Karen's daughters Fundraisers

Hi there. This post comes from Dana-Lynn and Liette, Karen's two daughters. We were on vacation in Jamaica when the earthquake struck Haiti and as soon as we arrived back in Canada on Jan 16th we started planning fundraiser's. Here's a brief summary of our results!

Dana's fundraiser - Haiti 911 Okanagan - took place in Kelowna on Jan 30th. The day combined over 100 Silent Auction/Raffle items, Epicure Selections sampling/sales, snack sales, and fabulous entertainment. The entertainment started with 3 feature performers from Masabo, a Vancouver based West African dance, drumming and story telling group - a special thank-you to you for your contribution to our event's success! We also had some great local talent, Manny & his hip hopping friends from Act 1 Danceworks, Phil drumming, McKenzie Sherry singing and Ryan Paterson sharing his testimonial.

Dozens of friends helped out by sourcing donations or doing whatever needed at the event - A HUGE thank-you to each of you!! An extra thanks to these friends who spent hours volunteering before & during the event: Pam Paterson & family for entertainment, plus plus. Susan Sherry for convincing Masabo to join us and to Susan and her family for keeping everyone full of yummy snacks, plus plus! Angie Reglin and Heather Burton for cooking up a storm of Epicure samples at home, then donating all commissions from their sales! Leah Otsig for pounding alot of pavement seeking donations and Donna Lofstrom who ran around as need, then spent a 12 hour day with me on Saturday from setting up at 9am to sorting back at my house all evening!

Thank-you to all those who contacted your sources attempting to get us some media coverage. Jo Holland was successful and I was honored to have a Thursday moring radio interview with Phil at AM1150 talk radio. The local TV station attended the day of the event and clips of Masabo's dancing and Dana's interview played on the Jan 30th newscast. The best part is that they shared this blog address - welcome to those of you that learned about HATS via that broadcast!

My goal was $10,000 but attendance was about much lower than anticipated. Those that did turn out were generous of spirit and pocketbook as they donated money and bid on auction items - we were wowed to have earned almost $7000 from the dozens in attendance! When the attendees weren't bidding they were visiting, dancing, clapping and cheering the great entertainment.

A planned part of our event was Krispy Kreme sales. The day of the event Krispy Kreme donuts were being trucked up from Vancouver and the truck hit black ice and flipped on the Coquihalla. Instead Krispy Kreme donuts are now coming up this Friday and more friends have jumped on board to sit outside the local walmarts (they'll be dressed in winter wear!) with me for 15 hours selling donuts. We expect to raise another $3000 this weekend, meeting my goal of $10,000!

Liette's fundraiser - Haiti 911 - took place in Calgary on January 31st.

With my good friend Valerie Dupre and in partnership with the fantastic management and staff at Sunterra Fresh Food Markets, we hosted an amazing brunch. The menu for the brunch included strawberry crepes, fresh fruit and pastries and a delicious Haitian chicken and rice. Tickets for the brunch were $20 per person and the delicious food was well worth the ticket price .


Staff at the crepe station making crepes to order

Valerie organized some amazing local talent to showcase poetry, spoken word, singing and of course Haitian dance with the Haitian Pearls, a group that my daughter Mariah has been a member of for years.


Patience Mwangi sang Amazing Grace


Valerie Dupe did a fantastic job


Mariah ready to dance

Dear friend Annelies Price organized an incredible silent auction with donations from friends and strangers, including art work, professional services, Westjet tickets and Olympic tickets, among other great items. Thanks to our generous donors and everyone who came ready to support our efforts to help the people of Haiti, the silent auction raised a total of $10,000!

Beautful painting donated by local artist Lise Boras

The brunch was promoted by Radio-Canada, several local radio stations and the Calgary Herald. Reporters from CTV and Global TV were in attendance, so coverage from Haiti 911 was shown on both of those stations on the evening news of January 31.

A huge thank you to everyone who helped out in a myriad of ways - soliciting donations, selling tickets, attending the brunch, helping out on the day of the event, providing printing and other services, encouraging friends and family to attend, donating to the silent auction and buying fabulous auction items! A special thank you to Valerie Dupre, co-organizer extraordinaire and to Glen and Annelies Price who were 100% supportive and provided incredible expertise, energy, and enthusiasm. This would not have been possible without all of you.

The funds raised at the Haiti 911 brunch from tickets sales and the silent auction will be shared between Hands Across the Sea and Medecins Sans Frontieres, two organizations faithfully serving the people of Haiti. Donations designated to one or the other organization will be forwarded directly to them.

We are happy to announce that we raised $16,000 for Hands Across the Sea!