Kathy Buckley: An Inspiration!

Ever Upward: Love & Laughter~ 35 years of changing girls' lives was a resounding success! Heartfelt messages, gorgeous décor, enticing auction items, happy & generous guests, yummy food and PARTY CLOTHES made for a fun-filled and financially rewarding evening. Though preliminary, it appears more than $211,000 was generated through the auctions, donations, sponsorships and ticket sales. Expenses are still coming in but hopefully Excelsior will net over $150,000 from its annual fundraising event… an all time record in terms of attendance and revenue. Thanks to all who made it happen.

In keeping with the Love and LAUGHTER theme, Kathy Buckley, 5 time nominee for Comedienne of the Year, flew from Los Angeles to entertain us at Ever Upward. Her warmth, humor, insight and LOVE enhanced our world!

Love and Laughter MC Steve Saunders with Kathy Buckley

Read on:

"Kathy Buckley was not only hilarious, but was a terrific role-model for young women with life's barriers to hurdle."

"Speaking of Kathy Buckley, I thought she was wonderful, especially with her comments at the end of her performance. She fit into our theme of overcoming adversity extremely well and her encouragement and support of the Excelsior cause at the end seemed to be very heartfelt and genuine. This was an unexpected bonus which was very much appreciated and underlined what a good fit she was with the overall program."

"Kathy Buckley's comments about the Center and the girls were very touching and the crowd was listening carefully."

"Kathy Buckley gave an incredible personal testimonial!"

"Kathy Buckley was exceptional. People had fun and the laughter was great. Her serious message at the end was a great wrap up to the evening."

"Kathy Buckley was great- funny and heartwarming. Loved her!!!"

Last but certainly not least: Kathy Buckley voluntarily spent 3 hours Friday afternoon prior to her evening performance with a behaviorally difficult, hearing impaired Excelsior client. Together, they chatted, laughed, explored, toured and laughed some more. That's bonding!

The young girl's therapist writes: "I want to thank you for the experience you provided for Brooke (name changed) on May 30th. Meeting and spending time with "the first hearing impaired comic," Kathy Buckley, had an incredibly therapeutic effect on Brooke. As a hearing impaired person, Ms. Buckley shared some of her experiences regarding her own frustrations that led to self destructive behavior, along with the resolution to heal. As a therapist watching this exchange, I noticed Brooke's body posture become lighter, and less tightly contained. There was a softening of her facial expression, combined with a light of excitement. Now while I know with Brooke, there is no certainty of how long the effects will last. However, the fact remains that for 3 hours she had a totally new experience in her life. Her statement to me following this visit was "it's a relief that someone else knows how I feel." Helping our girls connect with the understanding that they are not alone is the very core of what we do here at Excelsior. And to quote Ms. Buckley "who wouldn't want to work here?"

In response to this email message, the young girl's guardian ad litem (attorney) writes:

"I have to tell you guys I am fairly hard boiled due to the nature of my job, but I wanted to thank whoever took the time to think about Brooke and to give her this exposure to a positive role model. It is the little things like this that can have a positive cumulative effect that greatly helps young people. Thank You!"