Our Passing on the Gift fundraiser to benefit projects in Haiti took place on Sunday May 2nd and was a tremendous success. Ninety five people were in attendance and thoroughly enjoyed the event. The Haitian meal prepared by restaurateur Patrick Celestine was delicious as were the farm animal shaped cookies baked by some of our volunteers. A celebratory tone
was set by the rousing Haitian drum piece performed by Bob Scarlett and company. John Bowman’s original poem, Haiti Comes Closer, struck a delicate, fine balance between promoting awareness of the severity of the problems at hand with a sense of hopefulness. Isaac Egge’s presentation regarding the situation in Haiti and Heifer’s work there was
a wake up call and was both informative and inspiring. Marshal McKitrick’s original folk songs spoke of challenging realities in our world but within a larger context of optimism and faith in the human spirit. Doug Crawford and Every One in Rhythm closed the show by facilitating a vibrant drum circle. Everything went like clock work much to the relief of MC John Brewer.
Volunteers are to be congratulated for contributing their services in numerous ways. The Nifty Knitters represented by Pat Sigg netted $87 in donations. The Silent Auction put together by DeAnna Torres netted $495; the top items were Pat Sayer-Handley’s sailboat ride and DeAnna’s hypnotherapy session both of which brought in bids of $100. Pat and Judy Grimshaw did a stellar job
in setting up a Children’s Table where kids made rhythm instruments some of which were played later at the drum circle. Sue Bennett set up her Dinner Around the World display, which was a real eye opener. Cheryl McKinney put together animal button sashes along with a reference booklet with “what your choice of animal says about you” fun blurbs along with how the animal makes a difference in the lives of our project partners. This provided an ice breaker as people entered; Cheryl was ably assisted by Amy Flindt, Noriaki Kono, and Susan Sundell. Suzanne Awalt handled the information table with grace and aplomb.Total donations added up to $4,046; after costs, $3,786 was sent to Headquarters. But who can quantify the long term impact of this event on the enhanced awareness and future acts of service which may issue from participants who were inspired by involvement in this event.
