Rancho Mirage Chamber of Commerce holds annual Show Your Heart Mixer

As the 2024-2025 season kicked off here in the desert, the Rancho Mirage Chamber of Commerce held its sixth annual Show Your Heart Mixer, dubbed "Heartbeats and Handshakes," a nonprofit showcase event featuring more than 45 local organizations.

On Sept. 24 at Indian Wells Country Club, representatives and supporters of nonprofits brought to the expansive ballroom a plethora of information to share with other charities, members of the public and those among us with huge hearts and a financial ability to help others.

Booths were set up, adult beverages were available and nibbles and bites ensured the crowd didn’t go hungry. So many faces of familiar good Samaritans were in attendance to learn more about other charities, volunteer their time to serve on boards and committees and support their favorite organizations.

On hand with her students was entrepreneur Kimberly Krause, who has recently formed an educational program for kids, going into schools to teach our youth how to look people in the eye and give a firm handshake, which is a novel and unique but so needed addition to today’s schools.

The major sponsor of the event was Lift to Rise, an organization whose goal it is to radically increase the supply of affordable housing in the Coachella Valley.

The event’s host, Katie Stice, president and CEO of the Rancho Mirage Chamber of Commerce, announced that next year’s mixer had already secured a bigger venue, and she and her team are working to get the word out to even more nonprofits.

"The chamber launched the Show Your Heart Mixer in 2019 to showcase our area nonprofits to the greater business community," Stice said. "We started the event on a smaller scale, and it continues to grow year over year."

Nonprofit organizations play a vital role in building healthy communities. They provide amazing services, products and programs to help our residents and visitors thrive and survive. Participating organizations at the event included Academy of Musical Performance, Alzheimer’s Association, American Business Women’s Association, Animal Samaritans, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Desert, Boys & Girls Club of Cathedral City, Chabad of Rancho Mirage, Children’s Discovery Museum of the Desert, Coachella Valley Horse Rescue, Coachella Valley Rescue Mission, Volunteers in Medicine Desert Arc Shredding & Recycling, Desert Best Friend’s Closet, Elder Love USA Inc., Forest Lawn, GirlFriend Factor, GPL Grandparents Love, Green Room Theatre Company, Guide Dogs of the Desert, Hanson House Foundation, Inland SoCal United Way, Lift to Rise, NAMI Coachella Valley, Olive Crest, Palm Springs Animal Shelter, Parkinson’s Resource Organization, Rancho Mirage Library and Observatory Foundation, Rancho Mirage Woman’s Club, Read with Me Volunteer Programs, Safe Schools Desert Cities, Coachella Valley Women’s Business Center, United Cerebral Palsy of the Inland Empire, Variety - Children’s Charity of the Desert and Voices for Children.

“The chamber of commerce is a champion for the community,” Stice said. “We thank all partners, attendees and sponsors for making the Show Your Heart Mixer a meaningful reality for all to enjoy.”

To learn more or to get involved, contact Katie Stice at [email protected] or Guadalupe Fox at [email protected].

Carole Stephen-Smith began writing in Scotland for a woman's weekly at the age of 15 and then covered American celebrities for the London Evening Echo. Arriving in the desert, she wrote for Desert Woman in the 1990s. Carole focuses on charities that help women as well as medical causes, especially breast cancer awareness, and all aspects of child abuse.