A black-tie gala coming to Raleigh this week aims to give nurses the kind of formal recognition usually reserved for lawyers and executives, while honoring the memory of a young man whose death reshaped his mother’s mission in healthcare. The inaugural Monumental Nurses Ball runs Thursday and Friday at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Raleigh Durham Airport Brier Creek, drawing healthcare professionals, first responders, educators and community leaders for an evening built around an elegant dinner, speeches from influential healthcare figures, and entertainment.
The event was founded by Ali’ce J. Haskins, a family nurse practitioner, educator and entrepreneur, according to CBS 17. Haskins first got the idea for the gala in 2019 after attending a Lawyers Ball at the North Carolina Governor’s Mansion, and she built the Monumental Nurses Ball around the motto “a ballroom, not a breakroom,” according to a Facebook post from Nurse Haskins. The idea, per that account, was to give nurses the same kind of prestige evening long afforded to other professions.
The gala is hosted by the Varian Legacy Foundation, which CBS 17 reports was established in memory of Haskins’s late son, Varian M. Alexander. The station notes that Haskins reevaluated her purpose and commitment to giving back after the personal tragedy of his death. The foundation is an officially incorporated 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization headquartered in McDonough, Georgia, according to Charity Navigator.
A Foundation Built on Mentorship and Financial Literacy
Beyond the gala itself, the Varian Legacy Foundation addresses educational opportunities and financial literacy in underserved communities, providing mentorship alongside its scholarship work, per CBS 17’s reporting. The station reports that foundation initiatives have transformed the lives of beneficiaries through access to education and financial empowerment. That mission dovetails with the gala’s stated purpose of advocating for health equity and community impact while highlighting what organizers describe as the resilience and dedication of healthcare heroes…