Mardi Gras For Homeless Children 30th Annual Celebration
Mardi Gras for Homeless Children was created by the Northern Kentucky Restaurant Association (NKRA) in 1992 in response to the deaths of four local homeless children in an abandoned garage fire, and a subsequent article that reported there were 7,000 homeless children in the Greater Cincinnati area. NKRA wanted to increase awareness and raise funds to address this issue. Today, this number has swelled to 12,000 in the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky Region. The average age of a homeless child is 6 years old.
In 2004, numerous Cincinnati area restaurants also joined in to support this event and make this fundraiser a regional event. Restaurants on both sides of the River continue to revel in the opportunity to make a difference by participating in the original and only Mardi Gras for Homeless Children.
Originally, the goal was to raise enough money to feed homeless children at two area shelters for one year. That was surpassed and a third shelter was added. To date, the event has raised more than $2,022,000 of total proceeds since the event’s inception and now provides food for all three agencies for the period of one year!
While the annual event has had amazing successes, homelessness in our region remains and unsolved problem for the children caught in the crisis. This year, the event’s proceeds will benefit three shelters: Bethany House Services, Cincinnati; Bright Center Homeward Bound, Covington; and Welcome House of Northern Kentucky, Inc., Covington.
Tonight offers a once-in-a lifetime opportunity for everyone to give back while in the comfort of their homes. The agencies need more help NOW than ever before!
Mardi Gras King A Proud resident of Mason, OH, Scott Sloan has been at 700WLW for more than 10 years before accepting the full-time position in mid-days airing from 9a-12n. Scott has led the charge at 700WLW by tackling local issues, advocating change for the listeners, and engaging the audience more so than any other on-air personality at the station. His community centric show and comedic sense of humor has positioned him to have the most dialogue with local residents, drawing attention to local initiatives, including “Sloanie’s Law” where he fought to take down the speed traffic cameras of Elmwood Place in July of 2013 and WON! In fact, his show topics can likely be heard at the nearest water cooler every day!
Mardi Gras Queen Good Morning Cincinnati anchor Sheila Gray is thrilled to hear her alarm clock buzz in the middle of the night to bring the morning’s top stories to her friends in Queen City. Sheila is an Ohio native who spent most of her childhood in Sidney and is now a member of the Sidney City Schools Hall of Honor. She studied at the prestigious Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University, graduating Magna Cum Laude in just three years.
She began her career in Charleston, WV, eventually being named the 6:00 and 11:00 p.m. news anchor at WSAZ-TV. Sheila was recognized by the West Virginia Associated Press for her reporting. She then came to Cincinnati, where she co-hosted the morning news on WXIX-TV.
Her community involvement includes supporting Pink Ribbon Girls, Joe Nuxhall Scholarships and Miracle League Fields, the YMCA Career Women of Achievement, Mardi Gras for Homeless Children, and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Man and Woman of the Year. Sheila and her husband, Ric, are the parents of four children, Kasey, Kari, Katie, and Eric, and live in the Cincinnati area. Grand Marshal Giovani Bernard was the first running back selected in the 2013 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals (Round 2, 37th overall). As the most elusive back in the draft, Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis saw an opportunity to add the missing element to a team that was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs two of the past three seasons. Coach Lewis suggests that Bernard isn’t just a home-run threat who can break a few long runs, but a back who could carry the ball 25 times a game and help the Bengals win by grinding it out.
The NFL has quickly taken notice of Giovani as he was filmed throughout HBO’s series “Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Cincinnati Bengals.” Fantasy football owners across the nation have also recognized Giovani’s talents as his average draft position climbed the rankings to 61st overall on CBSSports.com and 77th overall on ESPN.com
2013 NFL Hall of Fame wide receiver Chris Carter was the first to take notice of Giovani’s skills, having been one of his Pop Warner coaches at home in South Florida. Carter planned for his own son to attend St. Thomas Aquinas, a private school in Ft. Lauderdale with one of the successful NFL pipelines of any prep program in the country. Carter thought Bernard could play at that level too and he was correct. Giovani enjoyed success at St. Thomas Aquinas, which opened the door to a fill scholarship offer from then- Head Coach Butch Davis at the University of North Carolina.
At UNC Giovani dominated the competition in the ACC and finished his career as one of the top running backs in UNC history. In 2012, Giovani set an ACC record with the highest all-purpose yards avg. per game in a single season (198.1 ypg) and had one of the most electrifying game winning punt returns in all of college football vs. rival NC State. Giovani is committed to giving back to the community and is starting at his roots. The RUN GIO Foundation is a non-profit organization that aims to provide children of Haiti with an opportunity for a quality education.
