Night Under the African Stars Gala

The Night Under the African Stars Gala was held this past weekend! Earlier this summer Jake and I were referred by our social worker for our adoption to become involved with this event and to help with the planning. Specifically our job was to secure auction items for the gala. The purpose of the gala was to act as a fundraiser to help raise money for the Cornerstone of Hope Orphanage in Benin City, Nigeria. I've done a few earlier posts about the COH Orphanage, its Iowa connection, and the efforts of the founders to expand the orphanage which would allow many more waiting, orphaned children to live there. Jake and I learned so much in helping to plan this gala. It was a blessing and inspiration to see how the founders are putting forth so much effort to make their orphanage a success.

Set up for the event began on Friday....

To create the stars, an architectural lighting guy offered his services and projected the stars on the ceiling through cut out stensils and special lights. They turned out perfect.

Set up is finished and looking beautiful...let the night begin!


Jake and I were both assigned jobs for the evening of the gala. Jake's job was to pick up the volunteer ISU students from campus and transport them to the gala. The student volunteers were all from different countries throughout Africa and were asked to wear their traditonal African attire. Nana Yaw helped as well. Here is Jake explaining to them what their jobs would be for the night.

By the way, Jake is wearing his African shirt that Esi (Nana Yaw's mom) gave him. :) The main job of Jake and the ISU students was to serve the food and drinks to all the guests. Jake enjoyed getting back into the fast-paced groove of restaurant work like he did in the old college days.

Jake was the go-to guy between the cooks and the servers.

Nana Yaw serves up some food.

At the beginning of the night my job was to SMILE and check in the guests as they arrived.
:)

My next job came after the silent auction. Us check-er-in-ers moved into auction check-out mode and got everything set up for the guests who won the item bids to pay up. It was pretty nifty how it all worked....there was a system to call in credit card payments over the phone and it went smoothly. We had some GREAT auction items for the event! A few of them were: one week stay in ocean view suite in Maui, Hawaii, 10 week Farrell's extreme body shaping course, hot air balloon ride, hire a handy man for a day, wine tour for 10, massage/manicure/facial/haircut package at a salon, tennis lessons, U of Iowa & UNI football tickets, etc. etc. There were also lots of items direct from Nigeria and Ghana like artwork, jewelry and clothing.

Other than the silent auction there was also a live auction and amongst other things, many guests made monetary donations to support a child in the orphange for one year (which takes $720...this covers food, clothing, and education).

Numerous musical acts peformed throughout the evening...

Jannay Towne and Dan Winters from News Channel 13 were the m.c.'s for the evening...

I snapped a picture of the founders of the orphanage, Eric & Emily Idehen. I have nothing but wonderful things to say about these two. They are so approachable, loving, and passionate about their cause. You can just see it in their eyes when you talk to them. They are willing to answer any and every question about the orphanage.

We had a fun night!

Eric & Emily have created a google video of the orphanage and their cause. To see it and learn more about the Cornerstone of Hope Orphange, click on the following link:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2157369531411754083&hl=en

Cornerstone of Hope Orphanage Update

On June 10, 2009 the Cornerstone of Hope Orphanage in Benin City, Nigeria had an official ribbon cutting for the new building project that, when finished, will be able to house 50 children/orphans. Additional funds are still needed to complete the construction project, and a few months ago Jake and I were asked to help plan for a fundraiser that will raise money to complete the construction and provide funds for the children to be fed and schooled in the orphanage. The team that we are working with for the fundraiser sent a few members to Nigeria for the ribbon cutting, and they took tons of awesome pictures (500 to be exact) of their time in Nigeria. I am posting some of them below. One thing I am sure you will notice are the bright smiles, faces, and demeanor of the 6 orphans currently living in the orphanage. These children are given the utmost care, loved, clothed, educated, and living in a safe environment. Cornerstone of Hope Orphanage is such a blessing to these children, and will hopefully soon be able to open it's doors to the many more orphans waiting. Every time I sift through these pictures I just get goosebumps......they are really doing things right. I am so excited to have been able to work with this project, and see such an awesome work unfold right before my eyes.

Here is some more information about the orphanage:

The Reason
Nigeria, like other countries of the world, is affected by HIV and AIDS. An estimated three million people now suffer from the HIV and AIDS epidemic. Out of the estimated seventy thousand orphaned children in Nigeria, about eighteen thousand children are orphaned due to HIV and AIDS alone. Many of these orphaned children are living in unspeakable conditions, attempting to fend for themselves. They live in extreme poverty and lack basic necessities such as housing, food, clothing, education, and love. Because of their situation many suffer abuse as well as neglect. The social welfare system is unable to provide for the needs of all of these children and the few orphanages that exist lack the adequate care necessary to make these children whole again.

The Beginning
Cornerstone of Hope Orphanage, located in Benin City, Nigeria was the idea of Eric Idehen of Des Moines, and was founded in 2005. A few years earlier during a time when he and his wife were struggling to have children, Eric made a promise to God that if He blessed them with children that he would do his best to care for God’s other children. Soon after he made this vow, he and his wife were blessed with three sons. Out of that promise came the idea to open up his childhood home to abandoned children.

