| Events, Fundraisers and News |
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THIRD ANNUAL LONGBEACHFEST, 7 AUGUST 2010 The festival will include fun and games and food and booths and even a poker run. Last year the organizers raised over $1,000 for the Pink Hearts Fund and this year they have chosen Hope Haven as the charity. We will post more on this event as it becomes available. Visit longbeachfest.com to check out the action and to sign up for the poker run.
COME SUPPORT HOPE HAVEN AT CHRISTMAS CITY, NOV. 13-14 AT THE MS COAST COLISEUM - We will be selling baskets, turtle boxes and placemats!
OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST: Songs of Hope CD is almost finished….we still need one or two more donations of music/voice and then we will begin production of the CD with around 12 to 14 tracks on. We will offer these special songs by these special artist for a $10 donation to Hope Haven.
Cause in Effect is a brand new concept being developed by Colleen Read who is the owner of “Da Beach House” that unfortunately succumbed to hurricane Katrina. Her concept is to do a for sale type publication that would be distributed free. People would list items for sale and would agree in return to donate 10% of the sale price to one of the charities listed in the publication. Hope Haven will be one of those charities. Visit the link for more info:
MARGE STEPS UP TO THE PLATE FOR HOPE HAVEN ONCE AGAIN
MARGE...(Mississippi Association of Recreational Gamblers) has once again chosen Hope Haven to be their charity of choice and will stage the Hope Haven Charity Poker Tournament at the beautiful Beau Rivage Casino and Resort in Biloxi. Check on the link belowfor more information!!! We are also very grateful to PokerStars.com who has pledged $4,000 to Hope Haven as part of their sponsorship to this charity event.
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3RD ANNUAL CRAWFISH COOK-OFF SATURDAY, APRIL 10, 2010
Nadine Brown, owner of C&R's Bar and Grill presents a check to Greg Kothmann, Hope Haven Treasurer from the 3rd Annual Crawfish Cookoff
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C& R’s 3rd Annual Crawfish Cookoff draws a huge crowd and brings in record amount of donations for Hope Haven. The sun was shining, the breeze was blowing and the crawfish were cooking in C&R’s backyard Saturday for this popular event. The crowd started building early and by the time the leadoff band took the stage…it became apparent that this event was going to be a winner for the children and families who depend upon our services.
The crowd kept coming all afternoon and at one point we ran out of crawfish, plates, soft drinks and paper towels but we quickly replenished all and by six o’clock a record amount of tasty crawfish had been boiled and eaten by folks who were ready to shake off the long cold winter we have had.
What makes this event special is the cooking teams…of course, the bands who come and play a no charge for the cause and the many volunteers who worked so hard during the day to keep the supplies available, the trash picked up, tables clean and who manned the various booths. This year we had a dunking booth and a crawfish race booth which really appealed to the kids….(I placed a bet myself…number 5 was not a lucky number by the way.)
The final figures are not in but the gross was just over $20,000!!! Unfortunately, the cost of crawfish was 50% more than last year but in spite of the increased cost I fully expect that the donation amount will equal or maybe even exceed last years record of $15,000!
The cooking team winners were:
1st Place Sawdoff’s in the Kiln
2nd Place Coast Electric
3rd Place Dugge Fricke
The People’s Choice Award and Most Unique Item went to Catmando’s Crew.
Congratulations to all teams…you are all winners in our book.
An event such as this is labor intensive. There are many to thank and here are some…with more thanks to follow; Nadine Brown of course…what a wonderful person she is, all the volunteers, HH Board members, the Bands Last chance, Austin Kelly & The Salt Bayou Band & Legends, Roger Caplinger for being our auctioneer once again, Kirk Necaise owner of Space Walks of Bay St. Louis, a big big thank you to REX Distributing. The young ladies who volunteered to be dunked…including THE BUD GIRLS and…all of you who came to eat and support us. I would also like to say thank you to a special young lady who volunteered who must remain nameless. After the event she sat with me and told me that she was a volunteer because her and her four brothers and sisters had stayed at Hope Haven…ten years ago for about five months. Folks…their family has now reunited but that is what this is all about…the children.
Hope Haven selected to distribute Payless Give Shoes 4 Kids Program
Hope Haven recently received 50 $15.00 gift vouchers to distribute to needy children under the Payless shoes 4 kids program. This program is nationwide and Payless is contributing over a million dollars to help need children get new shoes for Christmas. As of this writing, we have distributed the gift certificates to the needy children in our community, with many of the vouchers going to local children who have been abused and neglected and who are in care.
