Support Family Place, Local Businesses With Partners Card
Annual fundraiser comes with more online shopping opportunities this year
From the tornado that hit North Dallas last year to the COVID-19 pandemic this year, Partners Card organizers have learned to adapt to help meet the community’s needs.
Last year, the tornado prompted an expansion of Partners Card dates for affected retailers for an additional week, and, this year, Partners Card increased online participants as the pandemic prompted more to shop online.
“After 28 years, we are fortunate to have retailers and supporters who are willing and able to grow with us as we continue Partners Card,” said Grace Dewar Fraker, Partners Card development manager.
Each year, the Partners Card fundraiser raises money for The Family Place by selling $75 cards that offer buyers discounts at many retailers and restaurants across the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Lexie Aderhold, Tully Phillips, and Sally Pretorius Hodge are chairing the 28th annual fundraiser, scheduled for Oct. 30-Nov. 8.
Aderhold is a Dallas native who worked in the marketing group at American Airlines for several years before leading the digital media practice at SparkFarm, a female-owned boutique marketing agency. Phillips and her family also live in Dallas, and for nine years, she owned a gluten-free bakery in both Dallas and New York City. Hodge is board certified in family law by the Texas Board of Specialization and is a shareholder at KoonsFuller Family Law in Dallas.
“I think that right when we started getting started planning and really ramping up is right when the pandemic hit.”
Sally pretorius Hodge
Dallas lifestyle blogger Tanya Foster will be this year’s honorary chair. Before blogging, Foster was the president and CEO of the Dallas International Film Festival and a non-profit consultant.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better team to work with, to be honest,” Pretorius Hodge said. “We’ve had to be super flexible. I think that right when we started getting started planning and really ramping up is right when the pandemic hit.
“One of the things that we’ve been focusing on is really promoting some online shopping. I know that online shopping has been one of the things that we’ve done in the past, and we’ve offered to our stores, but we’ve really been pushing that this year,” she said.
Pretorius Hodge added that the pandemic also underscored the importance of The Family Place’s work in stopping family violence.
“One good thing that’s come from the pandemic is that everybody really understood that being home and in isolation can lead to a lot of problems that aren’t necessarily addressed when people aren’t out seeing their friends or they don’t have the ability to reach out, so thankfully that has just widened awareness, and I think made people open their hearts a little bit more, and I’m hoping that that’ll really help this year with Partners Card,” she said.
Dewar Fraker added that The Family Place stayed open throughout the pandemic and accepted new clients who needed to move into a safe place.
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