2025 Gala: Beyond Bright
Bright Futures Gala
Friday, October 2, 2026
Our Bright Futures Gala, Where Wonder Begins, brought our community back to The Children’s House campus on Friday, October 2, 2026. With 160 guests in attendance, the evening offered a beautiful opportunity to experience our school in a whole new way and to share in the wonder our children get to be part of every day.
Guests enjoyed a lively cocktail hour and silent auction throughout the school, with each classroom helping contribute to the auction experience. The evening continued with a fantastic live auction, live music, and a record-breaking paddle raise.
Because of your incredible support, the gala raised more than $200,000 for the Bright Futures Fund, making it the largest fundraising event in The Children’s House’s history!
For the first time ever, we were honored to have three Founders Circle sponsors: Freshwater Development, Highstreet Insurance Partners, and Northwestern Michigan Dermatology. Their leadership, along with the generosity of everyone who attended and contributed, made this milestone possible.
A special thank you to Andrea Deibler, The Children’s House chef, for creating a delicious meal; Chad Schrader, Chris Sterr, and the Timebombs, who provided the evening’s fantastic live music and facilitated our AV; and Wade Leist, our auctioneer, for keeping the energy high throughout the evening.
We are also incredibly grateful to our gala committee: Hanna Kleb, Emily Kolassa, Matt Lockemy, and Erin Lutke, whose time, creativity, and care helped bring Where Wonder Begins to life.
Most of all, we are grateful to everyone who joined us and helped make this evening such a success. Bringing the gala back to our beautiful school and campus gave our guests the chance to experience firsthand the curiosity, connection, and wonder that fill these halls every day. Thank you for helping us ensure that wonder continues to begin here.
The 40th Anniversary of The Children’s House
We proudly premiered this video at the gala. Watch to learn about our school outcomes through an alumni lens and current students' perspectives.
Sincere thanks to our 2025 sponsors:
Founders Circle Partners
Freshwater Development, Highstreet Insurance Partners, and Northwestern Michigan Dermatology
Community Champions
Events North and M&M Garage Doors
Supporting Partners
Form Modern Pilates, Independent Bank, Rehmann, and Cherry Capital Airport
Friends of the Children’s House: Silver
4Front Credit Union, Brick & Corbett, iSee Communications, KAL Excavating, Mark and Karen Lundmark, Neighbor, State Savings Bank, and Traverse City Orthodontics
Friends of The Children’s House: Bronze
AGS Adventure Golf & Sports, D&W Mechanical, Jersey Mike’s, Modern Bird, National Writers Series, Sandbox Alliance, TBA Credit Union, The Schofield Family, Williams Chevrolet, and Wiggle Butts & Waggin Tails
In honor of our 40th anniversary, Michele Shane, Steve Maas, Alison Breithaupt, and DiAnn Service reminisce about their long careers at our school.
Upcoming Events
Save the Dates!
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Bright Futures on the Fairway
Monday, May 17th, 2027
Join us at The Traverse City Country Club for a golf outing supporting our school community.
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Gala 2026: Where Wonder Begins
Friday, October 2nd at The Children’s House
This magical evening will celebrate the joy, curiosity, and promise that begin right here, at The Children’s House.
