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    Pandemic pivots

    5 new Dallas-Fort Worth fundraisers with pandemic-safe party plans this spring

    Stephanie Allmon Merry
    Mar 23, 2021 | 5:25 pm

    Although there's light at the end of the tunnel as more Dallas-Fort Worth residents get vaccinated against COVID-19, large fundraising gatherings are still not a great idea.

    So, more local nonprofits have come up with creative ways to raise vital funds virtually, masked-up, and at a distance. Here are some of the newest ones to unveil pandemic-safer plans. (Previously announced events can be found here, here, here, and here.)

    Tarrant Area Food Bank's Empty Bowls, March 25
    The beloved Fort Worth food bank fundraiser — at which attendees usually enjoy samples from local restaurants and take home a bowl to keep — has morphed into an online fundraiser where donors can sponsor boxes of food for families. An Empty Bowls Mega Mobile Market will take place 10 am-2 pm March 25 at Dickies Arena to provide food to Tarrant residents who need assistance. (Literally, as they point out, using Empty Bowls donations to fill empty bowls — by feeding those who are food insecure.) With each virtual box donated, guests will receive their own “studio bowl” handcrafted by local artists. They are to be picked up at a contactless thrive-thru event March 26, also at Dickies Arena. For more information, visit the website.

    Spring Gallery Week Preview Party at Artspace111, March 26
    Popular Fort Worth gallery Artspace111 hosts a kickoff party for Spring Gallery Week, coming up March 27-April 2. The preview party, taking place March 26, will toast the gallery's new exhibition by Carly Allen-Martin and Jim Woodson, A Space Between Time. The ticketed event ($500-$1,000 for a table for 4) will feature socially distanced private tables with special appearances from artists, live music, food, limited edition prints, gifts, discounts on art, and refreshments. A virtual VIP experience ($100) will allow collectors access to an exclusive virtual preview of the new artwork available, as well as discounts on purchases. A portion of the proceeds from the event will be donated to the Tarrant Area Food Bank. For more information and tickets, visit the Artspace111 website.

    The Women’s Center of Tarrant County Victory Over Violence campaign, April 6
    In lieu of its annual Victory Over Violence Walk/Run fundraiser, The Women's Center of Tarrant County is launching a “Victory over Violence-Hope Starts Here” campaign by selling $25 T-shirts to “Turn Tarrant Teal.” (Teal is the color used to represent Sexual Assault Awareness Month.) On April 6 — Sexual Assault Community Action Day — the group will address the Tarrant County Commissioners Court. There also will be events with universities and colleges all month long. The organization encourages the community to wear their teal T-shirts on April 6 and throughout the month to raise awareness about issues of sexual violence. For more information and T-shirts, visit the website.

    The Ability Connection Telethon, April 8
    Ability Connection is hosting the inaugural “Ability Connection Telethon” to raise funds toward its vital mission to enrich the lives of people with disabilities. Virtual attendees will get to tune in to a retro evening (think: vintage Jerry Lewis Telethons in the 70's and 80's) from the comfort of their own home. The event, which begins at 6:30 pm, will be emceed by "America’s Sassiest Lifestyle Guru," Steve Kemble, with an appearance by WFAA morning anchor Kara Sewell, and entertainment by Sinatra specialist Ricki Derek. The free event will also feature inspiring stories and raffle prizes. Register on the website.

    Austin Street Center presents No Place Like Home, April 29
    The sixth annual No Place Like Home event will be an all-outdoors event at Klyde Warren Park to raise funds and awareness for Austin Street Center, one of the largest low barrier shelters in Dallas. The evening will include an open-atmosphere, socially-distanced cocktail reception with live entertainment and a silent auction featuring vacation homes, staycations, home goods, and more. Electronic ticketing and entry will be implemented, and masks are required. The event is co-chaired by Mackenzie Kleinert and Cynammon Burns Allen. Tickets are $45 apiece, or $80 for a pair; a VIP upgrade is also available. For more information and tickets, visit the website.

    Steve Kemble (right) will emcee Ability Connection's upcoming telecast.

    Vine & Dine
      
    Photo courtesy of AbilityConnection
    Steve Kemble (right) will emcee Ability Connection's upcoming telecast.
    galasluncheonsfundraisers
    news/society

    Celebrity wedding

    Dallas Cowboys cheerleader ties the knot in dreamy wedding in Tuscany

    Stephanie Allmon Merry
    Jun 16, 2025 | 4:24 pm
    Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader Marissa Phillips, Braden Leschber wedding, Tuscany
    Photo by Kseniya Palchi via Facebook/Marissa Phillips and People magazine.
    Marissa Phillips and Braden Leschber wed on June 3, 2025 in Italy.

    Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Marissa Phillips married her college sweetheart, Braden Leschber, in a picture-perfect wedding under the Tuscan sun of Italy on June 3, 2025.

