Over $78,000 raised for YES to YOUTH at the 6th Annual “Shelter for Shelter” event

THE WOODLANDS, TX -- The showroom floor of Mercedes-Benz of The Woodlands was festive with the feel of Cinco de Mayo on May 5, with fun DJ music as the 6th annual “Shelter for Shelter” fundraising event entertained guests while it raised an amazing total of $78,240 to benefit YES to YOUTH.

YES to YOUTH (formerly known as Montgomery County Youth Services) is a non-profit organization that provides crisis counseling, residential shelter programs, mental health services, prevention services and empowerment to young people in order to strengthen families, teach the youth that they are worth it, they deserve safety and security, and they will succeed in life.

Proceeds from the sponsorships, ticket sales, and donations given at the event will be used primarily to support the charity’s mental health and homeless services, which are currently top urgent priorities, as well as fund the shelter expansion’s ongoing needs such as utilities, food, clothing and daily living supplies.

Zach Richmond, who serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors for YES to YOUTH, created the “Shelter for Shelter” fundraising event in 2017 along with his business partner (and mother-in-law), Marlys Mulkey, both of Richmond Realty Group RE/MAX The Woodlands & Spring.

“I'm super excited about tonight,” said Zach Richmond, “because six years ago, we started this event with a lot of different individuals and people. And here we are six years later and we finished the shelter construction for Yes To Youth. This kicked off the capital campaign that helped expand our shelter from 15 kids to taking on 30 kids in our community. So with the help of all these many businesses, and you guys, we couldn't have done this. But it's so exciting to see a vision come to fruition and the community support we've had. We've been able to raise over $400,000 during this event in the six years. That comes to every single individual here, all the restaurants, in kind sponsors, and everybody from the community. So it's awesome to see them support good causes and help out those that are in need.“

YES to YOUTH services include individual, group and family mental health counseling; presentations and school counseling in crisis situations; suicide prevention for youth and families; BridgeWay Emergency Youth Shelter (for ages 10-17); street outreach for homeless teens; and Healthy Support Program for pregnant and parenting teens.

“Shelter for Shelter is an amazing event.” said Adriana Gutierrez, Chief Operating Officer of Yes To Youth, “This event allows us to raise money for our shelter. We're in the middle of expanding our shelter and the funds that we earn today will help us be able to expand our shelter and be able to provide a safe place for kids in need. We serve kids who are abused, you are gonna need a safe place to stay and we're able to do that from that and we're really happy.”

There was additional excitement as well at the event that built up throughout the evening. Recently, Zach and his wife Rachel had announced to the community that they were expecting a new baby. To the excitement of the guests, it was also announced that Zach and Rachel would be doing a grand gender reveal at the event. Neither Zach nor Rachel knew what the gender of their baby was prior to the event so this was a very exciting and emotional moment for them as well. They would learn of this great news along with with the rest of their friends and family.

Zach Richmond events are very impressive. They are over-the-top fun events for all guests and are hugely successful in raising money for good causes. Zach and Rachel always pour their hearts into everything they do for the community and the Shelter for Shelter event was no exception. Along with the Cinco de Mayo themed food and decor, both Zach and Rachel dressed up as piñatas. For the gender reveal, they raised an additional whopping $13,000 that allowed the winning bidder to hit open a piñata to reveal the gender of their new baby. We are excited to let the community know that Zach and Rachel will be having a baby boy. The winning bidders were Michael and Vicki Richmond. Along with Rachel, the grandparents were given the privilege of breaking open the piñata for the reveal.

It was an exciting and fun evening that brought people together for a good cause. Thousands of dollars was raised to help provide crisis counseling, residential shelter programs, mental health services, prevention services and empowerment to young people in order to strengthen families, teach the youth that they are worth it, they deserve safety and security, and they will succeed in life.

To learn more about YES to YOUTH - Montgomery County Youth Services visit www.sayyestoyouth.org and visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/sayyestoyouth/ or call 281.292.6471 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. YES to YOUTH also offers a 24/7 Crisis Hotline at 1.888.756.8682.

To learn more about Richmond Realty Group RE/MAX The Woodlands & Spring, visit
www.RichmondRealtyTX.com and visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/RichmondRealty.