Live Auction Items Unveiled!

Sunflower Kids is thrilled to announce that we are hosting a Live Auction!  On Wednesday, October 14th, Murray McCandless will emcee our live auction at Crank + Boom, 1210 Manchester St., Lexington, KY 40504.

Ticket price is $15/person and food and beverages are included!  Event and silent auction begin at 6:00 p.m. and live auction begins at 7:00 p.m.

Here's a preview of some of the outstanding items that will be available during the live auction.

Buffalo Trace Barrel Select 

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for an individual or a group of friends!   Join Master Distiller Harlen Wheatley as a VIP guest on Buffalo Trace’s distillery grounds to hand-select your very own barrel of premium bourbon!  Harlen will offer you bourbon samples taken directly from four barrels.  Tasting is done at barrel strength and then again at 60 proof, allowing the product’s natural aromas and flavors to come through.  Once you choose your bourbon, the barrel is set aside and prepared for bottling.  Each bottle will have a custom sticker letting everyone know it was specially selected!  And you get to keep the barrel!  

Bottle of Pappy Van Winkle 20 year 

Pappy Van Winkle 20 year is now one of the rarest, most expensive, and most sought after bourbons. Considered by many to be the world’s finest bourbon, this blend has been given a 99 out of 100 rating by the World Spirits Championship. This bourbon is aged 20 years and bottled at 90.4 proof for a wonderfully smooth and rich profile.
Generously donated by Matt & Mandy Higgins.

2 Tickets to Phil Dunn's Cooking Class

Local gourmet guru, Chef Phil Dunn, was chosen as Queen Elizabeth’s personal chef on her first trip to Kentucky.  In his class, learn tips and techniques for crafting gourmet meals in a state-of-the-art showroom kitchen. Part educational, part social and fully delicious, Chef Dunn's class is always a recipe for a good time. Afterward, enjoy the fruits of your labor with one of the best meals you will ever eat! 
Generously donated by Phil Dunn, himself!

4 Tickets to UK Men's Basketball Game

Have dinner at one of Lexington's best restaurants - Nick Ryan's!  Then you and three friends cheer on the cats LIVE as they go head to head with the University of Georgia on Tuesday, February 9, 2016!
Tickets generously donated by Kip Cornett at Cornett Marketing; meal generously donated by Nick Ryan's

AND MORE!

2nd Annual Trivia Night & Silent Auction

It's time to gather again for a night of brain teasers, beer, and bragging rights!  That's because Sunflower Kids is planning our 2nd Annual Trivia Night and Silent Auction fundraiser. 

How can I participate?
1) Be a Sponsor!

Don’t miss the chance to tell the crowd of 100+ that you support Sunflower Kids and its efforts to reduce family violence!  Become a sponsor and know that you are supporting a great cause. Sponsorship starts at $100.  Opportunities are listed below.

Exclusive Event Sponsor - $500

Hospitality Sponsor - $200

Round Sponsor - $100

Silent Auction Contributor

In-Kind Contributor

For more information about the benefits of each level of sponsorship, please click here. 
To register and pay for a sponsorship online, please click here.

2) Register for Trivia!
Vie for bragging rights in this battle of the brains!  Tickets are $30 per person.  Register a team here or register as an individual here (when registering as an individual you will be asked if you want to be placed on a team or already have a team).

2014 was a GREAT year!

2014 was a busy year for Sunflower Kids!  With the help of our community partners and supporters like you, we were able to serve more families and provide more services than ever before!

Thank you!

To see a bit of what we were up to in 2014, look at our highlights below.

Calling All Smarty Pants!

Sunflower Kids is hosting a Trivia Night fundraiser.  We'll have lots of fun, food, beer, and trivia!

When: Friday, November 7, 2014 at 6:00 p.m.
Where: The Plantory at 501 West Sixth Street
Cost: $30 per trivia participant, $20 per event ticket (i.e. those not participating in trivia)




Beer, soda, water, and light hors d'oeuvres are included in the ticket price.  There are also some awesome prizes up for grabs, so be sure to bring cash to participate in games and raffles!

Details:

• Doors open at 6PM, Trivia begins at 7PM
• Teams will consist of 4-6 players.
• There will be 6 themed rounds of 10 questions each, as well as a half-time and a final round.  Themes include music, pop culture, sports, science, and more.
• Cell phones are NOT permitted during trivia rounds.

How can I participate?
1) Be a Captain SmartyPants!
When you become a Captain SmartyPants, you are responsible for finding other team members and making sure each team member is registered.  Pick a name for your team, find a team costume (optional), and prepare your brain for the fun!

You can either register yourself and the whole team at once or register just yourself and ask each team member to do the same.  Be sure everyone knows the chosen team name to enter where prompted so we can match you up as a team. 

2) Join a team.
If you are recruited by a Captain SmartyPants to join a team then start studying!  Check with the Captain SmartyPants to see if you have already been registered or if you need to register yourself.  Be sure to find out the name of your team so you can enter it where prompted.

3) Let us put you on a team.
If you don't have a team but still want to join the fun, register as an individual and check the option for us to place you on a team.

4) Not interested in playing trivia?  Come hang out!
We won't hold it against you if you don't like trivia.  Come hang out anyway!  $20 gets you in the door and there will be opportunities to win prizes! Register as an attendee and purchase tickets here!

5) Tell others!
Know of a business or organization who wants to get in on the fun?  Let them know there are event sponsorship opportunities. Find out more here.