The Orphanage
A safe home, loving staff, food, clothing and education have forever changed the lives of the children who live here. All of them are succeeding in school because with love and attention the children can focus and dream for their future. Despair has been replaced by hope. It became clear early on that more space would be needed in order to accommodate additional children. The construction project is well underway to expand the orphanage to serve 50 children but additional funds are needed to complete the project.

The Children
Cornerstone of Hope Orphanage exists for one reason only – to help invisible and forgotten children. Each child has a unique story for how they came to live at the orphanage. Despite their desperate beginnings, all of the children are now healthy and thriving. You can learn more about The Hope Orphans by visiting the website: http://www.thehopeorphans.org/

Goal: Adoption
Every effort is being made to find adoptive families for these children. However, there is no restriction for how long a child may live at the orphanage should a family not be available. At this time, two of the orphans are being adopted in-country and two are currently being adopted by a U.S. family! Cornerstone of Hope has partnered with About A Child international adoption agency to create Action Africa, a hosting program dedicated to providing life-changing experiences and forever families for underprivileged children of Nigeria and Ghana. Please see http://www.aboutachild.org/ for program details.

Here are pictures from the team's recent trip to the orphanage for the ribbon cutting ceremony:

Here are 3 of the children being interviewed. Patrick is in the center. He is the brother to Anthonia & Favour. They lost their parents to death and were being cared for by the State Welfare Home before coming to the orphanage.

Here is Samuel holding Victoria - who is the youngest of the 6 orphans in the home. Samuel had been living at the ministry of social welfare before coming to the orphanage. Victoria was found in a bush at 2 weeks old with severe infections.

From the left it's Anthony, Favour, and Anthonia pictured with 2 of the caretakers. Anthony was found in the market place when he was a small child and has no recorded past or history.

Here are Favour and Anthony pictured with the founder of the orphanage, Eric (in the center).

Favour, Samuel, Patrick (tallest), Anthony.

Samuel

First Annual 'Night Under the African Stars' Benefit Gala

This is the event we are helping to coordinate which I mentioned in my post yesterday:

Event: Cornerstone of Hope Orphanage First Annual “Night Under the African Stars” Benefit Gala

Date: Saturday, August 22, 2009

Time:
5:30 - 7:00 p.m. Hors d'oeuvres and African delicacies
5:30 - 7:00 Silent Auction
7:00 p.m. Musical presentation and Introduction of special guests
7:00 - 8:15 Dinner
8:15 - 9:30 Live Auction and Entertainment

Location: Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart Church, Ankeny, Iowa

Event Chairperson: Nancy Dunham, the4dunhams@hotmail.com

Cause: To raise enough money to finish the expanded orphanage in Benin City, Nigeria, as well as enough money to sustain the needs of the children for at least one year as they come to live at Cornerstone of Hope. To also raise money to help offset the costs to families involved in the Action Africa hosting program.

Event Information: The gala will be held in the church’s gymnasium and the adjoining room, with seating for 220+. All effort will be made to make the evening fun, unique, productive, and to raise awareness of the tremendous need of the orphaned children of Nigeria. We will have live entertainment complete with African music & dancing to entertain our guests throughout the evening. African delicacies will be served, and a silent and live auction will be held, with some items coming direct from Nigeria & Ghana. In addition, information and pictures will be used to raise both awareness and funds to promote our cause. Corporations and individuals are invited to sponsor a table of eight for $1000, with individual tickets priced at $125.

Jake and I have been placed on the committee to procure the auction items (other than the ones coming direct from Africa)….for example, one item might be two tickets to an ISU bball game, and dinner for two. I’ve never been to a benefit auction, but I’ve come to understand that the idea is that the bids are to be generous, over the amount of what the actual item is worth, hence how money is raised for the cause. I am already learning a lot about event planning, and it has been fun to envision the night and what it will be like! Jake is also getting a great idea of how to go about raising money for a cause. He has said that helping to plan this event will be a great way to get his feet wet in the fundraising world….experience that will be invaluable as he chips away at raising the $250,000 for the Right to Dream Academy.

Lastly, I wanted to include some information in case you or someone you know would like to help, but don’t picture yourself attending the benefit gala. Cornertsone of Hope is a registered 501(c) 3 U.S. Charitable Organization. Because Cornerstone of Hope, Inc. is a non-profit organization, it is driven through the love and generosity of the international community. As an individual, corporate representative, or family, there are many ways to get involved and help the Hope Orphans.

The goal amount of the event is $50,000 which would complete the entire construction of the orphanage. You can also donate to sponsor a child in the orphanage. A donation of $720 would sponsor one child in the orphanage for 1 year (food, clothing, education). A donation of $360 would sponsor one child in the orphanage for 6 months. A donation of $50 would sponsor one child in the orphanage for 1 month. Of course anything and any amount helps! If you would like to make a monetary donation, or if you or the company you work for are interested in donating an auction item for the gala, please email me at janelsullivan@aol.com and I will send you the details. You can also find donation information (or donate online) at the Cornerstone of Hope website at:

http://www.thehopeorphans.org/gettinginvolved.html

The success of the orphanage is built upon channeling individual efforts through financial contributions, volunteerism, and public and political advocacy. Every hour and dollar counts towards changing the Hope Orphans' futures.

