On September 20th,
Sacramento Heifer Volunteers hosted Heifer Tails, a storytelling event
at Westminster Presbyterian Church.
As mentioned in previous
posts on this blog, the goal of the event was to raise funds to support Heifer
communities in Nepal affected by earthquakes earlier this year.
Our volunteer group was
energized by the enthusiastic involvement of gifted tale spinners from the
local storytelling community, headed up by Mary McGrath, and the participation
of world music talent Bob Wren. Westminster Presbyterian Church generously
provided a perfect setting. And the event was a sell out! We moved furniture
and added chairs to accommodate the standing room crowd eager to listen to timeless folktales
from around the world. Check out the video of the event.
This wonderful event
raised over $8,800 in donations and ticket sales and was matched by a $10,000
donation from a Bay area foundation, making a grand total of over $18,000 for
earthquake recovery efforts by
Heifer communities in Nepal. Needless to say our volunteer group is over the moon with the results!
- During the spring 2015 earthquakes, nearly 23,000 Nepali families in 97 Village Development Committees (VDCs) and across 13 districts lost their homes and livelihoods.
- Members of Heifer's Self-Help Groups and Cooperatives played a key role in immediate relief support before government or other assistance arrived, ensuring distributions went smoothly and each family received some support.
- After those immediate needs were met by Heifer and other relief organizations working in the country, and because it was clear the rebuilding and recovery would require a long-term approach, Heifer established a revolving fund for communities that saw the worst damage. Participants advocated for this approach because it would allow the communities to make joint decisions about how to best distribute and utilize funds. All monies will stay in the communities to provide continuous support in the future.
- Reports from Nepal are showing our approach is having a large impact on helping farmers recover.
The Sacramento Heifer Volunteer group wishes to express deep gratitude to the many attendees, talented local storytellers and musicians, and to Westminster Presbyterian Church for coming together to make
Heifer Tails a
success.
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