Hope Grows Here: A 60th Birthday Celebration with Purpose

Celebrate a 60th birthday with dancing, laughter & 60s vibes, while supporting grieving families through scholarships & support.

🎉 Hope Grows Here: A 60th Birthday Celebration with Purpose 🎉

A 1960s-Themed Benefit for Grieving Families

Come celebrate life, love, laughter, and legacy as Dr. Tina Fornwald rings in her 60th birthday with a night that proves healing and joy can coexist.

Hope Grows Here is a high-energy, heart-filled, 1960s-themed celebration hosted by Widowhood Real Talk with Tina, and it’s designed to be FUN.
Think music, dancing, laughter, connection, and a room full of people who believe that even after loss, life is still worth celebrating.

✨ This is not a sit-quietly fundraiser.
✨ This is a show-up, dress-up, laugh-out-loud, dance-it-out night.

🕺 What to Expect

• 🎤 A live comedian bringing the laughs
• 💃 Dancing & 60s vibes, yes, bring the moves
• 📸 Photo booth moments you’ll want to keep
• 🎭 Costume contest (go full 60s or keep it classy!)
• 📚 Book signing with Dr. Tina
• 🎁 Silent auction, giveaways & surprises
• 💛 A room full of people who understand that joy is part of healing

This is a night to exhale, celebrate, and remember that we deserve fun even (and especially) after hard seasons.

🌱 Why This Night Matters

While we celebrate, we’re also raising $50,000 to support grieving families through two vital initiatives:

🎓 The WRTWT Education Fund

Providing grief-informed scholarships for students who have lost a parent or guardian because loss should never limit a child’s future.

🦋 Widowhood Support Programming

Supporting peer groups, grief retreats, mental health initiatives, podcast outreach, and community healing events like the Butterfly Release and Walk for Love.

Every ticket, donation, and sponsorship helps us sow seeds of hope for those navigating life after loss.

Together, we’re building a future where no one grieves alone. Yes, you can donate now: https://givebutter.com/1KQtL0

✨ What’s Included:
🎟️ $65 per guest (early bird through March 31, 2026), thereafter $75.00
🍽️ Full plated meal
📸 Photo booth memories
🕺 Dancing + Live DJ
💐 A tribute to Tina’s journey and vision

🎤 A live comedian bringing the laughs

Whether you’ve been part of this community from the beginning or just joined us, this night is for you too.

👗 Dress Code: 60s attire encouraged! Channel your inner Motown, flower child, or glam soul queen. Let’s celebrate in style.

This event is more than a party. It’s a celebration of how one woman turned grief into purpose and invited thousands to do the same.

🎈 Come ready to laugh, cry, hug, dance, and honor the journey.

🏨 Hotel Room Reservations

Need overnight accommodations? We’ve partnered with DoubleTree by Hilton Norfolk Airport to offer Hope Grows Here guests a discounted room rate.

📍 Hotel Address
DoubleTree by Hilton Norfolk Airport
1500 North Military Highway
Norfolk, VA 23502-1813
📞 (757) 466-8000

📅 Event Dates: May 16–17, 2026
📌 Reservation Deadline: April 17, 2026

💲 Room Rate:

• 2 Queen Beds – $149.00/night
• 1 King Bed – $149.00/night

🔗 Book Your Room Now: https://hil.tn/4cu0wg

For additional assistance, contact:
Debbie Bloom – Reservations Coordinator
📞 Direct: 757-457-8940 | 📠 Fax: 757-228-5851

🌟 Keynote Speaker: Donna Jean Kendrick

Some stories change lives. Some voices help rebuild them.

In 2013, Donna Jean Kendrick’s life changed in an instant. Her husband died suddenly by suicide, leaving her widowed with three young children and facing a future she never imagined.

What helped her survive that season was not the absence of grief but the presence of stability. A financial plan already in place gave her the space to grieve, the reassurance to breathe, and the foundation to rebuild.

Today, Donna is a financial planner, bestselling author, speaker, and podcast host who helps individuals and families prepare for life’s unexpected transitions with clarity, compassion, and confidence. Her work sits at the intersection of grief, resilience, and practical preparation, offering hope without minimizing loss.

Donna’s keynote at Hope Grows Here will speak to:

• The realities of sudden loss
• The importance of preparedness during crisis
• The power of stability in the midst of grief
• And what it means to rebuild a meaningful life after tragedy

Her story is one of honesty, wisdom, and lived experience reminding us that while grief changes us, it does not have to define the rest of our lives.

Donna has since blended families and is now remarried, raising six children with her husband Jim. She continues to serve families nationwide through her speaking, writing, and financial education resources.

📚 Learn more about her work and book series, Life Stages Financial Guides, at DonnaJeanKendrick.com

🎤 Special Guest Performance: Comedian Peaty Ray-Red

Yes, joy and healing can coexist.

At Hope Grows Here, we believe healing spaces must hold the full range of human experience including laughter. That’s why we’re honored to feature comedian Peaty Ray-Red, bringing a stand-up comedy performance to an evening centered on community, remembrance, and renewal.

This is not laughter that dismisses loss.
This is laughter that reminds us we are still alive.

Peaty Ray-Red’s humor is relatable, thoughtful, and grounded in real life offering a moment of lightness during a night designed to support widows, grieving families, and the broader healing community.

🎬 Watch a Preview

✨ Featured Experience Partner: Events That Sparkle, LLC

Because healing spaces should still sparkle.

Hope Grows Here is proud to partner with Events That Sparkle, LLC, a premier event consulting and experiential design company based in the Hampton Roads area. Known for their creativity, professionalism, and attention to detail, Events That Sparkle brings moments of joy, connection, and celebration into every space they touch.

Led by founder Evette Basnight-Little, Events That Sparkle offers a multifaceted approach to event planning and guest experience from décor and coordination to interactive entertainment that helps people relax, laugh, and create memories together.

For Hope Grows Here, Events That Sparkle will enhance the evening with their digital photobooth experience, giving guests an opportunity to capture joy, movement, and connection in real time. Whether shared instantly via text, email, or AirDrop, these moments become keepsakes from a night rooted in purpose and healing.

Their work reflects a deep commitment to community, inclusivity, and excellence aligning beautifully with our mission to create spaces where grief is honored and hope is nurtured.

✨ Where positive attracts positive and every guest leaves with a little sparkle.