Thanks to the record 150 attendees at our annual Durham IHN gala fundraiser which was held on October 15th, 2011! Titled “Dress Up Durham! Celebrating Families on the Path to Self-Sufficiency,” this year’s event was held at the Millennium Hotel in Durham and included bluegrass music by the Lester Fricks Band during the cocktail hour, as well dancing to tunes spun by DJ Maurice Johnson of Universal Sounds after dinner. Guests had the opportunity to bid on silent auction items, buy tickets for raffle items, and for the first time we had four live auction items too. The emcee for the evening was Tammy Rodman, President of the Board of Directors of Durham IHN, amidst an atmosphere of fun and fellowship.
After a delicious dinner, Catherine Pleil, Executive Director, offered remarks about the state of homelessness in Durham, sharing her view that several forces are coming together to give us a real opportunity to make significant strides toward ending homelessness in Durham, including: 1) a whole new level of collaboration among the homeless providers; 2) the new Homeless Services Advisory Council; and 3) the newly formed “Housing and Homelessness Action team” within Durham Congregations, Associations and Neighborhoods (Durham CAN). She also stated, however, that currently she and other agencies serving homeless families are turning away families every day due to lack of space, and that Durham IHN is committed to working to double the size of the network to address that issue. She then introduced Kenya Jacobs, former IHN guest.
Kenya shared her story about how she ended up at IHN, stressing her belief that homelessness almost always has to do with relationship issues or lack of a social network. She expressed her sincere gratitude at how the people involved with IHN were able to help her get back on her feet after her marriage broke up and she lost her job. Kenya is now employed full time as an LPN and her family is stable in their own home.
We are also grateful to all the congregations, individuals and businesses who made in-kind donations for our auction or raffle. Through the generosity of all of our attendees and donors, we netted an amazing $19,300 to better serve the families of Durham IHN!
Congregations and IndividualsAdditional business supporters Abundant Hope Christian Church Antonia's Restaurant Aldersgate UMC Bahama Road Veterinary Hospital Antioch Baptist Church Bandido's Mexican Café Tammy Rodman, Antioch Baptist Blue Corn Café Blacknall Presbyterian Church Broad St. Café Congregation at Duke Chapel Café Parizade Duke Memorial UMC Cozy Barbara Knopp, Duke Memorial Dame's Chicken and Waffles Lea Galbreath, Duke Memorial Green Pastures Boarding Ellen Ciompi Infinite Cakes Epworth UMC Infuzion Eugene Brown Johnny Tshirt Holy Infant Catholic Church Lester Fricks Band Immaculate Conception Catholic Church Magnolia Grill Maryann Crea, Immaculate Conception Millennium Hotel Lisa Williams Piedmont Restaurant McMannen UMC Play House Toy Store Mt. Bethel UMC Q Shack Kathy Heller, Mt. Bethel UMC Red Lobster Mt. Sylvan UMC Ritz Car Wash Donna Bowers, Mt. Sylvan UMC Rue Cler New Creation UMC Saratoga Grill Resurrection UMC Taste Carolina St. Paul's Lutheran Church Toast St. Philip's Episcopal Church Tyler's Taproom Steve Griffin Vaguely Reminiscent Sue Mrache, Resurrection UMC West 94th St Pub Watts Street Baptist Church Whole Foods Westminster Presbyterian Church Wines for Humanity Yates Baptist Zola's Craft Gallery Kim Shaw, Yates Baptist Flowers at Woodcroft Pam Wheeler, Yates Baptist Brand It
