By Mareska Chettiar, Co-T/E Life Editor
Senior Sabrina Sandorff was the first debutante to enter the 144th Philadelphia Charity Ball on Nov. 29, 2024, among many guests, including Special Olympics Pennsylvania athletes and Conestoga students. Escorted by her father and followed by her fellow debutantes, the father-daughter pair danced for a song before she joined her peers from the Young Men’s Committee, the male counterpart to the debutantes. Dancing, laughter, and a collective commitment to philanthropy and community filled the night that followed.
“Dancing with my dad was nice,” Sandorff said. “I feel like I’m not really the type of person that likes the center of attention, but I enjoyed this. I enjoyed feeling pretty, helping out in the organization. It doesn’t happen all the time, so I feel like having this opportunity was special.”
The ball raised money for Special Olympics Pennsylvania, an organization that provides sports training and competition for people with intellectual disabilities, for the 10th year in a row. The Ball organizers also honor a specific athlete each year as the recipient of the Jimmy Medal, an honor that highlights people with qualities of resiliency, empathy, loyalty and humility.
“This is the 11th year we’ve named a certain athlete to receive the Jimmy medal,” executive director Lydia Butcher said. “We’ve met some phenomenal athletes who we absolutely adore, and they come back to the ball. They feel like they’re part of our community, and that is like ‘mission accomplished.’”
At the event, attendees first mingled at a cocktail hour and sit-down dinner. Then, the debutantes and the Young Men’s committee went back to their rooms to prepare for their entrance while the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry entered and the Jimmy Medal presentation ensued. Shortly after, the Young Men’s committee was announced as they walked back in and the debutantes entered with their escorts.
“I feel like I’ve never been to an event like that before, so it was definitely a new experience to be able to dress up and see all those new people,” sophomore and guest Stacey Valenzuela said. “And at the end, towards when (guests) got to celebrate, we also got to dance with some of the (people with disabilities) and they also had live music. I just thought it was a lot of fun.”
Mareska Chettiar can be reached at [email protected].