Register just yourself or purchase event ticket here.

Register yourself and a team here.

Have questions about the event or registration?  Contact Stephanie at sunflowerkidsky@gmail.com.

Jail and Bail Update

Let's check in on our jailbirds and see who will be walking free on Friday and who will be behind bars!  

If you want to help keep any of our jailbirds out of jail, please donate to their bail by 12:00 noon on Friday, May 23.  To do so, just go to www.sunflowerkids.org and click on the orange Donate Now button in the right corner at the top of the page.


Pictures will happen as soon as blogger decides it wants to cooperate!

Alex Horn
Aliases: Mrs. Fallon, Mama's Girl, Al, Neat Freak
Crimes: Jogging from the law, watching too much TV, being a cleaning machine

Bail: $500
Progress Towards Bail: $410

.
Amanda Bourgeois
Aliases: Nurse Ninja, Preppy Partier, Optimistic Believer
Crimes: Loving life, lavishly using emojis, throwing parties, saving lives, rooting for the Red Wings

Bail: $500
Progress Towards Bail: $200

.
Boyd Browning
Aliases: BTB, Boyd "Bear Bryant", Pops, Wise Guy
Crimes: Pushing ponies, cracking bad jokes, having too much Kentucky pride

Bail: $500
Progress Towards Bail: $725 (OFF THE CHARTS!!)

.

Desha Scanlon
Aliases: Shaballs, Proud Mama, Crafty $!%&#, Happy Hippie
Crimes: Fashioning fabulous wreaths, rooting for Betty Gone Wild, professing the perfectness of pugs

Bail: $500
Progress Towards Bail: $185 (+$215 pledged)






Jerry Parsons
Aliases: Gary, The Prankster, Proud Papa, Sugar Britches
Crimes: Pulling pranks, kicking ass, working hard, cleaning cars, sipping Starbucks

Bail: $500
Progress Towards Bail: $0


Mandy Higgins
Aliases: Doc, Famed Feminist, Aunt Mandy, Alpha Gam
Crimes: Being Kentucky proud, spouting those liberal views, moving and shaking, rooting for the wildcats

Bail: $500
Progress Towards Bail: $330


Paige Browning
Aliases: Paigey, Rupert's Mama, Road Runner, Daddy's Girl, Super Sister
Crimes: Hoarding pens and other office supplies, dreaming about London, chasing Chase, surviving grad school

Bail: $500
Progress Towards Bail: $370


Stephanie Hoffman
Aliases: Proud Mama, Hot Chocolate Hoarder, Grace
Crimes: Being close enough (usually), changing names, wielding the hand of Stephanie

Bail: $500
Progress Towards Bail: $725


Susan Kennedy
Aliases: Little Miss Magic, Queen of Somewhere Hot, Parrothead, Pround Mama
Crimes: Blowing out flip flops, wasting away in Margaritaville, partying for a cause, moving and shaking, sitting poolside

Bail: $500
Progress Towards Bail: $595

This Friday, May 23 is Sunflower Kids' 2nd Jail and Bail! We've got a new cast of characters that need bailing out this year.  If you would like to help someone raise their bail, please visit our web site at www.sunflowerkids.org and make a tax-deductible donation toward someone's bail.  Just don't forget to tell us who you are bailing out!

Jerry Parsons, Lexington Police Department

Mandy Higgins, Bluegrass Community & Technical College

 Boyd Browning, Fasig-Tipton

Susan Kennedy, Fowler Bell

Desha Scanlon, University of Kentucky College of Social Work

Paige Browning, University of Kentucky College of Social Work

Amanda Ward, Central Baptist Hospital

SUFY

SUFY Hosts Breakfast for Child Abuse Prevention Month!

 

Sunflower Kids is a founding member of Stand Up for Youth (SUFY), a group of local agencies working together to bring attention to the issue of child abuse and neglect.  The group is comprised of members representing Sunflower Kids, CHES Solutions, Key Assets, CASA, Kids First, Fayette County Public Schools, the Plantory, and Wellcare.  

From left to right: Rashmi Adi-Brown, CHES Solutions Group; Janet Gates, CASA; Angela Baldridge (and Elvis), the Plantory; Ashley Dotson, SFK; Jennifer Hall, Key Assets; Brittany Arthur, Wellcare; Kellie Kozee Warren, Kids First; Kristen Jenkins, Kids First and Children's Advocacy Center; Stephanie Hoffman, SFK; Alex Horn, SFK

 In celebration of Child Abuse Prevention Month SUFY hosted a breakfast to honor those who work hard on behalf of children's safety.  We recognized a few superstars and were able to celebrate with lots of people doing wonderful work on behalf of children!

From left to right: Tammie Franks, Fayette County Public Schools; Chris Townsend, Fayette County Public Schools; Shana Turner, Department of Community Based Services; Missy Blakeman, Department of Community Based Services

Other superstars attended to show their support and willingness to STAND UP FOR YOUTH!

Tom Shelton, Superintendent of Fayette County Public Schools

Beth Mills, LFUCG Commissioner for Social Services

Grace Akers, Department of Community Based Services

Judge John Schrader, Fayette County Family Court Judge

Jennifer McVay Martin, Attorney

Nicole Prebeck, Attorney

Peter Brown, Attorney

Crystal McVay Shepard, Attorney

Chris Groeber, CEO of Key Assets KY