FIRST ANNUAL CHILDREN'S HEALTH FAIR
Hope Haven sponsored the First Annual Children's Health Fair on August 1st. Approximately 75 children attended and received dental and vision screenings as well as information and handouts on local agencies. School supplies were handed out to help children prepare for the upcoming school year. We would like to thank the following participants for so graciously giving us and the children their time: American Red Cross, Catholic Social Services, de l'Epee Deaf Center, Dr. Frank Conaway, Gulf Coast Educators, Hancock County Department of Health, Hancock Medical Center, Lion's Club, and the Waveland Fire Department. We would also like to thank the ladies of Alpha Kappa Alpha Pink Pearls for volunteering their time and helping throughout the fair. We look forward to this event growing and helping more children in our community next year.
Cajun Country Music Fest raises $3,000 for Hope Haven coffers!
Tim Bradley and Jeff Salters are a couple of "good ole boys". They, like many in this area enjoy country music. The especially like country music with a little cajun twang thrown in. Add some high stepping girs, hot classic cars, hotter weather and cold cold beer and folks you have got yourself the Cajun Country Music Festival!
And this years festival raised $3,000 to help our shelter stay open. We so appreciate those boys and all of their family and friends who show up and put in days of hot hard work setting everything up for the event and then tearing everything down after it's all over.
We also appreciate the Hancock County Board of Supervisors who donated the Equestrine Arena for our use and Hancock County Sherrifs Department who provided us with security. And....we sure do apppreciate the varios bands who came and played their hearts out. Finally...we appreciate everyone who attended. This year was a tough year for most of us...the numbers were down....but folks...things WILL get better in 2010...and we expect to see all of you out there romping and stomping!
DONATING TEEN HONORED FOR 10 YEARS OF SERVICE TO HOPE HAVEN
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PAWS ON PARADE - BAY ST. LOUIS
Hope Haven participated in this years annual Paws On Parade held in Bay St. Louis. We took about 200 stuffed cats and dogs that had been donated to us and offered them as "rescue pets" to attendees...for a donation. We raised about 200 dollars and split the money between Hope Haven and the Friends of The Animal Shelter. We took our own dog...Lucy along. She didn't win anything but she took a nice nap in the pen of stuffed animals....surprising many when they went to select a stuffed one.
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M.A.R.G.E. IS TRULY A FRIEND TO HOPE HAVEN!
Hope Haven has received support for our mission from many different individuals and organizations. We are fortunate to receive annual support from a great bunch of folks who love to play poker for fun. The event is called MARGE and it stands for Mississippi Annual Recreational Gambling Excursion.
One of the organizers, Mark Hughes, contacted us prior to hurricane Katrina and informed us that they wanted to do something special for children and had found us on the web. They raised several thousands of dollars from their first tournament and several of the players came to the home, met several of the children and we have been friends since that time. Mark added a new dimension to the equation when he arranged for Pokerstars.com the premier online recreational gambling site in the world, to send a donation in support of us as well. This year we are pleased to announce that Pokerstars.com has donated $4.000 to Hope Haven.
What can you say about such good things and such good people. Thank you isn't enough...but it will have to suffice.....THANK YOU MARK, THANK YOU MARGE PARTICIPANTS AND THANK YOU POKERSTARS.COM - Terry Latham Director
UPDATE!
MARGE…COMES THROUGH FOR THE KIDS. Every year a group of “recreational poker players meet here on the coast to share their love of poker. They hold a “tournament” and this year it was held at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi. Hope Haven has been fortunate to be the recipient of this tournament and a donation from PokerStars.Com the online destination for poker players for many years now. In addition to the $3,000 donation from PokerStars.com noted above, we recently received a check for $765.00 which represented the local player’s donations to our Home. We thank each and every member of Marge, they are a great bunch of people and we appreciate them so much….
2nd ANNUAL WALK FOR HOPE A SUCCESS
The sun was shining, the southern breeze was blowing and the people were smiling as over 250 walkers and runners made their way onto the beautiful Bay St. Louis Bridge. Local dignataries and Hope Haven Board members threw a wreath into the Bay in memory of Leo Seal Jr. who was a long time supporter of Hope Haven.
Last years walk raised $15,000 for Hope Haven. The walk was timed for the grand opening of the Bay St. Louis Bridge which brought out a large crowd. This year, The walk was in connection with Mississippi In Motion which is a new program that promotes a healthy lifestyle for adults and children.
This years walk saw over 250 participants and raised over $5,000. Although the funds raised were significantly lower that the first year...the walk will continue to be an annual event...it is a great kick off for spring and everyone enjoys it. Unfortunately....the economy was a hugh factor this year....and many people just don't have the extra funds available...and many are worried about what the future will bring. We understand that and we appreciate every one who did contribute and who made the walk for the children. We will walk again...and again...and again...because the kids need us.
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