Kootenay youth hit high note for Haiti, raising $44,000
By Contributor
The Kootenay Youth Haiti Relief Benefit concert held on Jan.30 at the Brilliant Cultural Centre was a huge success, with close to $22,000 raised for the Canadian Red Cross.
More than 900 people from all over the West Kootenay area shared their compassion and concern for the nation of Haiti by attending this standing-room-only event, which showcased the incredible talents of many local choirs, soloists and dancers.
In addition to the performers, the Mount Sentinel students who were evacuated from Haiti following the earthquake shared their experiences, leaving most people in the hall filled with emotion and tears. Red Cross volunteers were also on hand to explain how the donations would be used in Haiti.
“It was a truly magical evening,” said Ellie Davidoff, organizer of the event. “Of course, the bonus was the incredible generosity of the community. I sincerely hope that our hearts will continue to feel compassion towards the more unfortunate citizens of the world. We are all so very proud of the Mount Sentinel students and all the youth of the community—they have truly bonded while working together for a very timely and worthwhile cause. We would be more than happy to participate in future endeavours of this sort.”
Added to the generous public donations raised at the event, corporate donations included $1,000 from the Kootenay Columbia Teachers’ Union and $4,900 from Columbia Power. With the federal government matching donations, the event will have raised almost $44,000.
Donations to this event are still being accepted by the Canadian Red Cross at 1-800-418-1111 or by logging onto www.redcross.ca/article.asp?id=000005&tid= and informing them your donation is part of the “Kootenay Youth Haiti Relief Benefit Concert.” All donations made by Feb.22 will be matched by the Canadian government.
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