A VIP reception kicking off the Homes with Hope annual fundraiser was held under a glittery tent at Fairfield University on Saturday night. / Photos by Gretchen Webster
Helen McAlinden, president and CEO of Homes with Hope, chats with members of the organization’s board of directors at the Saturday fundraiser.

By Gretchen Webster

Homes with Hope, a Westport-based nonprofit dedicated to ending homelessness in Fairfield County, hosted its annual fundraiser Saturday night at Fairfield University’s Quick Center.

“Stand Up for Homes with Hope” featured comedian Pat McGann, as well as two pre-show receptions. 

More than. 400 people attended the VIP reception under a tent, with another 280 expected to join them for a theater lobby get-together before the show, according to Katie Fitzmaurice, director of resources for Homes With Hope.

Saturday’s event was the organization’s 15th annual fundraiser, and the second held at the Quick Center in Fairfield, Fitzmaurice said. A previous location for the event was the Westport Country Playhouse.

A special guest at the fundraiser was Seila Mosquero-Bruno, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Housing. Her agency helps support several of the Homes with Hope programs, including its homeless shelter and the food pantry, she said.

Above: Homes with Hope board member Kate Weber and her husband, Bill, attended the nonprofit’s annual fundraiser Saturday.

Left: Connecticut Department of Housing Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno, whose department helps fund Homes with Hope’s homeless shelter and food pantry, was a special guest at the reception. / Photos by Gretchen Webster

“It’s an awesome organization,” she said about Homes with Hope, adding that Westport “is very supportive of nonprofits,” she said.

Other guests scheduled to attend the event were state Sen. Will Haskell, D-Westport, and Westport First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker.

Freelance writer Gretchen Webster, a Fairfield County journalist and journalism teacher for many years, was editor of the Fairfield Minuteman newspaper for 10 years and currently teaches journalism at Southern Connecticut State University.

A message about homelessness in Westport from a person who benefited from the nonprofit’s programs, which was posted at the group’s annual fundraiser Saturday.