What an incredible day we all had! Though we were forced to share our limited supply of paint markers, hey, that was sort of the point, right? Sharing, joy and kindness. Twelve schools turned out to decorate a buddy bench and to create posters to hang in the schools. The posters will, hopefully, explain the benches. But if schools need more information, please let us know. Thank you to all of the fabulous parents, teachers and kids who came out to create a gift for their entire school! The district grounds gurus, Art Kent and Don Stevenson picked up the benches and are awaiting emails from the principals to let them know where to install each one.
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A quick congratulations to Raymond Goodall who fought cancer (TWICE!) and is clearly winning. COPE raised money for Raymond's healthcare needs in December 2013, at our benefit concert starring Nora O'Connor and Robbie Fulks. This week, Raymond learned that he is the recipient of a full scholarship to Roosevelt University's Department of Musical Theater and Dance. This guy is going places!
Last night COPE had the immense pleasure of partnering with FAN (Family Action Network) on it's first event in Evanston! FAN has been bringing incredible speakers to the Northshore for many years and is currently expanding its programming into Evanston. We were thrilled to support their work and to have a presence at ETHS when Ishmael Beah talked to a packed auditorium about writing, the consequences of violence and resilience. I think this was a perfect kick off event for FAN's Evanston audience.
In a community where families have experienced extreme loss around violence, we show resilience in so many ways. From non-profits like the Dajae Coleman Foundation to COPE's own efforts to engage people in conversations around race, we connect with each other and make attempts to find solutions.
As Ishmael Beah said last night, "People cannot forget their trauma but they can refocus their energy." The donations and deliveries were fast and furious this holiday season. Special thanks to Kevin Bond for most of the heavy lifting!
We also want to thank a few Willard families; the McElhattons, Emi Clark, and Jan Granath for all of the beds, sofas and other household goods. And thanks so much to Ms. Remein at Kingsley who donated gifts to one of our Kingsley families who didn't sign up for the mitten tree in time. Kate Monte also generously donated peanut butter, jelly and a breast pump. We have covered almost $3000 in bills for the King Arts family whose son has lymphoma so far with plans to cover more COBRA costs. And, on behalf of the Dajae Coleman Foundation, Tiffany Rice donated Christmas gifts to the same family.
Our third benefit concert was incredible. The music was fun. The crowd was enthusiastic. We sold out the Evanston Space. But most impressive was the feeling of generosity and support in the room - amazing. Evanston, I knew I couldn't live anywhere else. Your people are the best in the world!
And so far the totals are impressive: In cash, we took in $1221 In checks, we took in $3075 Robbie's record sales were $327 According to the bid sheets - we also need to follow up with people who committed an additional $5000. The ticket sales should bring us around $4000. And, the day after the benefit, we were contacted by a grant agency who donated an additional $1,000. SO WOW!!!!!! That is a total of around $15,000. INCREDIBLE!!!! Most of the people in the room wanted money to go to a King Arts family whose son has lymphoma. You can see Raymond's video here.
Three people committed to a full month of this family's COBRA at $1870 per month.
We also committed to giving $500 to Washington School for their grocery program, $500 to the Dajae Coleman Foundation, $250 towards glasses for kids at Oakton School, and the remainder for Kingsley groceries and a district pool/operating costs. |
AuthorJuliet C. Bond, LCSW Archives
June 2016
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