BIO Girls 5th Annual Gala - God’s Plan, Our Story
God’s Plan, Our Story
BIO Girls 5th Annual Gala took place Sept. 28th 2023. It was an evening filled with the stories that make BIO Girls what it is today. An intimate evening showcasing the important mission of BIO Girls; to increase the self-esteem in adolescent girls through empowerment of self and service to others.
A gigantic thank you to Crown Jewels for being our premiere sponsor for the fifth consecutive year!
Crown Jewels
Crown Jewels was established in 1962 by Al Lundeen. John and Sue Stephens, Al's son-in-law and daughter, purchased the business in 1978. Greg Stephens, John and Sue’s son, became the owner of Crown Jewels in 2006.
Crown Jewels is proud to be a third-generation, local, family-owned business. Specializing in bridal, custom, and fine jewelry you can stop by Crown Jewels located at 4487 Calico Dr. South Suite A Fargo, ND 58104, or visit their website at crownjewelsfargo.com.
Crown Jewels store owners, Greg and Jessica Stephens, and their three daughters are long-time supporters of the BIO Girls mission.
Thank you, Greg and Jessica, for your continued generosity.
Event Sponsors
thank you, thank you, thank you.
In addition to Crown Jewels, the night would not have been possible without the following event sponsors. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your generosity!!
Balance Accounting
Fund a Need Sponsor
Dakota Supply Group
Media Sponsor
Border States
Live Auction Sponsor
The Vanity Bar
Red Carpet Sponsor
WE Ortho
Red Carpet Sponsor
Level 8 Steam Cleaning & Restoration
Hors D’oeuvres Sponsor
Flint Group
Local Arts Sponsor
Light Consulting
Game Sponsor
Dale Carnegie Training
Game Sponsor
InForum
Print Sponsor
Sanford Children's
Game Sponsor
Microsoft
Game Sponsor
Matt’s Automotive
Game Sponsor
First International Bank & Trust
Game Sponsor
You Flourish Company
Mission Sponsor
Catalyst Medical Center
Sponsor
Mobile Pro
Production Sponsor
Avalon
Venue Sponsor
Love Always Floral
Floral Sponsor
Odie Booth
Photo Booth Sponsor
Onto the evening.
Lights, camera, action!
The red carpet was rolled out as guests arrived! Looking spiffy and dressed to the nines, our talented photographer, Lexi Hovland, captured guests as they arrived along with the entire event. We are so thankful for her talent for capturing powerful imagery!
Greeted with friendly volunteers and a glass of champagne, guests strolled through a visual display of BIO Girls statistics and testimonials from parents, volunteers and BIO Girls themselves. Shout out to Sign Badgers, designed by Kit & Co Studio, for the amazing signs!!
The social hour kicked off with apps, drinks, games and plenty of stories shared between guests! Plus a fun photobooth opportunity with Odie Booth nestled in front of the most beautiful backdrop provided by Gathered Events!
onto the program.
time for impact!
The program began with Board Vice Chair, Alison Zima, and Director, Tiffany Holm, welcoming guests and kicking off the evening with the Game of Chance and the Literary Jackpot! Two interactive games that brought the energy into the room!
Next, Director of Mission Development, Karli Moch, had the pleasure of introducing a special guest, Pastor Bob Bartlett, to pray over the evening.
And the show began! We cannot say thank you enough to Brian and his team at Mobile Pro for making our production, lighting, and overall program a dream come true, again. Truly outstanding to work with!!
Red River Dance, choreographed by BIO Girls volunteer Sarae Kellen, was a hit. You truly felt the energy from each of the 11 dancers.
Back again were Scott Holman and Kelsey Buell to provide their talents as emcees for this impactful event. This is the third year Scott and Kelsey have volunteered their time and energy narrating our event. We are so grateful for their ability to powerfully deliver the important story that is BIO Girls to our audience.
Romans 12:5 was then introduced as the first story of the evening. Coincidentally, we were celebrating our 12th program year & 5th Annual Gala.
“So we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.”
This verse is part of a larger passage in which Paul is urging other believers to come together. Doing so, he uses the metaphor of the human body. Just as all of the different parts of the human body work together, so do members of a Christian community.
Romans 12:5 serves as a powerful reminder that we are called to use our individual gifts and talents to serve one another and bring glory to God.
This served as a powerful kick-off that we wouldn’t just be sharing our story that evening, but rather a variety of stories that once, serendipitously sewn together illustrate the story of BIO Girls.
The emotional and detailed chapters of the evening were delivered through powerful testimony from experts, BIO Girls themselves, volunteers and parents. Thank you to Rich at Redfield Media for producing incredibly impactful videos that were shared during our program. Stay tuned for a public release in the upcoming months.
making strides.
our bold goal update.
Founder and CEO, Missy Heilman took the stage to share an update on our strategic goal of reaching 1 in 6 North Dakota Girls annually by 2025 in addition to key initiatives in our upcoming fiscal year.
In 2023, BIO Girls will reach 1 in 11 ND girls; increasing from reaching 1 in 13 ND girls, the year prior.
Missy Heilman, BIO Girls Founder & CEO
“Our strategic goal, set in 2021, is to reach 1 in 6 North Dakota girls annually by 2025. This year, BIO Girls impacted 1 in 11 girls in ND and nearly 3,000 total. Despite our growth, we continue to see consistent results in our participants. 70% of 2023 BIO Girls participants experienced a significant increase in self-esteem and 50% had a reduction in anxiety. We want to bring our proven results to 1 in 6 ND girls as we believe it will be the catalyst for the reversal of the mental health epidemic our girls face.
In 2024, there are three key objectives will help BIO Girls continue to grow our impact:
First, we will focus on expanding reach within existing communities and rural areas. While our recruitment efforts focus on ND, we will continue to organically grow in MN, IA, WI, and SD. Next, we are focusing on increasing the economic diversity of our participants through partnerships with schools and other organizations that work with disadvantaged youth. In 2023, we granted over $300,000 in financial aid to participants. We expect the number of scholarships to increase as we provide our transformative program to girls in the most need. Finally, our impact will be propelled by the launch of our art-based curriculum giving girls the opportunity to participate despite any physical challenges they may face.”
But the excitement didn’t stop there. Heilman then went on to share a thrilling update about the program’s recent expansion to teen girls:
“In 2023, we piloted and launched our program for teen girls grades 6-11. By 2025, our goal is to reach thousands of teen girls through this proven program. We will continue to offer programming directly to teens. We are also excited to announce that we are piloting a middle school-based program at 4 regional schools. Facilitated by school counselors and educators, the program is occurring during the school day. BIO Girls is working to meet girls where they are to provide this important mental wellness programming.”
After the bold goal update, Volunteer Manager, Anna Marohl, provided a prayer over the people who are part of the BIO Girls Story.
And to liven things up again, we welcomed back our auctioneer, Katie Cashman Fitzsimmons, who kept the crowd on their feet during our Live Auction! Special guest and BIO Girl participant, Perry, helped Katie out by teaming up as “Katy Perry” to showcase our four packages.
The last and final includes two delicious baked treats from another veteran BIO Girl, Emily.
As the Live Auction concluded, we welcomed Anabelle Maher to the stage to share her musicality as she delivered ‘God is in This Story’.
It was a beautiful, emotional moment that left the audience speechless and helped kick off our mission moment where the audience was able to support the mission of BIO Girls through our Fund a Need.
And finally, Board President, Sarah Nupdal, ended the evening with the utmost gratitude for the support and generosity we received throughout the evening.
Thank you to all who were part of our story at our 5th Annual Gala.
We can’t wait for next year!
