More than 300 guests enjoyed food, festivities and entertainment at the Carolina Club on March 21 as the Ronald McDonald House of Chapel Hill held its Third Annual Storybook Gala. This year’s theme of “A Whole New World” featured Aladdin-inspired decorations, characters and food. The event grossed more than $144,000.

At the Storybook Gala, guests had the opportunity to participate in silent and live auctions, as well as a jewelry pull for Kendra Scott jewelry and a raffle sponsored by Diamonds Direct Crabtree. Entertainment was provided by costumed characters, the Black Fox Belly Dancers and the Fantasy Band.

The event also featured a live donor appeal wherein participants used their smartphones to make online donations while a running tally was projected onto the front screen. The appeal netted about $20,900 for the House’s capital campaign.

A current facility expansion will grow the House from 29 to 53 guestrooms and include long-term-stay suites, new kitchen and dining facilities, a welcome center with community meeting space, bone-marrow-transplant and special programming space, and a courtyard with outdoor play equipment and gardens.

The expansion will also facilitate the Loving Hands Program, the only pediatric hospice and palliative care program in North Carolina. The facility expansion is expected to open Oct. 10, 2015.

“We are so grateful to all of the supporters and volunteers who helped make this event a resounding success,” said Elizabeth Hullender, director of special events. “Even on a night when the Tar Heels were playing in the NCAA tournament, we were able to draw a very lively crowd to support this wonderful cause.”

To learn more about the facility expansion or to donate, visit www.makeroomforhope.com. To find out more about Ronald McDonald House of Chapel Hill, visit www.rmh-chapelhill.org or call 919-913-2040.