Circuit

For the ninth year, the AFCEA International Bethesda, Md., chapter hosted its benefit gala April 21, “A Night for the Children” at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington.The gala helps support the Children’s Inn at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda. The inn is a private, nonprofit residence for kids who are outpatients at NIH. The facility provides a place for the children to stay with their families as they undergo treatment at NIH, which is one of the premier medical facilities in the country.The event featured live and silent auctions, quilts made by the children staying at the Children’s Inn, casino games, dinner, music and dancing.The gala has raised more than $1.6 million in support of the Children’s Inn during the past seven years. Event organizers were still chalking up this year’s tally, but they said they surpassed their goal for this year of $340,000.