The National Inclusion Project hosted an exciting and informative program Friday night at the Raleigh Convention Center.  Billed as a VIP Reception, the Project presented a program filled with music and news about the organization.

Fourteen tables of Vip Sponsors were greeted by Jerry Aiken who thanked the audience for their support of the National Inclusion Project.  He then introduced Voices For All.

Voices For All is a partnership between Voices Together in Education, a therapeutic program for Exceptional Children and Jill Boliek’s advanced girl’s choir at Riverside High School in Durham.  They  work together to build a musical experience and a place to expand understanding between two groups of students.

The choir sang two beautiful songs.  It was wonderful to see the joy and excitement that music and performing brings to all the students.  Each member brought their own special voice to the performance and received a standing ovation for their exciting and touching performance.

Following the choir performance, the audience was introduced to Katie Holmes and her daughter, Tia Holmes.  Tia is an eighth grader who advocates for inclusion for all.  This young lady who has CP is a wonderful public speaker who told the audience of her pro-active experiences in pushing for inclusion for all.  Both Tia and her mom have real experiences that they can share with the world.  What a treat to hear from both of them.

Clay and Diane Bubel hosted a question and answer session that was very popular.  They fielded questions about the Project.  It was a lively discussion about what the National Inclusion does and what they cannot do.  They discussed short and long term goals and  emphasized  the need to educate more people about Inclusion.  It is not a word that is understood by all.  Faye Parker challenged the VIP members to make sure they bring a guest to the Gala next year.

The evening ended with dessert  and  pictures with Clay.

The evening was informative and with Clay on the stage, it was also filled with lots of fun comments. He brought a bit of humor to an important topic.   It was a great start to a wonderful National Inclusion Project weekend.