Put on your best outfit and fancy hat and join Deborah Meegan, the executive director of the Brandon Outreach Clinic, at the clinic’s First Annual Kentucky Derby Party on Saturday, May 5, from 4-8 p.m. Winthrop Barn.
What does the Kentucky Derby with its festive atmosphere, fancy hats and mint juleps have in common with the Brandon Outreach Clinic? The Brandon Outreach Clinic is hosting its First Annual Kentucky Derby Party on Saturday, May 5, from 4-8 p.m. at the Winthrop Barn Theatre, located at 11349 Bloomingdale Ave. in Riverview. Tickets are $75 per person. All proceeds will benefit the Brandon Outreach Clinic, the area’s only clinic providing free health care to the uninsured.
This is the first fundraiser that the Brandon Outreach Clinic has held. According to Deborah Meegan, executive director, “Every year, our expenses increase. We are also being forced to pay for some of the resources that were previously donated, such as lab work and medication. We are at capacity and our resources are stretched thin.” The clinic has been serving patients since 1989.
Each year, the Brandon Outreach Clinic provides more than 8,500 patient visits. This is done with the help of more than 220 active volunteers. Due to increasing costs of everything from lab tests to medications, the Brandon Outreach Clinic must find new and innovative ways to raise funds. “Need drove us to look for creative ways to raise money,” said Meegan. “We do not want to see people going to the hospital because they had no where to go to get care,” added Meegan.
The Brandon Outreach Clinic’s Kentucky Derby Party will be a fun and exciting event. You will be able to see a live stream of the race. You can enjoy heavy hors d’oeuvres and mint juleps. There will also be a Most Beautiful and Most Creative Ladies’ Hat contest as well as Dapper Gentleman contest. There will be a silent auction featuring great items such as Disney and Sea World tickets, dinner cruises and spa packages.
Meegan said, “The more funds we have, the more people we can care for throughout the year.” The Brandon Outreach Clinic is a needs based clinic. It serves its clients through the efforts of volunteer physicians, nurses, pharmacists and clerical workers. It cannot do what it does for so many without the support of the community.
The Brandon Outreach Clinic is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit located at 517 N. Parsons Ave. in Brandon. For more information and to get tickets to the Kentucky Derby Party, please call 654-1388 or visit www.brandonoutreachclinic.com.
