraising gala: the Butterfly Ball.

The Butterfly Ball is an elegant, black-tie gala and fundraising auction to benefit the Women’s Resource Center. This signature event will take place on Saturday, April 27, 2019 from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at the historic Hotel Viking in Newport, R.I. Hundreds of attendees are expected to gather for an evening of cocktails, dinner, music and dancing. Both silent and live auctions will provide an opportunity for attendees to bid on items including vacations, artwork, sports memorabilia, and more.

Proceeds from the event will help fund the domestic violence prevention activities of the Women’s Resource Center, including advocacy, education and support services for women, men, children and families throughout Newport and Bristol counties. “Specifically, the WRC helps survivors of domestic violence find a safe haven at our emergency shelter and transitional housing locations, navigate the legal and court systems, and obtain counseling for the emotional trauma from abuse,” states Lori N. DiPersio, executive director of the Women’s Resource Center. “We provide all of these services for free, thanks to the generosity of donors at fundraising events like our Butterfly Ball.”

Honorary Chair of the Butterfly Ball is Melindah Archana Sharma, a former Portsmouth, RI resident and senior director of Program and Portfolio Management at Johnson & Johnson, now based in New Jersey. WRC Board Secretary Kerri Bruneau, a coding specialist at nThrive Solutions, LLC, serves as chair.

“The gala is aptly named because the butterfly symbolizes the transformation a domestic violence survivor undergoes to rebuild their life. Since 1977, the Women’s Resource Center has empowered survivors, helping them break free from their cocoon, spread their wings, and fly,” notes WRC Board President Nicole J. Benjamin, Esq., shareholder and litigator at Adler Pollock and Sheehan P.C.

Corporate sponsorships for the Butterfly Ball are now available. For more information on sponsorship packages, to donate silent or live auction items, or to purchase individual and group tickets, visit www.wrcnbc.org or call 401-846-5263.

A member of the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Women’s Resource Center serving Newport and Bristol Counties (WRC) was founded in 1977 to provide comprehensive domestic violence intervention and prevention services that educate, advocate, and shelter any individual in need of assistance. Each year, WRC helps women, children, families, men and the elderly to obtain the services they need to secure their physical, mental, emotional and financial safety from domestic abuse. Main Office: 114 Touro Street, Newport, R.I.; Phone: 401-846-5263; Warren Office: 624 Main Street, Warren, R.I.; Website: www.wrcnbc.org; facebook.com/wrcnbc.