The Shepherdstown Rotary Club’s annual Christmas Charity Ball, which was held last December 5 at the Shepherdstown Volunteer Fire Department Hall, raised a total of $20,228 for 19 mostly local nonprofit organizations.

The event is 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.

In all, this event has raised a total of $174,952 for mostly local charities since the Shepherdstown Club adopted the “Our Ball Your Charity” format in 2008.

The nonprofit organizations that benefited from the Dec. 5 event were as follows: Caring Cupboard, CASA of the Eastern Panhandle, Good Shepherd Volunteer Caregivers, Historic Shepherdstown Commission, Hospice of the Eastern Panhandle, Jefferson High School Baseball Boosters, Kidz Power Pacs, Mrs. Jenny, Potomac Valley Audubon Society, Rotary International, Shepherd University Friends of Music, Shepherd University RAM Nation, Shepherdstown Area Independent Living, Shepherdstown Day Care Center, Saint Agnes Church, Shepherdstown Public Library, Shepherdstown Rotary Club Charitable Fund, Shepherdstown Visitors Center, Shepherdstown Volunteer Fire Department,