Haiti 911 Calgary & Okanagan Fundraising Successes

February 4, 2010 Posted by Dana Kayal

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!

Haiti 911 Okanagan

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!

Haiti 911 Calgary

Liette’s fundraiser, Haiti 911 Calgary, 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.

Thank You!

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!

~Dana & Liette

About Dana Kayal

Dana Kayal has been supporting the work of HATS since 2000. A successful entrepreneur, Dana regularly promotes the organization and raises funds for Hands Across the Sea in her role as a Director with Epicure. Dana lives in Kelowna, BC with her three children and her chickens.

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Testimonials

This week has been amazing – one of the best weeks of my life thus far, hands down. I can’t really think of any other experience in my life that can even come close to comparing to this. Though my visit here was short (too short), it has been incredibly eye-opening, and life changing. I will never forget the people I have met here, or the things I’ve gotten to experience! Most of all, I would like to say how remarkable it is to see first-hand the amazing work God is doing here. I am behind this ministry 100%, and will continue to support it. I am so, so blessed to have been given the opportunity to come here, and I am REALLY not looking forward to saying goodbye to the children tonight. My heart sinks just thinking about it. There’s no doubt that they’ve had a bigger impact on my life than I’ve had on theirs. I will be leaving a big piece of my heart with these people and this country. God bless.

Jess Buckle
HATS Visitor
I spent a week in Haiti at HATS in November 2017 and it was a wonderful experience. Karen is an amazing woman and is doing amazing work. She is dedicated to the children in her care and is changing lives. I would love the opportunity to visit again and help out where I can.

Sandy Eastly
HATS Visitor
It is our last day and there is always a certain amount of sadness and joy when we come to the end of a trip . We look forward to our homes and loved ones but there is a part of us that wants to stay and be near these dear dear children. They open their hearts and arms to you when you enter the front gate. They give you laughter and tears all week long and then they cry and hug you when they know you are going away. Being near that kind of unconditional love effects us all very deeply. So we leave part of our hearts here and promise to return.

Gerry Rhyno
HATS Visitor
It’s my hope that I manage to touch their hearts in some small way, the way that they have touched mine – in a major way.

Cherie MacDonald
HATS Visitor
Personally, this is my first time here. I’ve never done a mission trip of any sort before and I’ve certainly never been anywhere this hot before. I keep seeing things that are different from what I’m used to, and hearing about things even more unfamiliar to me. One of the most surprising things to meis how quickly I’ve grown to love all the people here. Everyone here is great, and the team is wonderful too. Watching everyone support each other warms my heart almost as much as the sun warms my skin. I’ve learned a lot from this experience, and I know that this trip has already had a profound impact on my life.

Matthew Sketchley
HATS Visitor
This is my first time traveling outside of Canada and I am proud to say it was for a mission trip. I have always wanted to go on one and see what it like in other parts of the world and do what I can to help out. Haiti is a terminus life change for me and how I look at things. Seeing these kids and how they have such a passion for each other and for us is truly inspiring. I look back to what I was like at that age and I don’t think I was half as kind or generous as they are. This morning we did devotions and as I was speaking about what an impact they had on me only in one day I started to tear up…it was very emotional to talk about.

Isaiah Henderson
HATS Visitor
It’s going to be impossible to put my thoughts into words about this experience, so I’d say this – if you can get here – do. I think most people probably think they’re coming to help others. To some extent, that’s true (at least this temporary blogger thought so). To a larger extent, you’ll leave Haiti a better person than when you arrived. Nelson Mandela once said something like “Everywhere I go, I wear you”. It means that none of us is our own person entirely. Rather, we’re the culmination of the people and experiences we have had. I leave Haiti wearing 16 HATS children, 10(ish) Haitian staff members, a Calgarian, 2 Winnipegian’s, and a Newfie. And I couldn’t be happier about it. Until we meet again my friends.

Rick
HATS Visitor
We have so enjoyed our time here. The work we have done has been fulfilling, the fellowship has been memorable and our hearts are forever impacted by the sweet, sweet children. A piece of HATS will always stay with each of us and who knows, maybe a few will return!

Ashley Withrow, Nicki White & Deborah Gilbert
HATS Visitors
They call Karen “the helicopter ” and after spending three days by her side I know why. She propels through life!!! If you want to get on the ride you better start running. It is an amazing work that the Lord is doing here through so many many dedicated workers…literally hundreds of children impacted every day with the love of Christ…but the task to do so is enormous. The dedication of staff is invaluable…they NEED US ALL!!

Barbara & Louis
HATS Visitors
This morning, we woke up as the sun came up and as we all began to trickle downstairs; we were met with warm welcomes from the precious children. As the children arrived, we were deeply touched and came to the realization of how important the HATS organization is to this country. Many children who would not have had any opportunities are now well nourished, educated and have a loving home and a mother who loves them more than we could ever comprehend, Karen Huxter.

Nicole Boudreau & Marcia Muise
HATS Visitors