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SUMMARY:KOM 2024 Annual Gala
DESCRIPTION:KOM 2024 Annual Gala main event design. Art by: Eh Soe Dwe\, Our Feet Will Carry Us (2023)\, Digital art\, 8×8\, copy of full story located at Mandalay Kitchen.\n  \n  \n\n“Our Feet Will Carry Us”\nKOM’s 2024 Annual Gala will be held on Thursday\, November 21st at the Heritage Center of Brooklyn Center.\nAs the first social services agency for Karen refugees in the US\, we’ve made history and changed the lives of refugees and immigrants over the past 16 years. Our network has grown due to persistence\, innovation\, and partnership. \nWe welcome you for a social hour\, buffet dinner\, raffle drawing\, and lively program. This year\, we are introducing awards to recognize those who exemplify our values and have helped to advance our mission. \n\nDate & Time:\nThursday\,\nNovember 21st\,\n5:30pm – 9:30pm \nLocation:\nHeritage Center of Brooklyn Center\n6155 Earle Brown Dr\,\nBrooklyn Center\, MN 55430 \nRegistration is now closed\nYou can still participate in our raffle and online silent auction! Find more info below.\n  \n\nRecognizing Our 2024 Gala Award Winners\nRosie Say\, Culture Bearer Award Winner for KOM’s 2024 Annual Gala\nCongratulations to Rosie Say for winning our Culture Bearer Award!\nRosie has been awarded the prestigious Culture Bearer Award for her incredible contributions to KOM’s mission\, particularly through preserving and passing down the Karen weaving tradition to future generations. \n\nNominated and voted for by the KOM staff and Board of Directors\, Rosie’s unwavering dedication to participating in community events has been recognized as a cherished gift. Her efforts continue to enrich the community\, making a lasting impact on both culture and heritage. \n  \n\nBenjamin Aung\, Service Award winner for KOM’s 2024 Annual Gala.\nCongratulations to Benjamin Aung (in memoriam) for winning our Service Award\nMr. Benjamin Aung (deceased) was a pioneering leader in Minnesota’s Karen community and other communities from Burma. \nAmong the first to arrive from Burma\, he sponsored many refugees during the initial resettlement wave\, helping to build a supportive foundation for newcomers. As a co-founder of the Karen Organization of Minnesota (KOM) and a board member\, his influence shaped decades of community growth and resilience. \nHis wife\, Priscilla Aung\, has also been a devoted advocate for the Karen community\, supporting cultural preservation and empowerment. Inviting her and their family to the stage would honor not only Mr. Aung’s legacy but also her ongoing commitment\, recognizing their profound and lasting impact on the community. \n  \nCongratulations to our Equity Champion Award winners Dr. Tonya Horn and\nDr. Shana Sniffen\nPictured: (second from the left)\, Dr. Shana Sniffen\, MD and (far right)\, Dr. Tonya Horn\, with the Karen Chemical Dependency Collaborative in 2017.\nDr. Tonya Horn and Dr. Shana Sniffen\, are champions for health equity work in response to chemical dependency. Dr. Horn and Dr. Sniffen have been steadfast partners to KOM and many others in our community health and social services programs. \nDr. Horn was a founding board member of KOM. Over the past 17 years\, she has contributed her skills in research\, grant writing\, and clinical social work to support KOM and the Karen community in many ways\, including the development of the Karen Chemical Dependency Collaborative and KOM’s youth chemical health programs. She is a mentor to many young Karen professionals who are pursuing careers in mental health and substance use counseling. She has also advocated for policy changes and financial resources to remove barriers for people from refugee and immigrant backgrounds to become licensed mental health professionals. \n\nDr. Sniffen is a longtime advocate\, supporter and friend to the Karen community. Dr. Sniffen co-founded KCDC (Karen Chemical Dependency Collaborative) with community leaders\, which brought together community members across sectors and created many of the first Karen-language resources for substance use in the United States. Dr. Shana Sniffen was a physician at the Roselawn Clinic from 2009 to 2022. Most of her patients were Karen families whom she initially met during their public health screenings for newly arrived refugees and then continued as their primary care doctor. She left the Roselawn Clinic to move to Hawaii in 2022 to help her elderly father. She is now working with Native Hawaiian Indigenous families at a community health clinic and using many of the lessons learned from working with the Karen community to help her new patients. \n\n\nHarold Torrence\, Latin American Guitarist and Musician\nHarold Torrence Set to Perform!