Safari event to benefit orphanage

Amore Salon and Spa will host its first Safari Christmas Open House on Wednesday, Dec. 3, as a fundraiser for an orphanage in South Africa.  

The open house will be from 6 to 8 p.m. at the main salon location at 35 Fifth Ave. W. in Kalispell. All of the money raised will go to the Jehovah Jireh Haven Children’s Home in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

“It’s going to be a very fun event, and for such a good cause,” salon owner Tracy Anderson said.

Last year, Anderson and coworker Connie Murer bid on a safari trip during a fundraising auction. The trip was already planned for them, and in October, the women traveled to South Africa with their husbands.

Part of the trip included missionary work, which allowed the two couples to spend time at the Jehovah Jireh Haven Children’s Home.

“We spent several days with them and ate dinner with the group,” Anderson said. “It was a very humbling experience and we were very touched by what they are trying to do there.”

During their visit to the orphanage, the women learned the home was started by a couple who wanted to make a difference in the poverty-stricken community.

Originally, the home only took in a few cases, but it quickly grew to house many orphaned children. Now the orphanage feeds at least 60 children each day, Anderson said, sometimes up to 100. However, the orphanage only receives enough money to house 40 children.

“We wanted to continue to help and make a difference,” she said.

After the women returned to Montana, they sought to bring light to the struggle of the children’s home. In an effort to raise awareness, they decorated the Amore Salon in tribal print and African colors, complete with photos of the children who are living in the orphanage.

“It’s out of control,” Anderson said with a laugh. “We spent two days doing it all up and it looks great now.”

The women have continued to promote the orphanage since their return, raising money for the home through donations from local businesses and individuals. Currently, they have raised $14,000 and will continue their effort during the safari open house.

“We learned that you could feed one child for $1 a day,” Anderson said. “So we’re promoting that $30 can feed a child for a month.”

Their goal is to raise $21,600, which would feed 60 children for one year in the orphanage.

During the open house, participants can earn prizes by sponsoring a child, either through a one-time donation or by continually donating to sponsor the child for a year.

“A child is a child, that’s what we believe,” Anderson said. “No matter where they are in the world, they deserve help.”

The event will host food, prizes, music and a silent auction for a custom hand-crafted furniture chest.

The event is free and open to the public.

The salon will also host its Eighth Annual Fire Fund Raffle gift drawing throughout December prior to Christmas. This fundraiser will include custom-built boxes stuffed full of prizes.

All raffle ticket sales are donated to help local families affected by fires; it has helped 14 families through the raffle to date.

For more information on either fundraiser, contact Amore Salon and Spa at 755-5513 or go online to www.amore-salon.net.

Reporter Brianna Loper may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at bloper@dailyinterlake.com.