2ND ANNUAL CASINO ROYALE TO BENEFIT SIGHT-SAVING PROGRAMS OF NORTHERN PLAINS EYE FOUNDATION

August 25, 2014

The upcoming fall Casino Royale charity affair is “a party with a purpose.”  Casino Royale, slated for Saturday, September 20, at the Hilton Garden Inn Rapid City, will feature an evening of socializing, elegant hors d’oeuvres and desserts, casino-style fun, silent and live auctions and more to benefit the sight-saving programs of the Northern Plains Eye Foundation (NPEF).

Northern Plains Eye Foundation (NPEF) is holding its second annual Casino Royale Charity Affair, a “Party with a Purpose,” Saturday, September 20, at the Hilton Garden Inn Rapid City. Community members from across the Black Hills are invited to attend the casino-themed event benefitting NPEF’s programs to protect and preserve vision and restore sight.

Casino Royale Charity Affair is an evening of socializing, elegant hors d’oeuvres, casino-style fun, silent and live auctions, raffles, and more according to NPEF Executive Director Ronda Gusinsky. Guests, with fun-money chips in-hand, can challenge local “celebrity” dealers at blackjack and Texas hold’em poker, or try their hand at the casino-style craps and roulette tables. New this year are guest caricatures by illustrator Alyssa Tanner and the Plinko “Playoffs.”

Adding to the festivities, local auctioneer, Joe Bennington, will be working the crowd for the highest bids on live auction pieces, such as the “Hook, Dine & Spirts” experience package that includes a guided fishing trip on the Missouri River, accommodations at Oahe Marina, Bickering Brothers Dakota Spirits Distillery tour and sampling of its collection of artisan spirits, and dinner at Italian eatery, La Minestra. Some of the other auction pieces include limited edition collector’s Budweiser Sturgis Buffalo Chip neon sign art, Jimmy Choo crystal-embellished sunglasses, baseball souvenirs autographed by Mark Ellis, Jon Crane’s The McGillycuddy House, and a pheasant hunt at FrogvilleUSA in northeastern South Dakota.  

“Casino Royale offers a fun and rather unique opportunity for our Foundation to come together with our community,” Gusinsky said. “It’s a great mix of people from eye doctors and others within the eye care industry, to individuals from businesses and organizations throughout the region, and anything in between. It’s a couple hours of fun and games that gives us a touchpoint to meet people and raise funds to continue the important work we do.”

Proceeds from the benefit are dedicated to NPEF’s community service program outreach. The Northern Plains Eye Foundation Western South Dakota Lions Children’s Vision Screening Initiative (CVSI), a key area of community involvement, provides free vision screenings for pre-school and elementary school children by means of partnerships with area eye care professionals and local Lions Clubs. Through CVSI, over 5,000 children in our region have received free vision screenings.

In addition to CVSI, Foundation outreach includes Christmas Gift of Sight and Workplace Vision Wellness programs, as well as the Dr. Paul L. Zimmerman Memorial Scholarship. Since 2008, Christmas Gift of Sight has provided over two dozen sight-saving surgeries, helping those underserved in our community regain their vision, but most importantly, independence, mobility and quality of life. Workplace Vision Wellness offers a seminar on workplace eye safety for the construction and trades industries covering topics such as workplace eye hazards, types of eye protection and what to do in the case of an eye injury. In order to make certain there is quality eye care for future generations, NPEF annually awards the Dr. Paul L. Zimmerman Memorial Scholarship to a fourth year student with an expressed interest in ophthalmology or optometry, who has been accepted into The University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine.

Casino Royale is presented by Black Hills Surgical Hospital. Supporting sponsors are The Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy, Black Hills Power/Black Hills Corporation, Slingsby & Wright Eye Care, and Essilor, the world’s leading provider of eyeglass lenses.

For more information on Casino Royale, including the complete auction collection and RSVP area, go to www.NPEF.org and click on Events & Fundraisers. Or, contact NPEF at (605) 716-6733. A donation of $35 is suggested at the door. RSVPs are appreciated, but not required.

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Last Modified: 08/29/2014 8:51:17 am MDT

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