A New Project

I am excited to share with you a new project that Jake and I have been asked to help with! But first, I want to give a little background on the reason for this project…..it all starts with a man named Eric Idehen…..here is his story, in his own words:

Cornerstone of Hope is the result of the vow my wife and I made to God after we were unable to have our own children. We had vowed to adopt two children. We got married in September 28, 1997 at the Church of The Nazarene in Kiev, Ukraine. Pastor Bob Skinner, Pastor Sunny and Pastor Briggs Ibiso offered prayers to God in our behalf for the fruit of the womb. Miraculously, God gave us our first child, Enrique Edoghogho (meaning the day of joy), in May 8, 1999 and the second child, Edward Emwanta (meaning truth), in July 16, 2000. In October 2001 we had our third child Elliott Edosa (meaning this is the day the Lord has made). Praise God!

In one of our deliberations on our vow to God, my wife suggested that it would be better to support an orphanage home instead of adopting just two children. We both agreed on this idea because it would enable us to reach out to many children. Our investigation of a few orphanages revealed mismanagement, lack of adequate care for the children, and in one orphanage, we observed serious neglect of these children. We were totally disappointed by these findings. We quickly concluded that our objectives would not be effectively achieved if we were to throw our money into orphanages of these kinds. Thereafter, we decided to establish and run our own orphanage home in Benin City, Nigeria.

Nigeria, like other countries of the world, is affected by HIV & AIDS. An estimated 3 million people now suffered from HIV & AIDS epidemic. Out of the estimated seventy thousand orphaned children in Nigeria, about eighteen thousand children are orphaned due to HIV & AIDS alone. As we consider this crisis, we become more and more moved to put our ideas into concrete action. We also recognize our financial limitations, and we reach out for others who would like to share our vision to reduce the suffering of orphans in the world. We are impressed by the enthusiasm and passion of other founding members of Cornerstone of Hope. Pam Avaux, James Adams, Kevin McGuire, Ron Matthews, Paula Galloway, Brian Worthington, Fritz Trost, Kim Blacksmith-Davis, Mark Havemann, Tammra Swartwood, Michael Terry and Robert Welch, joined in forming the strongest bond in this noble course.

We are determined to make Cornerstone of Hope the best orphanage in the world. Together, we shall work tirelessly to take abandoned children from mean streets into the loving arms of good people of our orphanage where they will receive physical, intellectual, and emotional care. As part of our mission, we seek to make these orphaned children productive members of society and facilitate their adoption by loving families. With your help and the grace of God, we will make a difference.

Eric Idehen, February 2006

Jake and I have been asked to help coordinate an event being held in Ankeny in August to help raise funds to support an expansion project for this orphanage (more about this event in tomorrow’s post). In Eric’s words, the reason for the expansion is this:

We want to do more for more children and we need your help! The reconfiguration and expansion of the orphanage is critical to our plans to bring in more children and change their lives! Initially, we thought that we could fit as many as 20 children in the facility when we thought that they would send us infants, but the children that we have are between 5 and 10 years old. They need a lot more room and we need to have separate facilities for the boys and girls as well as separate areas for the younger children and older ones. We turn down new children that the government brings to us frequently because we don't have the appropriate facilities to handle more children. We want to change this!

We were referred to Eric by our social worker that is coordinating our Ghana adoption. She recently began working with Eric to begin the process of possibly creating a Nigeria adoption program through her agency. Along with this, Eric had begun looking for individuals moved by his cause that would have insight and interest in donating time to help make his fundraising event for the expansion a success. Our name came up, and now we are serving as chairs on the event planning committee. Our first meeting was last Thursday in Des Moines, and I must say, as I looked around the table at those gathered, I was very humbled that I was sitting there….sitting amongst the company of Barry Spear (among many other notable titles, he is the founder of the Make A Wish Foundation of Iowa), a marketing major originally from Ghana, a director from a local African children’s choir originally from Rwanda, our social worker, 2 local & professional musicians, a top notch event coordinator, and Eric Idehen (founder of the orphanage). Oh, not to even mention Jake’s contagiously energetic presence! As I glanced around that table I was SO INSPIRED by the passion that each of these people had! It is so refreshing to see people who see a need, jump in, get their hands dirty, stretch their limits, and GET ‘ER DONE! Wow, I can learn a lot from this group!

As I said above, I’ll be sharing more about the event that we are planning for in tomorrow’s post. For now, I wanted to leave you with the website for Cornerstone of Hope Orphanage, as well as a video detailing many things about Eric’s story, the orphanage, and Nigeria in general. You will notice that right now there are 6 children in the orphanage. There are so many more orphans, and Eric’s vision is to help - one orphan at a time….doing it the right way….sufficient facilities, capable staff, financial support to give each orphan ample education, food & clothing.

Website - Click this link:
http://www.thehopeorphans.org/

Video - Click this link:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2157369531411754083&hl=en