The 2022 ReSurge Transformations Gala: A Global Festival was a huge success! Thank you to everyone who joined us, either in person or in spirit, to celebrate ReSurge’s mission and impact. This year’s gala took place at the Palace of Fine Arts on April 23rd, and celebrated our international community, and the 19 countries where ReSurge currently works. Read on to get the highlights of the evening, access all the photos from the gala, and watch our mission video!
The evening started with a cocktail reception, sponsored by Carlson Beck. Guests had specialty cocktails, passed appetizers representing different countries, and a champagne toast. Guests were also able to interact with art installations featuring facts about ReSurge around the world, continent lounge areas, and a silent auction table featuring 19 Country Mystery Boxes. The cocktail hour also featured a Magnum Mayhem, with 20 premium magnums up for auction.
After the cocktail hour, guests went into the dinner lounge for a delicious meal from McCalls Catering, and to enjoy the evening’s program.
2022 Transformations Gala Co-Chairs, Dr. Arvin Teneja and Dr. Tomas Davenport were the MCs of the evening along with ReSurge President and CEO, Jeff Whisenant, and Board Chair, Meredith Taylor. Dr. James Chang, ReSurge’s Consulting Medical Officer, spoke about our programs and funding needs, and volunteer auctioneer Lenny Broburg lead a lively auction benefiting our mission. We were blown away by the generosity of our guests in the room!
We were also proud to present the ‘Partner in Progress Award’ to SkinCeuticals, our partners in the Pioneering Women in Reconstructive Surgery (PWRS) Initiative. ReSurge Board Member and SkinCeuticals Senior VP of Marketing and Product Innovation, Derrick Booker, accepted the award.
One of the highlights of the evening was Special Guest Speaker, Dr. Seif Nuru who is the first Annual Scholar of the ReSurge International Program in Africa (RIPA) program. Dr. Nuru met ReSurge in 2015, when he was a general surgeon working in rural Tanzania. At that time there were no reconstructive surgeons in a country of 60 Million people. ReSurge sponsored him for a year of reconstructive surgery training in Uganda so that he could return to his hospital and help those patients in need.
Dr. Nuru gave an emotional speech about one of his patients in Tanzania, and how the training and support ReSurge gave him allowed him to treat the challenging case.
The evening concluded with dancing and a live performance by the Mitch Woods Band.
Want more? Access the full gallery of photos here and here. You can also keep the momentum going by donating to our programs here.
If you’d like to learn more about ReSurge, watch the below video, which premiered at the gala, to see how ReSurge is scaling up our model to enact a ripple effect of change.
Before you go, we want to send a huge thank you to our volunteers, staff, and generous sponsors who made this evening possible.