    People magazine got the exclusive on all the wedding details and gorgeous photos by Milan-based photographer Kseniya Palchik.

    Phillips just completed her third year with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and reportedly cut the Italian wedding trip short to return to Dallas and "buckle down" for the next season's auditions. She appeared in Season 1 of Netflix's hit series America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. Season 2 begins streaming Wednesday, June 18.

    Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader Marissa Phillips, Braden Leschber wedding, Tuscany
      

    Photo by Kseniya Palchi via Facebook/Marissa Phillips and People magazine.

    Marissa Phillips and Braden Leschber wed on June 3, 2025 in Italy.

    Phillips, a Round Rock native, began dating Leschber in 2017 when they were college students: she, at Texas A&M University and he, at Texas Lutheran University in Seguin. They got engaged, fittingly, on the field of AT&T Stadium in Arlington - home of the Cowboys - on August 10, 2023.

    View this post on Instagram
    A post shared by Braden Leschber (@braden_leschber)

    According to People, the couple chose to marry in Italy for two reasons: because of Phillips' proud Italian family heritage and because it was (somehow!) cheaper than a big, traditional Texas wedding. So, they and 75 friends and loved ones jetted off to romantic Tuscany for a destination wedding extravaganza that lasted several days.

    "We wanted to make this celebration as special as it could be and stray away from the typical wedding scene whenever we could," Phillips told the magazine. "We also don’t get a lot of time to slow down and enjoy the company of our friends and family, so we really loved the idea of a destination wedding, where everyone could unplug and spend time together."

    Festivities started Monday, June 2 with a welcome party that included Italy's two most important food groups: pizza and gelato.

    The wedding was held the next day at Borgo Stomennano, a historic estate in the Chianti Classico region, near Florence and Siena. According to the website, the estate's villa and farmhouses are surrounded by woods, vineyards, and olive groves in a tiny village built on ancient Roman and Etruscan ruins that are still visible.

    For the ceremony, People says, the bride wore Katherine Tash's elegant "Luna" wedding dress, featuring a wide-scooped neckline and hand-draped bodice and skirt, from Dallas bridal shop a&bé bridal. To complete her bridal look, she rented diamond stud earrings and a tennis bracelet from Verstolo and wore shoes from Bella Belle Shoes. Her hair and makeup were done by The Styling Stewardess. Bridesmaids wore black dresses from Birdy Grey and Kendra Scott jewelry.

    View this post on Instagram
    A post shared by Marissa Phillips (@marissaphillips__)

    Phillips walked down the aisle to an instrumental version of Lana Del Rey's "Video Games" and Phillips' brother-in-law officiated the Christian ceremony, in which bride and groom exchanged traditional vows.

    "[Marriage] means we are stuck with each other for life, through the good times and the bad, tied together as one under God and what God has joined together, let no man separate," Phillips told the magazine.

    At the reception, guests dined on a three-course plated dinner of Italian favorites, including trofie pasta with arugula and walnut pesto; fagottino (filled pasta) with bufala ricotta and artichokes and pecorino cheese sauce; and pork chops lacquered with honey and chopped pistachios. Dessert was traditional Italian wedding cake, which the couple "made" in front of guests. (A photo shows them sifting powdered sugar on top.)

    Phillips told People that she and Leschber took the food so seriously, they traveled to Italy a year before their wedding for a tasting with their caterer, Il Sorriso Ricevimenti.

    The bride changed into a custom party dress designed by her best friend and bridesmaid, Kathryn Emily of Belvedere Couture, made of fabric, lace and pearls from Phillips' mother's preserved wedding dress. The newlyweds and their guests then danced the night away to the live music of BritPops.

    Marissa Phillips, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders wedding.The bride and fellow Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders performed "Thunderstruck" at the reception.Photo by Kseniya Palchik via People magazine.

    And, in keeping with Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders tradition, members of the squad performed their iconic routine "Thunderstruck."

    Before heading home, the couple and their guests gathered the next day for a "La Dolce Vita"-themed pool party. The new Mr. and Mrs. then slipped away to Lake Como for a quick "mini moon." (They'll take a longer honeymoon at the end of the next Cowboys season, they say.)

    Back home in Dallas, Phillips is not only a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, but also an administrative assistant at an accounting firm and co-owner (with her sister) of the online Joey Lynn Boutique. She's also involved in the Alzheimer's Association in honor of her father, who died of Lewy Body Dementia in 2021.

    She's also a social media influencer. She went viral in December 2024 for gifting each of the 40 Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders members a Dyson Airwrap hairstyling tool, valued at $600 each.

    “Huge thank you to @dysonbeauty and @dysonusa for helping me pull off the biggest surprise to the girls who deserve it most! All the love,” she wrote in the Instagram caption of a video of the women opening the $24,000 Christmas haul.

    celebritiescheerleadercowboysitalianreal-housewivesweddingweddingsmarissa phillipsvacationdallas cowboys cheerleaders
    news/society
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