On Thursday, June 11th, the Philadelphia chapter of The American Ireland Fund Young Leaders hosted the “Kickoff To Summer Celebration” on a hot evening at the picturesque Vesper Boathouse on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia.
As guests mingled over cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, guitarist Reed Kendall set the mood, playing traditional Irish tunes mixed with modern classics. Images of projects supported by The American Ireland Fund also played overhead, providing the supporters with a glimpse of the many projects that are supported by their donations.
As The Young Leaders sipped sun setter cocktails overlooking the river, National Director of The Young Leaders, Pat Tully, welcomed the guests and briefed them on the work of The American Ireland Fund and how their donations from the evening would go towards reaching the goal of raising $200 million for the Promising Ireland Campaign.
Philadelphia Young Leaders Steering Chair, Jason Early, followed and thanked the guests for supporting and encouraged the guests to get involved in the growing chapter in Philadelphia and to learn more about the great work being done on the ground in Ireland. The evening was also sponsored by Jason’s family foundation, The Brian H. Early Foundation.
Pat Tully used Jason’s inspiring words as a segue to start the live auction, offering items including tickets to the All-Ireland Hurling final, which were provided by our good friends at The Gaelic Players Association in Dublin and a VIP package to attend the International Rugby 7’s tournament in Las Vegas. Fierce and friendly bidding wars ensued and the winner overall, will be projects we support in Ireland.
The night continued with DJ Seamus spinning tunes and a raffle for two tickets to the Aer Lingus Football Classic in Dublin between Boston College and Georgia Tech to kickoff the 2016 College Football season.
The night was a big success thanks to the hard work of the event committee including Jason Early, Chris Carroll, Fran McCartan, Dan Heenan and Michael Nolan.
Special thanks to AIF Board Director Michael Gallagher and our sponsors: The Brian H. Early Foundation, Jameson and Sixpoint Brewery.
Photos by Perfect Day Photography, Philadelphia, PA.
