Two local nonprofit organizations are planning a festive evening at Nash Farm Park in conjunction with one of America’s premier sporting events.

  Derby Day is scheduled for Saturday, May 4, 4:30-8:30 p.m. and is co-sponsored this year by Rachel’s Gift and Henry County Cancer Services. Organizers are promising “food, derby-themed games, contests, a silent auction, and a live streaming of the Kentucky Derby,” according to a Facebook page created specifically for the event.

  This is the fifth year for Derby Day, which was previously hosted solely by HCCS. That organization considered not having it this year, but the partnership with Rachel’s Gift is one that both groups hope will make it bigger and better than ever.

  Food will be provided by Quinn’s Catering. Silent auction items include trips to Savannah and Gatlinburg along with other items as well as baskets contributed by local merchants containing everything from jewelry to autographed sports memorabilia, according to Rachel’s Gift director Lori Beth Blaney.

  Rachel’s Gift leaders decided not to host their annual Heavenly Night dinner and auction, which had taken place each spring the past few years, and focus their attention this time of year instead on Derby Day. They hope their friends who have supported Heavenly Night in the past will turn out this time as well.

  Tickets and sponsorships can be purchased in advance at rachels gift.org and more information about the event as well as the organization can be found there. The same goes for Henry County Cancer Services at henrycountycancerservices.com. You can also find the “Derby Day” page on Facebook. Tickets are available through April 30 or until the event is sold out.

  Rachel’s Gift was founded in 2008, according to Blaney, who has been the director since its inception. Its mission is to partner with hospitals to assist families through the initial stages of infant loss. Blaney’s family came up with the idea after her own infant daughter, Rachel, was lost and there was no such organization to help them.

  Now their reach extends beyond Henry County to six states, where 997 families were served in 2018. Families receive keepsake boxes filled with keepsakes and resources to help at their time of loss, and those items are a large part of what the funds from Derby Day will be used for.

  Henry County Cancer Services exists primarily to help Henry County residents struggling from the effects of a cancer diagnosis. This is done mainly through financial assistance, allowing them to move more smoothly toward recovery and financial stability.

  Both are recognized as 501(c)3 nonprofit entities.

  Blaney said Derby Day in the past has been done extremely well by HCCS, and the two groups working together hope to see even more success.   “It’s a lot of fun,” she said. “We want to make it bigger and better.”