January 12, 2020

Dot’s Tots Holiday Festival 2020 – Recap

On January 5^th 2020, Dot’s Tots Foundation hosted its annual holiday party at Scene 75, a new entertainment venue at Tuttle Crossing. Dot’s Tots Chairman of the Board, Andy Warnock, called the event a “tremendous success.”

“Aside from the $17,900 we gave away in scholarships and thousands more in gifts and financial support, we were able to host 91 children and families who would have otherwise been unable to enjoy a night out,” Warnock shared. “Scene 75 was a great host; our ‘work’ was confirmed by the 300+ smiles on faces.”

Additional validation came in dozens of notes received after the event:

“Hello!

We were so blessed to be able to be part of the event last night. We have a 17 year old foster daughter and it was so much fun to see all our kids have a blast last night. She is a victim of human trafficking and has a lot of trauma and our family and bio kids (ages 8, 7, and 4) have been affected in so many ways. We love her so much and are planning on adopting her.

It brought so much joy to see all my kids have carefree fun and doing something that we would otherwise not be able to afford.

Thank you thank you thank you!”

Along with supporting the foster care community and children battling debilitating disease and/or illness, Dot’s mission includes assisting teenagers in their pursuit of higher education. Dots Tots Foundation honored eight young adults with college scholarships during the winter event. The honorees were selected by a committee scoring community involvement, academics, need, and a written essay.

Excerpt from Winning Essay (writing about her foster siblings and their hometown of Hilliard, Ohio):

“If I could change one thing about Hilliard, I’d make sure that no teenager has to go into adulthood without a family. I would make sure that everyone here has someone to come home for the holidays to, someone who brings them a cupcake and sings ‘Happy Birthday’ every year, someone who will always answer the phone when they are sick, or hurt, or sad. I want that to be what people think of when they hear that I’m from Hilliard. I want it to be that place where people belong and where we take care of each other… I would want to remind people that living in the Hilliard community is a huge privilege, but that we should also be mindful that there is room for us to continue building a kind, accepting, welcoming place where families come to thrive AND people without families can find a home.”

A huge thanks to the supporters and sponsors who allow Dot’s Tots Foundation to make a real impact in Central Ohio: