The Shepherdstown Rotary Club’s annual Christmas Charity Ball, which was held Dec. 7, 2012 at the Shepherdstown Volunteer Fire Department Hall, raised a total of $22,570 for 16 local nonprofit organizations. The event was entitled “Our Ball, Your Charity.”

Each year, individual Rotarians help underwrite it by sponsoring tables and contributing funds toward the costs of food, beverages, music and decorations. Sponsoring organizations cover the rest of those costs.

All of the proceeds from the sale of tickets to each table are then donated to charities selected by the table’s host.

Each table is also given the opportunity to participate in a silent auction, and all the auction proceeds go to the designated charities as well.

The nonprofit organizations that benefited from the December 7 event were as follows: American Diabetes Association, American Red Cross, Animal Welfare Society of Jefferson County, CASA of the Eastern Panhandle, Friends of Music, Good Shepherd Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers, Habitat for Humanity of the Eastern Panhandle, Historic Shepherdstown, Jennifer Barlow Foundation, Potomac Valley Audubon Society, Shepherdstown Area Independent Living (SAIL), Shepherdstown Day Care, Shepherdstown Middle School Jazz Band, Shepherdstown Public Library, Shepherdstown Rotary Foundation and the Shepherdstown Welcome Sign Project.

The lead sponsor of the event was The Peterson Group at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. Other sponsors were the Bavarian Inn, the Contemporary American Theater Festival and Everything Linen. Students at Shepherdstown Elementary School provided decorations for the event.