Evening of Dreams Annual Fundraising Gala

Sozo Children International, a Birmingham, Alabama based nonprofit ministry dedicated to serving at-risk children in Uganda, will host its annual fundraising Gala at The Club on September 7, 2023.

The “Evening of Dreams” will feature a silent auction from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. with a dinner and live auction from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. The dinner will feature Sherri Jackson from CBS 42 as emcee. 

“We’re excited to fellowship with our friends and supporters again this year,” said Suzanne Owens, CEO of Sozo Children. “It’s a great time to update everyone on our next steps and celebrate with so many friends who love our children and help us care for them,” she said. The ministry recently purchased more land in Uganda with plans to build a school and medical center and has hopes to expand to serve locally in Alabama.

Sozo began in 2010 when the new ministry rescued 17 children from a children’s home that had been abandoned and was being closed by local officials. Now in its 13^th year, the ministry operates Sozo Village, a 28-acre community which has grown to serve more than 150 children—providing housing, medical care, education, and more. Sozo Children also leads Kid’s Club—a twice-weekly Bible club for Ugandan children living around the village. As many as 400 children, some of whom walk miles to attend, share a meal and devotional time each week during Kid’s Club.

“Our name came from scripture. Sozo means ‘to save or rescue’ in Greek but it is more than a word, it is our purpose, our calling,” Owens said. Children served by Sozo come to the ministry from situations of extreme generational poverty, abuse, neglect and often have been rescued from human trafficking situations. “The Bible tells us to provide for widows and orphans. Although we are not an orphanage, many of our children have lost parents or worse, been abandoned by parents who were supposed to care for them,” she said.    

Sozo Children funds much of its operations through child sponsorships, donations and through its upscale thrift store in Avondale, Sozo Trading Co. The ministry also leads mission teams several times a year to Uganda and presents the Sozo Children’s Choir every two years, which serves as a mission trip for some of the children served by Sozo.

Sozo Children hopes to raise more than $175,000 at the dinner through the auction, event sponsorships and table sponsorships. To sponsor a table, donate an auction item, or to purchase dinner tickets, visit sozochildren.org/2023-dinner. To learn more about the mission of Sozo Children and how you can help, visit www.sozochildren.org.