Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) School of Medicine first-year
students hosted the 21st Annual Lubbock City Lights Charity Gala & Casino Night April
27. The event raised more than $62,000.
Medical students began the Lubbock City Lights tradition in 1997. Since then, more
than $1 million has been raised and helped numerous local charities and organizations
in theWest Texas community. Tanir Moreno and Ganesh Maniam were executive co-chairs
for this year’s event along with Zain Ali and Ciara Espinoza, public relations and
community outreach co-chairs, Lauren Ford and Trisha Modi, sponsorship and auction
co-chairs, Samantha Edwards, special event chair, Nikita Tangella and Shannon Lee,
finance and ticketing co-chairs.
“Supporting deserving charities that provide services for Lubbock and contributing
to our community is a privilege,” Moreno said. “Our class partnered with the Lubbock
community to make a difference for worthy charities and had fun doing it too.”
This year’s Lubbock City Lights theme was Viva Las Vegas. Charities that will benefit
from the event include:
● The Free Clinic, a TTUHSC School of Medicine student-run initiative that offers
medical services, health education and social resource counseling to the uninsured
community of Lubbock every Wednesday.
● High Point Village, an organization developed for the purpose of providing an
enrichment facility and residential living community for individuals with special
needs. Their mission is to create a village where individuals with intellectual disabilities
can live, learn, work, worship and achieve their full potential through a variety
of vocational, educational, social and motivational programs and activities.
● Women’s Protective Services, an organization that creates an environment of
empowerment for women, children and families to eliminate family violence. The services
provided are free and confidential and include a 24-hour crisis hotline, shelter,
children’s program and assistance in obtaining legal and social services.
● Team Luke Hope for Minds, which supports families of children impacted by brain
injury. Tim Siegel and Ronda Johnson both leveraged their personal experiences with
brain injuries to do the most good for children with brain injuries and support and
education for their families.
“All of our hard work and efforts paid off,” Maniam said. “We are proud of what the
event raised and hopefully the funds will help these wonderful charities.”