\nHarold Torrence is a Latin American Guitarist and Musician. He will be performing both on stage and throughout the event. A teacher as well as a musician\, Torrence regularly plays at different venues across the Twin Cities. \nRegister to the KOM 2024 Gala to see this incredible musician perform! \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\nParticipate in Our Raffle\nThe Karen Organization of Minnesota will conduct a charitable raffle at our Annual Gala  The raffle will raise funds for our programs serving refugees and immigrants in Minnesota. \nPreview of raffle prize baskets.\n\nRAFFLE PRIZES INCLUDE: \n$250 R. F. Moeller Jeweler Gift Certificate \nTwo Gift Certificates for a One-Hour Elements Massage ($200 value) \nFour Mister Car Wash Gift Certificates ($104 value) \nTwo Tickets to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum ($100 value) \n4 Gift Certificates to Andiamo Restaurant ($100 value) \nLettuce Entertain You Gift Card For Multiple Restaurants ($100 value) \nFour Tickets to the Minnesota Zoo ($96 value) \nTwo Gift Baskets with Funko Pop and Gas Gift Cards ($80 value) \nGift Certificates to Porter Creek Restaurant and Café Latte ($75 value) \nGift Cards to Costco and Oriental Trading ($75 value) \nFive Ultimate Car Wash Gift Cards for Kwik Trip ($50 value) \nTwo Baked Goods Gift Baskets ($50 value each) \n  \nPlease read KOM’s House Rules for the Raffle 2024\nRaffle tickets cost $20 each and must be purchased in-person from KOM staff or board members\, or at the KOM office. \nMust be 18 or older to purchase a ticket or win a prize. Winners will be drawn at KOM’s Annual Gala on Thursday\, November 21st\, 2024\, 5:30pm-9:30pm at the Heritage Center of Brooklyn Center\, 6155 Earle Brown Dr\, Brooklyn Center\, MN 55430. Raffle tickets are not valid for event entry— gala tickets must be purchased separately. Need not be present to win. Winners will be posted on KOM’s website following the event. Winner must pick up prize at the Annual Gala or KOM office within 2 weeks of drawing date and present this raffle ticket stub to collect prize. Winner responsible for any applicable fees or taxes. \n\nIf you have any questions about the raffle\, please contact Alice Buckner at (651) 202-3108 or events@mnkaren.org. \n\nOur Online Silent Auction is Live!\nNot able to attend our gala in-person? You can still support us online! The Karen Organization of Minnesota will conduct a charitable silent auction for one week leading up to our 2024 Annual Gala. Through the silent auction\, we hope to raise at least $5\,000 for our programs serving refugees and immigrants in Minnesota. This auction is online-only. \nThe online silent auction will close the evening of our gala just after 7pm. Silent auction winners will be notified immediately to their phone or email. \nSign up and start bidding on our 18 items here\n  \n\n			\n				\n			\n				\n				Karen hand woven shirt\, online silent auction item.\n				\n			\n				\n			\n				\n				Karen hand woven textile\, online silent auction item.\n				\n			\n				\n			\n				\n				Thai painting on fabric\, online silent auction item.\n				\n		\n\n  \n  \n  \n\nThank you for your ongoing support of KOM\, the Karen community\, and immigrants and refugees in Minnesota. We look forward to celebrating with you at the KOM gala in November! \n  \nA special thank you to our sponsors of this year’s Gala:  \n  \nPLATINUM SPONSOR: \nM Health Fairview\n  \n  \nGOLD SPONSORS: \nJody Baber State Farm Agency\nCentury College\n \nInver Grove Toyota and Maplewood Toyota\nSILVER SPONSOR: \nJaps-Olson Company Commercial Print & Direct Mailers\n  \nBRONZE SPONSORS \nAmherst Wilder Foundation \nBethesda Family Medicine Clinic \nBIX Produce Company  \nComo Senior High School Staff \nCouncil on Asian Pacific Minnesotans  \nEmmanuel Church \nFirst Karen Baptist Church \nHealth Partners \nHmong American Partnership \nIntek Plastics  \nK’Nyaw Baptist Church \nK’Nyaw Loan Officers \nProdeo Academy \nRoseville Adult Learning Center \nSaint Paul Police Department \nShiloh Karen Baptist Church \nSKD Auto Transport \nSt Thomas University \nTrinity Church
URL:https://mnkaren.org/event/kom-2024-annual-gala/
LOCATION:Heritage Center of Brooklyn Center\, 6155 Earle Brown Dr\, Brooklyn Center\, MN\, 55430\, United States
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