Tsunami show raises $10,500
Mountains of money can be moved with a generous community and a big push from a few motivated local citizens.
A recent Whitefish concert and auction party drew more than 250 people and raised more than $10,500 for child victims of the tsunami disaster in Southeast Asia.
Four concerned Whitefish residents organized the fund-raiser and auction in just 10 days. Eric Young first came up with the idea and spearheaded the planning, says Nick Palmer, who co-organized the event along with Gerda Reeb and Allison Noyes.
"I've never been involved with anything like this that has gone so smoothly." Palmer says. "It was just flawless."
Jim Flanagan, owner of the newly opened Flanagan's Central Station, provided his venue and crew free of charge. Jay DiPaola managed the sound for the musicians including lively performances by dance bands Cocinando and Moving Lucy and musicians David Walburn, Dave Ellis, Linda Woods and John Floridis.
Fifty Flathead businesses and private citizens donated a wide variety of goods and services for a silent auction.
"Their generosity and the money that was raised exceeded our expectations," Palme says. "Everyone we asked donated and many that we didn't ask, did too. We are blessed by this community."
The two-page list of items up for auction included everything from acupuncture to yoga classes; from pottery to a Pocket Rocket and a Pilates class; and from a home-cooked Indonesian dinner to a private Italian lesson.
All proceeds from the concert have been donated to Save the Children, a nonprofit organization providing assistance and rehabilitation to children affected by the devastating tsunami of Dec. 26.
Save the Children is a leading, nonprofit humanitarian relief and development organization working in more than 40 countries and the United States for the last 70 years.
Their recent efforts in South Asia have delivered a 12-truck convoy from Jakarta to Medan in North Sumatra with 80 tons of medical supplies, food, first aid and household kits; 30 tons of rice to other regions that had not yet received any food or assistance; and 30 tons of water, tea, sardines, vegetable oil, baby food and biscuits to camps in the Banda Aceh region. Tarpaulins, medicine and more household and hygiene products for the homeless, including blankets, cook stoves, sleeping mats and mosquito repellent, are also arriving there daily.
Save the Children has also moved quickly to identify and protect unaccompanied children and orphans from being trafficked or exploited. Family tracing teams are visiting hospitals, clinics and camps and registering separated children. Staff are training UNICEF Crisis Center personnel and establishing offices and shelters for children and adults in need of closer supervision.
Information on Save the Children can be found at www.savethechildren.org. Donations may be made online. To donate by phone, call 1-800-728-3843. To donate by mail, send checks to: Save the Children, Attn: Asian Earthquake/Tsunami Relief Fund, 54 Wilton Road, Westport, CT 06880.
All cash gifts for tsunami disaster relief made prior to Jan. 31 may be claimed as federal tax deductions in tax year 2004.