By Staff
Rock-a-thon, concert and yard sale raising money to help those in need
By MIKE VOSS
Contributing Editor
Want to help others who need help? This weekend provides some opportunities to do just that.
The Blind Center in Washington hosts its annual Rocking Chair Rock-a-Thon and Area Craft Show from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Rockers recruit sponsors to contribute to the center. The more money raised, the more the rocking chairs get used.
In conjunction with the rock-a-thon and craft show, the center will sell barbecued-chicken plates for $6 each and conduct a bake sale to raise money for its programs.
One of the center’s clients expected to put a rocking to chair to good use is Lucy Mae Alligood, who turns 89 on Saturday.
Corinne Woolard, 97, another of the center’s clients, is also expected to give one of the rocking chairs a workout Saturday, Walker said.
The center’s clients are excited about the upcoming rock-a-thon, Walker said.
The craft show will feature 19 area artisans and craftspeople, Walker said. The barbecued chicken will be prepared by Flippin’ for a Reason, an organization operated by Roger and Diana Cates with First Christian Church in Washington, according to Walker. Flippin’ for a Reason also prepares pancakes for the center’s pancake suppers.
From 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, a community concert will be presented in the fellowship hall at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Washington. Although there is no admission fee, donations will be accepted to help raise money for the House of Hope in Managua, Nicaragua.
The House of Hope Ministries works with women to provide them alternatives to making money by selling themselves on the streets of Nicaragua. Several area churches support House of Hope Ministries. April Havlin, a Washington native, works with House of Hope Ministries.
Havlin and her husband Mike are missionaries with extensive experience in South America. They had been in Nicaragua only a short time before recognizing the desperate lives faced by most of the country’s people. In 2002, Havlin began the challenging project that has changed her life and the lives of many others, according to a news release from Harvest Church in Washington.
More than 80 women a week participate in a card-making business whose proceeds provide family support or supplies for additional independent businesses.
Four years ago, Havlin purchased several sewing machines and was given others. She purchased land next to a Christian school, and she consulted an engineer about how best to construct a facility that could house women and a sewing business that would support them. She recruited construction teams from among those interested in the work she was doing. Today, six duplexes, two single-family houses and a six-unit apartment building stand in a former bean field. A Nicaraguan couple are on-site directors and overseeing construction of a dining hall/workroom. Sewing classes have started, and a Nicaraguan businesswoman is grooming women for jobs that they will do once their business is operational.
The Relay for Life team from Washington’s First Baptist Church, Christ’s Crusaders for a Cancer Cure, will conduct a yard sale Saturday at the church, located at the corner of East Main and Harvey streets. The sale begins at 8 a.m. and ends at noon.
The Beaufort County Relay for Life event is set for April 27-28 at the track at Wagner Stadium at Washington High School.