On Saturday, February 16, College Mentors for Kids hosted Inspire 2008, its seventh annual silent auction and benefit dinner. Over four hundred guests and 50 college student mentors attended the event at historic Union Station in downtown Indianapolis.

Eight Little Buddies from the Marian Chapter excitedly greeted guests as they arrived in the Grand Hall and shared their favorite part of the Mentor Program. The evening began with the silent auction, cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and music by classical guitarist Erol Ozsever. Items in the silent auction ranged from sports memorabilia to jewelry to gift certificates and artwork.

Two Indianapolis Colts cheerleaders assisted with raffles for a David Yurman blue topaz necklace donated by Moyer Fine Jewelers and autographed Colts memorabilia including a Tony Dungy football and Peyton Manning photograph.

Fox 59 anchor Bob Donaldson served as emcee for the dinner and program portion of Inspire 2008. A mentor seated at each table shared with guests first hand testimonies of the impact College Mentors has made in the lives of both the children served and college student mentors.

A video appearance by Indianapolis Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy communicated his commitment to mentoring on and off the field and the value of organizations such as College Mentors.

The program included a keynote address on the importance of mentoring by Oklahoma entrepreneur and author Tom Pace of PaceButler Corporation. Guests received a copy of Mentor: The Kid & The CEO and had the opportunity to have them autographed by Pace. 

In total, Inspire 2008 raised $142,000. This money will support expansion of the first- through fourth- grade Mentor Program at existing and new college chapters, and the creation and implementation of the new College Connection program for fifth- through eighth- graders which will be launched in the fall. 

College Mentors is grateful for all of the auction donors, sponsors, mentors, board members, Annual Benefit committee members and volunteers who made this event a success! Without the involvement of these individuals and corporations, College Mentors for Kids would not be able to inspire, educate, and connect at-risk youth to the opportunities of higher education.

Thanks to Our Sponsors

Graduate Level Silent Auction Sponsors

Ackerman Foundation

C.I.K. Enterprises

Fox 59

PaceButler Corporation

Undergraduate Sponsors

Duke Energy

SGI, Inc.

Premier Table Sponsors

     AGIS

     Anthem

     Ball State University

     Butler University

     The Camut Family

     Fifth Third Bank

     FlashPoint

     The Gundlach Family

     Huntington Bank

     Indianapolis Colts

     IUPUI

     Kroger

     Legendary Partners

     Locke Reynolds, LLP

     Loyalty Research Center

     Lumina Foundation for Education

The Moore Foundation

NCAA

Purdue University

Riley Bennett & Egloff

The Schmidt Family

Sommer Barnard

Surrex Solutions

T2 Systems

The Whale Hunters

Troutman Sanders LLP

University of Indianapolis

USA Funds

Valparaiso University

Virtual Meeting Strategies

Zotec Solutions, Inc.