(Seguin) — The Guadalupe County Children’s Advocacy Center (GCCAC) is raising the stakes for local children in need with its annual fundraising event, “Viva Las Vegas Casino Night.” The event is set for Saturday night at The Big Red Barn.
While the evening will be filled with games, food, auctions, and prizes, its purpose goes far beyond entertainment. That’s according to Christy Williams, the advocacy center’s executive director.
“For each admission, we are having really heavy Hors d’Oeuvres and dessert. There will be a cash bar but you will get to play the games that night. So, we are going to be playing casino games. They will be Las Vegas style. Also, for the first time, we will have slot machines. So, that will be fun and interesting to see how that plays out and we will have just some other games too for people who are not necessarily wanting to play at the casino games and we will also have prizes, live auction, silent auction and lots of fun,” said Williams.
She says the auctions alone have brought in some exciting items for people to bid on.
“We’ve got some really really awesome stuff. We’ve got signed guitars, Burnt Bean dinner for 10 with no wait. We’ve got a personal chef that will come and cook in your home. We have paintings. We’ve got pottery. We’ve got lots of neat alcoholic packages. There’s an Argentina dove hunt,” said Williams.
She says the event is a critical fundraiser for the GCCAC, which is on track to serve more than 900 children this year—an all-time high that reflects the growing need for child advocacy and abuse prevention services in Guadalupe County and surrounding areas.
“When we did our numbers from last year and put out the pinwheel display (with each representing a child served) it was 903 and we are already on track this year for it to be more than that for 2025 and so we have 19 staff members and 8 interns working with those kiddos and families and trying to support them and we are trying to maintain and grow to meet the demands,” said Williams.
Williams says every dollar raised will support daily operations, from forensic interviews and trauma counseling to advocacy and case coordination. And all these services, she says are offered completely free to the families we serve.
“This fundraiser is going to be for general operating to help keep the center open and going and takes care of all of the expenses that we have that we aren’t able to grant funds for. We have to have really diverse income coming in as a non-profit,” said Williams.
Doors open at 6 p.m., with game play running from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Featured will be interactive game tables, a live auction, silent auction, heavy hors d’oeuvres, drinks, and prizes.
General admission, which includes food and starter chips for play, is $50 a person. Pre-sale tickets can be purchased at Gift & Gourmet in Seguin, Stylin Hair Salon & Spa in Cibolo, KDJ Insurance in Marion and Vallance Security in Schertz.
Tickets will be available at the door, but pre-sale tickets are encouraged.
The Big Red Barn is located at 390 Cordova Rd.