Alaska CHARR Stuns Kenai Non-Profit with Fundraising Effort 

The Alaska Cabaret Hotel and Restaurant Retailers Association (CHARR) hosted their 54^th annual conference and Charity Auction Dinner in Kenai, Alaska Wednesday night, Oct. 15. The event raised just over $70,000 for Freedom House, a Soldotna faith-based recovery center for men and women struggling with drug and alcohol addiction. The live auction event featured a range of vacation and recreational packages, several of which were donated back to the charity for multiple rounds of bidding on the same package.     

“This has to be one of the most incredible demonstrations of generosity and selfless support for a community in need that I have ever witnessed,” said Paul Thomas, Chairman of CHARR’s board. “CHARR has always been a very giving organization, but I’ve never witnessed anything quite like this. I am proud of what our organization was able to do.”  

CHARR, one of the longest serving trade associations in Alaska, has approximately 640 members consisting of hotels, restaurants and bars throughout Alaska. It has local chapters in major communities around the state and rotates its annual membership meetings around Alaska. This year’s conference was based in Soldotna, but Wednesday’s banquet was at the Challenger Learning Center in Kenai.   

Jennifer Waller, the founder of Freedom House, was speechless. “Words cannot begin to express our gratitude. We are 100% dependent on private donations to support our work and the lives that this donation will impact and perhaps save is truly God’s work.”  

During the auction, Waller presented a slideshow detailing almost $1m of renovation work for both a men’s and women’s shelter, entirely achieved by local donations of money and labor. Personal stories were shared by former participants of the Freedom House program.