Inspired by his mother, he built Le Jardin Vert de Josettes’, or Josette’s Green Garden, 1st classroom with the help of family and friends. His dream is to have multiple classrooms, ring a courtyard and the goal is to fund the expansion entirely through his foundation. In addition to supporting education, his foundation hopes to provide youth football camps, free of charge, to children who may not have had the opportunity to attend otherwise. He is a firm believer that sports build character in a positive, healthy, and familiar environment.
In 2019, Giovani married his college sweetheart Chloe, was made a captain of the Cincinnati Bengals and was nominated as the Cincinnati Bengals “Walter Payton Man of the Year!”
When Giovani is not on the field making defenders miss, he can be found spending time with friends, family or playing with his Yorkshire Terrier “Scrappy.” Mardi Gras Jester Bob Herzog joined the Local 12 team at the end of 2005. He anchors Good Morning Cincinnati with John Lomax and Sheila Gray.
Bob is a Cincinnati guy. More specifically, he is a proud West Side guy. As a hometown boy, he takes special pride in getting involved in community events. Bob is always inspired to see neighbors helping neighbors and friends helping friends.
He graduated from Oak Hills Hill School and Xavier University. Bob also obtained a law degree from Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky University.
Bob loves all kinds of music and movies and has a passion for basketball, but his number one hobby is spending time with his wife and four children.
Dual Masters of Ceremonies
Pulling double duty this year, Scott Sloan is acting as both King and one of the Masters of Ceremonies!
Dual Masters of Ceremonies
Hey! it’s ya girl Tiff! I’m pretty easy to talk to and I love to make new friends. A New England native, you can hear me on Kiss 107.1 adding local flare to the Brook & Jubal Morning Show, reporting the latest news, or looping you in on need to know local and pop culture moments with the “Tiff Breakdown.” I hold it down for the ladies in the Kiss music department connecting fans to new artists, and songs they will fall in love with. My current obsession is podcasts. I started my radio journey as a receptionist answering calls and taking names, eventually working my way up to afternoon traffic anchor and overnights! Outside of the radio studio, you can find me either running, checking DM's, eating a donut, at a concert with friends, or on the road hosting partner and community events – all of which is very well documented on Instagram!
Benefitting Agencies Bethany House Services 1841 Fairmount Avenue, Cincinnati OH 45214 513-921-1131 www.bethanyhouseservices.org
Bethany House is the tri-state’s largest emergency shelter for families experiencing homelessness, sheltering over 60% of the families who receive services through the regional hotline. Founded in 1983, our mission is to empower homeless and at-risk families with the solutions to achieve housing stability and long-term self-sufficiency. Our vision is to live in a community where all families have a place to call home and no one spend a night without shelter. Bethany House helps bring families experiencing homelessness one step closer to home and provides the support they need to remain stably housed.
Bethany House provides comprehensive family-centered services including homeless prevention, shelter diversion, emergency shelter, re- housing programs, post-shelter support and affordable housing. We provide safety, shelter, food, clothing, life skills classes, case management, children’s programs, and physical and mental health care access.
Our goal is to provide immediate safety and to help families achieve long-term stability.
Our programs work:
• Bethany House served more than 900 families, including more than 2,300 children, across all programs last year. • 96% of families leaving Bethany House moved to positive housing. • Of the families that left the shelter two years ago to a permanent housing situation, 92.6% have not returned to a homelessness.
Mardi Gras 2021 will help to feed the hundreds of children who will be sheltered in one of the five Bethany House locations this year. Brighton Center’s Homeward Bound for Youth 13-15 East 20th Street, Covington, KY 41011 859-581-1111, www.brightoncenter.com
Brighton Center’s Homeward Bound is the only 24-hour emergency shelter solely for youth in the Northern Kentucky region. We provide a safe environment and residential treatment services for youth, ages 11- 17, who have been abused, and/or neglected, have runaway, or are homeless. Homeward Bound provides temporary shelter, food, clothing, assessment, counseling, case management, transportation, outreach, educational, recreational, and aftercare services. Youth who feel at risk of any danger can be admitted as a walk-in without discrimination.
At Homeward Bound, we emphasize family engagement when appropriate and do our best to keep youth attending their home school. Homeward Bound utilizes a trauma-informed approach focused on positive youth development, to not only keep residents safe, but help them learn important life skills, set personal goals, and increase their chances of success. Last year, Homeward Bound served 370 youth and families. It is only with your support that we can empower youth to make a difference in their own lives to develop their full potential.
