Marking one of his Seattle public appearances as Washington state’s 23rd governor, Jay Inslee and his wife, Trudi, helped raise more than $525,000 at Kindering’s 19th Annual Auction and Gala on March 2.

The Inslees joined Tom and Lesley Todaro, event chairs, at the annual benefit for Bellevue-based Kindering, a nonprofit that provides early intervention therapies for infants and children with special needs. The sold-out event followed a theme of “Under the Big Top,” complete with performers, tenting, edible centerpieces, auction fun and Vaudeville entertainment. Dr. Ryan E. Stern rounded out the entertainment as the event’s Ringmaster.

“We could not have been more honored and thrilled to be a part of a special organization and cause,” Tom Todaro said. “For more than 50 years, Kindering has made a difference as a nationally renowned program for providing early intervention therapies, education and counseling to help disabled infants and small children and their parents live lives to the very fullest. This event was all about making that continue to happen.”

Gala sponsors included: Diamond Sponsor, Williams Kastner. Platinum sponsors: Explorer Properties, Iron Springs Resort, and Nintendo of America. Additional sponsors included: The Boeing Company, Costco Wholesale, inome, Kibble & Prentice, Lane Powell PC, Mosaic Rehabilitation, Inc., PayNorthwest, Swedish Medical Center, Puget Sound Energy, Regence BlueShield, and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.

More information about Kindering is available at kindering.org.

Below, Kindering Board Trustee Alex Silverman and Maia Richardson (Mercer Island residents) attend the gala.