CUMBERLAND HEIGHTS’ ANNUAL ‘REACHING NEW HEIGHTS’
WILL INCLUDE MONTH OF ACTIVITIES FEATURING MOTHER-AND-DAUGHTER AUTHORS, BOOK CLUBS, STORYTELLING
Betty Stadler and Susan O. Binns to be honored with annual Sheila Keeble Award
This year’s Reaching New Heights Luncheon to benefit nonprofit Cumberland Heights will now be held as an interactive online fundraiser due to COVID-19 health precautions. This virtual series of events will take place throughout April, culminating on April 28 with some special content. This revamped format will feature guest presenters Claire and Mia Fontaine, co-authors of Comeback: A Mother and Daughter’s Journey Through Hell and Back. The event’s honorary chair is country music superstar Louise Mandrell, a long-time supporter of Cumberland Heights and also a mother whose daughter fought drug and alcohol addiction to find sobriety after help from Cumberland Heights.
Past participants of this popular event are invited to continue supporting the many women in need of financial assistance to receive treatment by taking part in this special initiative, designed specifically to help the Women’s Program at Cumberland Heights. The virtual event will feature traditional elements of past luncheons and, of course, will introduce new elements to this online version.
This always-sold out women’s event is a critical fundraiser for the alcohol and drug-addiction recovery center. The mission of Reaching New Heights 2021 is to highlight the women’s programs at Cumberland Heights, raise funds to help women in treatment, and celebrate those women in our families and community who are experiencing their own recovery one day at a time. In addition to Louise Mandrell as honorary chair, the luncheon co-chairs are Ansel Cline and Lauren Ross, and they have a committee of dedicated volunteers serving as virtual table hosts, patrons, and hosts of book clubs.
There will be two deserving Sheila Keeble Award recipients honored this year during Reaching New Heights. Susan O. Binns, the recipient for 2021 and the 2020 award winner, Betty Stadler. The Sheila Keeble Award is given annually to honor a woman who has made a difference in the recovery community. Past recipients are Cindy Caudle, Leslie Dabrowiak, Lake Eakin, Elizabeth Fox, Stephanie Ingram, Genie Laurent, Janice Lovvorn, Louise Mandrell, and Eleanor Templeton. All have been honored at the women’s luncheons of the past, and now Binns and Stadler will be added to this list of honorees at this year’s event.
Reaching New Heights’ key speakers are authors Claire and Mia Fontaine. This mother-and-daughter duo wrote Comeback: A Mother and Daughter’s Journey Through Hell and Back. They will be featured with a video presentation(s) (supplemented with smaller, bite-sized clips), testimonials/book reviews by readers, a VIP-access-only live “Meet & Greet” (via Zoom), and other supporting content throughout April.
“Even though we can’t host our traditional luncheon this year, it’s more important than ever that we hold this fundraiser,” said Cindy Patterson, chief development and marketing officer at Cumberland Heights. “The pandemic has created increased isolation, anxiety and economic pressures on many women who are dealing with substance use disorder, and we want to be there for them and their families. We are grateful to have so many strong supporters of our Women’s Program.”
People are invited to support in advance with the purchase of a $150 “VIP Ticket” which includes a copy of the book Comeback: A Mother and Daughter’s Journey Through Hell and Back (for the first 350 ticket purchasers), invitation to participate in private virtual book club parties, and access to the private/live “VIP Meet & Greet” with the Fontaines on April 28. All donors at any level will be able to follow along with public links on social media and website. All details about the event are listed at: https://www.cumberlandheights.org/reaching-new-heights-2021/
Event sponsors include: Premier sponsors Kirkland Co.; Jay and Christi Turner; and Elizabeth B. Fox. Event Hosts include Anonymous; John McDougall Company; Jones Bros. Contractors; and Sally and Jon Nesbitt.
More about Claire and Mia Fontaine:
When bright high school student Mia Fontaine changed her life and started seeking drugs and danger in rural Indiana, her mother Claire Fontaine set out on a gripping journey to save her daughter. Together, they co-authored Comeback: A Mother and Daughter’s Journey Through Hell and Back, a best-selling memoir that chronicles Mia’s drug-fueled descent into society’s underbelly and her remarkable healing process that led her from being a high school dropout and runaway to a graduate of Georgetown University.
In the same tradition as Comeback, Claire and Mia have recently co-authored Have Mother, Will Travel, which captures the changing relationship between a mid-life mother and her 20-something daughter. Set against the backdrop of an unforgettable round-the-world adventure, it explores their personal relationship, as well as the mother-daughter relationship in America and in other cultures from China to France.
Mia Fontaine is an author, writer, and motivational speaker whose past appearances include Good Morning America, The O’Reilly Factor, and The Montel Williams Show. She has spoken nationally about drug addiction and the long-term cost of child sexual abuse. With the debut of Have Mother, Will Travel, she will be giving talks about the mother-daughter relationship, both in terms of how to improve it, as well as exploring it from a cultural and historic perspective. In addition to the memoirs she’s co-authored, she has written for The New York Times and blogs for Ms. Magazine.
Claire Fontaine is a writer who has worked with numerous award-winning producers and directors. She is also a certified life coach and certified relationship coach who focuses on personal transformation, relationships, and parenting.
Claire and Mia Fontaine are a compelling and dynamic team whose joy, passion, and gratitude are infectious, leaving audiences inspired and awakened to the possibilities in their own lives.
To support and participate in Reaching New Heights, you may donate and/or purchase VIP Tickets at Reaching New Heights 2021 and you can follow along on the organization’s Facebook and/or Instagram accounts.
About Cumberland Heights
Cumberland Heights’ mission is to transform lives, giving hope and healing to those affected by alcohol ordrugaddiction.Formorethan54 yearswe’vehelpedthosestrugglingrewritetheirstoryandlivealifefreefromaddiction