. Welcome House 205 Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 859-431-8717, www.welcomehouseky.org/
Our vision is to be a leader in guiding clients from housing uncertainty to housing stability. We accomplish this through the services we provide, such as housing, service coordination, and outreach and stability.
Our mission is to provide a continuum of services that will end homelessness and promote stability for each person we serve.3
In 2019, Welcome House served 3,567 clients. 207 individuals stayed at the Welcome House Shelter for Homeless Women and Children (132 adults and 75 children). The average length of stay at the Shelter was 56 days.
99% of the households met and worked with a Service Coordinator to establish goals pertaining to income and housing.
69% exited shelter into positive housing outcomes.
Special Thanks to our Mardi Gras Agency Volunteers
Bethany House Services Susan Schiller, Deanna Powell, Gage Woolley
Brighton Center Homeward Bound Wonda Winkler, Lauren Copeland, Kate Arthur, Kate Eder, Dawn Carson, Michelle Bullis
Welcome House of Northern Kentucky, Inc. Danielle Amrine, Kelly Rose, Sara Kahmann
And all the numerous other agency volunteers who make this event so successful!
Silent Auction WE HAVE GONE DIGITAL 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. This year to bid on the silent auction items you will need to register. There are a few simple ways to register:
1. To register via text- a. Text mghc2021 to 76278 b. Reply to the text message you receive with your first and last name. c. Reply to the text message you receive, after sending your name, with your email address (email is for receiving receipts only). d. Click on the Blue Link you will receive to access the event site 2. To register via online – a. Go to https://mghc2021.givesmart.com b. In the top right-hand corner, click Sign In or Register c. Click Register Now d. Enter in your information, including your phone number (this is so we can send updates if you’ve been outbid or have won an item and the end of the night)
At the end of the auction (8:30PM) you will be notified via text if you have won an item and you can pay for your item with the credit card on file by clicking on the link you receive in the text message. By 9:15 PM if you haven’t paid for the items you have won, the credit card on file will be automatically charged.
Silent Auction Pickup
For the item pickup, an email will be sent out to the emails on file within the GiveSmart site, explaining the times and dates for pickup. Special Thanks to Our Presenting Sponsors: Mercedes-Benz of Fort Mitchell & The Wyler Family Foundation
Royal Court Sponsor: T.L. Ashford
King Sponsors: Commonwealth Hotels, LLC Commonwealth Hotel Collection, LLC Heidt Family Foundation
Queen Sponsors: AAV Security American Mortgage Service Company Cincinnati Friends of Charity Corporex Fifth Third Bank Newport Gaming USI Insurance
Jester Sponsors: Bean Haus Bramel & Ackley, PSC Brand It for Good Chefs’ Warehouse Cheviot Charitable Foundation Cincinnati Bell Fidant Wealth Partners First Financial Bank Jester Sponsors (continued): Hudson Oil Humana Paradigm Pain & Spine Paramount Advantage Rowekamp Family SECO Sisters of Charity Turner Construction Unistrut Welcome House Board of Directors YMCA of Greater Cincinnati
Platinum Sponsors: C-Forward Diehaus Ecolab Hoynes Family Charitable Fund KMK Law Skyline Chili, Inc. St. Elizabeth Healthcare Strategic Benefits USI Insurance
Promotional Sponsors: iHeart Media 700 WLW Kiss 107.1 FM Local 12 WKRC-TV Starr Printing
A Very Special Thanks to the Marge & Charles J. Schott Foundation Party at Home Kit Sponsors: Hard Truth Distilling Jefferson’s Bourbon Republic National Distributing Company Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits Tito’s Handmade Vodka
Special Thanks to Our Mardi Gras Committee Gordy Snyder, Chairman Pat O’Callaghan, Jim MacFarlane, Vice-Chairman Executive Committee Members: Chris Cunningham, John Ellison, Tim Eversole, Mike Houle, Evan Koller Event Coordinators: Liz Deardorff, Robyn Meyer
Committee Members:
Danielle Amrine Deanna Powell Kate Arthur Kelly Rose Dawn Carson Susan Schiller Lauren Copeland Sarah Stenger Kate Eder Hannah Theissen Tony Heim Wonda Winkler Sara Kahmann Gage Woolley Jennifer Motley
Special Thanks to The Metropolitan Club
Special Thanks to The Northern Kentucky Restaurant Association