CULLMAN, Ala. – Local nonprofit The Willow Path (formerly Victim Services of Cullman) will host Night in the French Quarter on Thursday, Sept. 17, from 6-10 p.m. at the Cotton Creek Venue.
Executive Director Jessica Atchley said this year’s event is designed to make guests feel like they’ve stepped into the French Quarter for the evening.
“We’ll have New Orleans-inspired food, dueling pianos, signature drinks, a bourbon tasting, caricature artist, magician, photo booth and plenty of other surprises throughout the night,” Atchley said. “We’ll also have a silent auction, with some really unique packages and experiences.”
Atchley shared that they don’t want this to feel like a traditional nonprofit fundraiser; they wanted it to be something more.
“We don’t want participants to experience the normal expectations of coming in, eating dinner, listening to a speaker and going home,” she said. “We want people to have an incredible night while also knowing that their ticket, sponsorship and auction purchases are directly helping survivors right here in Cullman County.”
Last year was the fifth and final year of the group’s annual Masquerade Ball, and they knew it was time to do something new, Atchley said.
“Instead of simply replacing it with another themed gala, we created the Passport Series,” Atchley said. “The idea is that each year we can take our guests somewhere completely different without ever leaving Cullman. It gives us the freedom to reinvent the event every year and really create an experience. For our first ‘passport,’ New Orleans and the French Quarter just made sense. It’s colorful, a little over the top, full of incredible food and music and there are so many different elements we can incorporate throughout the night. We really wanted the first year of the Passport Series to set the tone for what this event can become.”
This is the sixth year for the group’s annual signature fundraiser, but the first following the popular Masquerade Ball events.
“This fundraiser is incredibly important to us because unrestricted fundraising dollars give us the flexibility that grant funding often doesn’t,” Atchley said. “Grants are critical to our organization, but many of those dollars are restricted to very specific programs or expenses. The money raised through this event helps us fill those gaps and continue providing services when and where survivors need them.”
The Willow Path provides emergency shelter, counseling, court advocacy, child and family advocacy, case management, safety planning, prevention education and other support to victims of domestic violence and their children. Those services are provided at no cost to the survivors.
“At the end of the day, this event allows our community to directly invest in making sure those services remain available locally,” Atchley added.
Atchley said 2025 was a milestone year for them with approximately 300 people in attendance, the largest crowd to date, and raised an estimated $50,000 through sponsorships, ticket sales, auctions and other fundraising activities.
“The impact goes beyond the amount raised,” Atchley said. “Last year’s event was also where we publicly introduced The Willow Path to our community for the first time. It represented a major turning point for our organization and gave us the opportunity to share where we were headed. This year, we want to build on that momentum. We’re preparing for approximately 400 guests, and of course we want to surpass what we raised last year.”
More importantly, they want people to leave understanding what The Willow Path does and knowing that their support has a very real impact on families in this community.
“These aren’t services being provided somewhere else with the money raised here,” Atchley said. “The dollars raised here stay here and support survivors in Cullman County. Victim Services of Cullman was established in 1991, and that name served our organization well for more than three decades. But as the organization grew, we felt the name no longer fully represented who we had become or the journey of the people we serve. We chose The Willow Path very intentionally. The willow tree represents resilience, strength, flexibility and growth. A willow can weather incredibly strong storms because it bends without breaking. We felt that was such a powerful representation of the survivors we have the privilege of serving.”
Atchley said the “path” represents the journey forward.
“There isn’t one single path after domestic violence,” she said. “For one person, the first step may be coming into an emergency shelter. For someone else, it may be counseling, walking into court with an advocate beside them, finding housing or simply calling our crisis line for the first time. The Willow Path represents both pieces — being rooted in strength while continuing to move forward toward safety, stability and hope. Our name changed, but our mission and our commitment to Cullman County did not.”
The community can get involved in many ways, but first and foremost — attending the event.
“Buy a ticket, bring some friends and enjoy the night with us,” Atchley said. “Businesses and individuals can also become sponsors, donate items or experiences for our auctions or simply make a financial contribution if they aren’t able to attend. One of the things we love about this fundraiser is that there are so many ways to participate. You don’t have to be able to write a huge check to make a difference. Buying a ticket, bidding on an auction item, sharing the event or introducing someone new to our mission all helps. We want this to be something the entire community feels ownership in because The Willow Path truly belongs to this community.”
Tickets for Night in the French Quarter are available at https://thewillowpath.org/news-and-events. Ticket sales close Sept. 10.
“Most importantly, if someone reading this is experiencing domestic violence or is worried about someone they love, our crisis line is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Atchley said. “You do not have to be staying in our shelter to receive help from The Willow Path. And whether someone supports us by attending Night in the French Quarter, donating, volunteering, sponsoring an event or simply sharing our information with someone who may need it, they become part of the path forward for survivors in our community.”
For more information, visit thewillowpath.org or call 256-775-2600.
24-Hour Crisis Line: 256-734-6100
Cotton Creek is located at 417 Third Ave. SW in Cullman.
