"An Evening of Unexpected Delights" was hosted by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake at the Baltimore Convention Center and catered by Centerplate which helped to raise over $300,000 to battle homelessness. Over 500 people were in attendance. The event is to benefit Baltimore's "The Journey Home" - Baltimore's 10-year plan to end homelessness.
Another surprise guest in attendance was the former Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman Jonathan Ogden. He pleased the crowd as the guest bartender for the evening.
A live auction of four vacation packages and Chef entertainments turned into a wonderful show as Robert B.
McArtor with Tidewater Auctions had the crowd roaring with applause and on their feet as the bidding increased with excitement. "I was excited as bidding became fierce...$15...$17...$21 thousand dollars for a trip to New York to see the farewell live taping of Regis and Kelly....its for the homeless....Baltimore should be proud of its generous citizens", Robert said.
Jewel was the best kept secret of the event. Many in the crowd held back tears as she spoke of living homeless and living out of her car in the early 1990's. She performed her song "Hands" as photographs of homelessness flashed behind her on the screens.
"I would like to personally thank Desmond Hague and Centerplate for their generous support of our efforts to make homelessness rare and brief in Baltimore," said Rawlings-Blake. "Centerplate's contribution will go a long way to support critical priorities under the Journey Home plan including employment training, placement services and education support for youth experiencing homelessness."
All proceeds from the benefit will provide funding for two critical Journey Home priorities: an employment program that will operate out of three emergency shelters and the hiring of coordinators to support the academic and social needs of the 1,000 homeless youth living in shelters
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