Night of Giving at Design Connections Benefits Families of First Responders

No Design Connections event would be complete without a Night of Giving. Each edition, interiors+sources plans an evening where attendees can put their creative talents toward a good cause. At February’s Design Connections, designers painted works of art that will be auctioned off to support the local Two Hundred Club of the Coastal Empire in Savannah, GA.

Photo: Doug Weathers, secretary of the Savannah, GA, nonprofit Two Hundred Club, addresses Design Connections attendees about the impact their donation of artwork they created will have on the families of first responders in Savannah who die in the line of duty.

The nonprofit organization provides financial assistance to the surviving spouses and children of local law enforcement officers and firefighters who lose their lives in the line of duty while protecting their communities.

After a line-of-duty death, the Two Hundred Club provides the surviving spouse or family members significant and immediate financial assistance, along with a fully paid college education to the surviving family members, including tuition, room and board, textbooks and a computer. Every year thereafter, the Two Hundred Club gives financial assistance for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and red roses on Mother’s Day.

Photo: Attendees spent the evening painting works of art in teams, which will be auctioned and the proceeds given to the local Two Hundred Club.

For those critically injured in the line of duty, the Two Hundred Club provides a one-time financial contribution to the first responder and their family. To date, the Two Hundred Club has donated more than $2 million in aid to beneficiaries.

Teamwork Toward a Cause

Design Connections attendees were organized into groups and tasked with replicating a single painting using multiple panels, which required coordination and teamwork. The evening is a lively and fun way to wrap up the day’s activities that also makes designers feel good about the work they’re doing.

Doug Weathers, secretary of the Two Hundred Club, expressed his deep appreciation to all the participants for donating their time and talents, and expressed optimism for how much impact these works of art will make to the beneficiaries.

“The Two Hundred Club really appreciates the donation of all of the paintings [from the Design Connections’ Night of Giving]. We’re going to auction off these paintings, and I do believe that they are going to be very valuable – probably a lot more valuable than some of the artists may think because we have a very giving organization,” Weathers says.

Stay tuned this spring for an update on the financial impact the Night of Giving event made by visiting interiorsandsources.com. For more information on the Two Hundred Club, visit https://twohundredclub.org/.