In 2012, local ladies Terri Holley and Alison Lebovitz, along with a dedicated committee, created the Moth Ball – an event for women, to benefit women in need in Hamilton County.
Inspiration for the Moth Ball came when Lebovitz’s husband Alan dared her to wear her wedding dress to dinner for the couple’s anniversary. When the couple ran into Terri Holley, the idea for a new fundraiser where ladies could wear any old dress was born.
After its inception in 2012, Terri and Alison turned the Moth Ball over to CMC Publications. Very quickly, with the support of media partners and sponsors, the event grew to where 1,000 or more ladies attended the event each year, and roughly $50,000 (or more!) was gifted to a new beneficiary every year.
The first beneficiary was the Women’s Fund of Greater Chattanooga. Since then, beneficiaries have included Partnership for Families, Children and Adults, Children’s Advocacy Center of Hamilton County, Northside Neighborhood House, Chattanooga Room in the Inn, Habitat for Humanity Women Build, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Family Promise of Greater Chattanooga, and Austin Hatcher Foundation for Pediatric Cancer. To date, the event has given $427,000 to local nonprofits.
The 2024 beneficiary is Love’s Arm, an organization that provides love, advocacy, and support for women survivors of trafficking, prostitution, addiction, and all types of commercial sexual exploitation. Founded in 2005, Love's Arm has exceptional leadership (Inza Hagins-Dyer is executive director) and broad support.
It is Chattanooga's oldest organization providing hope and healing to victims of trafficking. The organization provides cost-free, long- and short-term housing, as well as assistance with food, clothing, medical care, and therapeutic treatment. Many victims are trafficked as children and have suffered significant emotional and physical trauma. Many are now mothers.
When they heal and thrive, so do the children. When the children thrive, so does the community. The money raised by the Moth Ball by CityScope 2024 will directly impact women and children right here in Chattanooga.
This year’s event will be held on Thursday, April 25, from 7 to 9 p.m. at The Signal, located at 21 Choo Choo Avenue in Chattanooga. The former convention center, now a newly remodeled 20,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art event facility, will offer guests plenty of room to enjoy catered foods, drinks, dancing, prizes, and more.
Ticket sales are going fast, so don’t wait or you may be too late! The Moth Ball by CityScope sells out months in advance of the scheduled date. Get your tickets at themothball.org.