The young ladies of the Rush Junior Board are learning about tea etiquette, while becoming the next generation of change agents on the North Shore.
The holiday tea, a cherished tradition and the second largest fundraising event of the Rush Junior Board, has been held for over 30 years. In essence, the event is a celebration of the Rush Junior Board and their dedication to Rush University Medical Center and its mission.
The event was held at the Sunset Ridge Country Club in Northfield on Saturday, with over 300 guests enjoying the holiday tea and boutique shopping.
According to Holly Miller and Anissa Forman, both parent advisors and Rush Junior Board co-chairs for 2021-2022, the Holiday Tea has always been presented as a way to kick off the holiday season, a magical event that often includes participation from multigenerational families enjoying the tea together.
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“The guests come with great excitement to purchase gifts and raffle tickets from our holiday boutique,” Miller said. “This year’s boutique, highlighted popular items like; gingerbread cookies, chocolate bark, chocolate covered pretzels, hot coco kits, and fleece blankets, with many gifts for teachers, hostess gifts, and luxury items for self-pampering.”
Emma Neumann, President of the Rush Junior Board and high school senior, says there are four elected holiday tea executives who are responsible for the planning, preparing, soliciting donations to raffle baskets and for making virtually everything that is sold at the Holiday Tea boutique.
This year’s Holiday Tea co-chairs were Madeleine Alshouse, Caroline Bachman, Fiona McCaffery and Anna Rice, are all high school seniors from New Trier Township.
Holiday Tea parent advisors Sarah Alshouse and Nicole Mooney alongside creative consultants Leslie Graham and Fran Jacobs worked with the girls throughout the year to make the entire event come to life, organizers say.
“There is a moment when we see what the money we have raised can do, and that’s very exciting for us,” Neumann said.
The Rush Junior Board has three major events each year — a car wash in September, the Holiday Tea in December, and a fashion show in April. Fundraising dollars from each of these events get donated to Rush University Medical Center.
High school senior, Lindsey Koutouzis, is also vice president and hospital chair of the Rush Junior Board, serving as the main liaison between the hospital and the Junior Board.
“I got sick my sophomore year and spent extensive time in the hospital, missing 75% of my sophomore and junior year, with over 1000 absences,” Koutouzis said. “My involvement in the Junior Board, allows me to see the impact I can make on a hospital that has changed my life.”
Parent advisors say that last year the Rush Junior Board raised $90,000 during the event, but that there are no strict fundraising goals, when the true purpose of the event is to build volunteerism and community among the girls that participate.
Michelle Boardman, director of philanthropy for Rush University Medical Center, says that the Junior Board represents the brightest stars for our future.
“Throughout the year, in addition to fundraising, the girls touch many lives by volunteering for Rush University programs, shadowing nurses at our Children’s Hospital, working on programs like cradle to career, on our food drive and many others,” Boardman said.
“We are so grateful for these young women and their Auxiliary Woman’s Board mentors, for making today possible, and for using their super powers for good on our behalf,” Boardman said.
Gina Grillo is a freelance reporter with Pioneer Press.