September 7, 2023

A smile can brighten the season.

Thank you for your support!

The 8^th annual ugly sweater party brought together more than 100 guests in ugly sweaters to bring awareness to the whole child approach of supporting students through Communities In Schools of Kalamazoo (CIS).

In addition to some amazing sweaters worn by guests, this year’s festivities had a unique way to interact with the 2022 ugliest sweaters competing. All the sweaters were on display to allow guests to take photos “in” their favorite sweater. Big thanks to Kevin Kline who volunteered to build the interactive display boards!

With the help of Dann and Tara Sytsma from Crawlspace Eviction, a local improv group, each sweater was given a name and personality to match their design.

This year’s ugly sweater party at Bell’s Brewery was sponsored by Kalsec, Inc. Guests enjoyed a taco bar and an improv show, which brought many guests on stage to participate.

All the ugly was for a good cause: supporting the work of CIS and the students that we serve. With the support of local businesses and organizations, this year’s ugly sweater fundraiser raised $18,255!

New for 2022, we had, not one, but two trophies:

Fan Favorite: Each guest had one fan favorite ticket. The Fan Favorite Trophy was awarded to Kalamazoo Orthodontics!

Kalamazoo Orthodontics with their FAN FAVORITE trophy!

The Ugliest Sweater Award was a back-and-forth, heated competition. The top three winners of this year’s trophy were: Kalsec, Inc. (1^st place), Humphrey Products (2nd), and Unifab Corporation (3rd).

Kalsec with their Ugliest Sweater 2022 award!

Thank you to our 2022 sponsors and supporters! We couldn’t do this without you. Thank you for supporting the CIS mission of surrounding students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.

If you haven’t had the chance to see the sweaters in person, they are back on display and located at 180 E. Water Street, in the Warner building until December 16^th.

Thank you to Combat Ready Art for once again designing beautifully “ugly” hand-crafted trophies for this year.

Thank you to this year’s sweater sponsors: Chase, Edwards Garment, Emerging Leaders for Communities In Schools of Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo Orthodontics, Humphrey Products, Kalsec, Inc., PNC Bank, and Unifab Corporation.