What a Wonderful Result!
You know the old phrase "It takes a village to raise a child", I will use it and say "It takes a village to bring events like these together!"
Last night's event at the Chester Yacht Club was actually the second part of a two step process with the ground being laid on the 1st September with Reunite for a Movie at the Hubbards market. On that evening we showed an award winning documentary which followed Syrian refugees in their journey from their war torn homeland to the places that they could finally call home. It was also the official launch of our online auction.
Last night marked the close of the online auction and for those who were not there you missed a fabulous chowder dinner, live auction and live music from the esteemed "Market Boys". It really was a wonderful evening, the ambience was welcoming to all, full of joy and the auction items were well received.
There are so many hidden pieces to make this kind of thing happen and and so many people who are willing to do whatever it takes big or small to make it all come together seamlessly. That is what has happened from our event kick off on September 1st to the finale last night, the village came together and the result was 18 days of escalation of interest in what Starfish Reunites is doing capped off by a wonderful evening for all at the Chester Yacht Club. On current estimates over $12,000 has now been raised out of our target $40,000. The icing on the cake perhaps is that our small Starfish Reunites initiative was able to collaborate with and support Bonny Lea Farm through the auction of the wonderful planters made by their participants and painted by local artists. We are so happy to have been able to work together in this regard.
What does this mean? It means that the Starfish Reunites group can put together and submit the application to the Canadian government for Noor, Wile, Hiba and Hala to come to Canada. This is the successful conclusion of our first step in our journey together. Our ultimate goal remains their safe arrival in Canada and our collective assistance to welcome them and make them feel that they are a part of our community.
I thank those of you who helped with the evening, those who came and were our guests for the evening, those who donated and those who bid on auction items. Please sign up as members on this website so that you receive our blogs and updates about the Alouch family members who are already here and their lives in Canada. We will continue to update you on our progress with regards to reuniting the family.
