Page 68 - South Mississippi Living - December, 2023

GIVING BACK
story by Kelsey Sunderman-Foster
photo courtesy of Bacot Foundation of South Mississippi
The Bacot Foundation of South Mississippi stands behind its philosophy “Together we are Making a Difference,” and aims to serve the community and meet the needs of its members.
“Through our partnership with the hundreds of philanthropic supporters we have, we hope to continue to assist youth, education and cultural causes across our region the best ways we can,” says Executive Director Todd Trenchard. “It
is through our incredible volunteer base, which is led by our unparalleled board, that we hope to contribute in making our entire region a better place to live.”
According to Trenchard, the organization has been blessed to play a part in bringing the entire community together under a common cause: to put youth and education first. “We believe the future holds great promise because of the generosity of the leaders that our local community is helping us to reach and develop today,” said Trenchard.
The Foundation achieves its goal of enhancing lives in our Gulf Coast Region with a focus on youth, education, the arts, and other worthy causes through fundraising efforts such Renaissance the Runway. Now in its seventh year and held at the IP Casino Resort Spa, the charity fashion show featured
70 community leaders who modeled outfits from several local shops and boutiques. In addition, Renaissance the Runway featured a live and silent auction in which 100 percent of the proceeds support more than a dozen charitable causes. In total, this year’s event raised $250,000 that will go directly back into the South Mississippi community.
“It was the foundation’s largest and most complex endeavor ever and we could have never accomplished what we did without the support of our local community and the best group of volunteers anywhere on the Coast,” said Trenchard. “Together they, along with the support of the IP Casino Resort Spa and South Mississippi Living, pulled off what was truly the event of the season. Hats off to our amazing staff of Amanda Ray, Wanda Gatlin and Teri Freitas who worked tirelessly on this fundraiser and to all those who donated their time and services and helped us to raise over $250,000 for local causes across our region.”
Bacot Foundation of South Mississippi
228.217.5791 www.bacotfoundation.org
68 | December 2023
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