On Thursday, May 18th, we held First Bloom, our annual community awards gala. Almost 100 people joined us to celebrate the abortion access advocates who’ve made an impact on us this past year. It was beautiful to be in a community with so many pro-abortion folks!
This year, First Bloom became our first cocktail evening event, and our first in-person First Bloom in nearly four years! Thank you to Wendy Davis for joining us as our keynote speaker, and Wendy Krispin and Crozier Hall for making this event possible. Our event couldn’t be successful without the support of our sponsors and the people who bought tickets. Thank you, everyone!
Our evening festivities were captured by local photographer, Juniper St. Butcher, who did an excellent job capturing the love and enthusiasm that filled the room. We especially loved the opportunity to use their skills against our new step and repeat. We’re professionals, y’all!
A special shout out to our tarot readers who provided insightful readings and engaging guidance to our interested attendees. Their energy was a perfect complement to the evening. Make sure to support Safi Starseed and Kamilah Rose and their metaphysical services.
We were also joined by Dallas-based cellist Brianne Sergent, who elegantly filled the event space with gorgeous melodies as our guests mixed and mingled before our official ceremonies began.
We were proud to honor the following individuals as our 2023 First Bloom Award recipients:
- Volunteer of the Year
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- Sophia Ventimiglia
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- Youth In Action Award
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- Olivia Juliana
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- Spirit of Reproductive Justice
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- Nino Testa
- Media Ally
- Paola Ramos & Simone Perez
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- Abortion Out Loud
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- Maleeha Aziz
We would like to thank our sponsors for supporting our 2023 First Bloom:
Outstanding Orchid
- Donald Huschle
Opulent Orange Rose of Texas
- Amy Fikes
- Aberly Leibowitz Family Fund
- Rick Blanton
- Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas
- Lisa Kraus
True Bluebonnet
- Syndey McQuoid
- Women’s Evening Alliance of 1st Unitarian Church of Dallas
- Dr. Gazaleh Moayedi
- Rita Carroll
- Elizabeth Myers & Jenny Ecklund
- URGE Women’s March
- Texas Christian University
Radiant Red Chrysanthemum
- Katherine Homan
- Anonymous
- Caitlyn Silhan
- Veletta Lill
- Anonymous
Victorious Violet
- Julie and Michael Lowenberg
- We Testify
- Avow
- Pam Fridrich
- National Council of Jewish Women – Dallas Section
- Iris Garcia
- Scott Chase
Community support and mutual aid have always been a primary source of funding to help pregnant people in Texas access abortions — and the urgency for this type of support has never been greater than it is EVER.
We’re in a time that feels unprecedented and overwhelming, but abortion funds are no strangers to difficult times. Having support from our community is how we continue to fight for a brighter future and plant the seeds of Reproductive Justice for the world we want to live in. Things may seem hopeless or futile but we know that we’ll overcome this because of the strong community of pro-abortion people.
We look forward to sharing more information about next year’s First Bloom. Make sure you’re keeping up with updates on upcoming events and more by joining our newsletter today.
