HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News Record, 2016-04-13, Page 22 News Record • Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Valerie Gillies Photos Clinton News Record
The Filipino community of Southwestern Ontario is very supportive of each other and of those still living in the Philippines. Many
travel great distances to attend and support the fundraising dinners such as the one in Clinton on April 2. This group photograph
includes people from Goderich, Clinton and London areas, as well as other communities.
The organizing team for the Philippines Fundraising Dinner held at
Heartland Community Church in Clinton on April 2 are: Charie Hendrick,
Founder of Harvest of Love; Gail and Chris Hills, volunteers of Sleeping
Children Around the World; Lilia Hill, owner of Lil's Kitchen in Clinton,
cook for the dinner.
Philippines fundraising dinner in Clinton
Valerie Gillies
Clinton News Record
The second annual Philippines
fundraising dinner was held on April
2 at the Heartland Community
Church in Clinton. This dinner sup-
ports two charities, Sleeping Chil-
dren Around the World (SCAW) and
Harvest of Love.
By donating to SCAW, people can
purchase bed kits with the knowl-
edge that 100 percent of their dona-
tion will be given to children living in
poverty. The kits include such items
as a sleeping mat, mosquito net,
clothing, personal hygiene items and
school supplies. Husband and wife
Chris and Gail Hills volunteer with
SCAW. Volunteers can go overseas to
assist with giving out the bed kits
once per year. This is the last year
Chris will be going to the Philippines
as SCAW requires team leaders to
change which country they visit after
four years. SCAW facilitates 12-13
distributions per year, giving out
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between 5,000-6,000 bed kits per visit
to each country. Chris explains that
many of the villages that he has vis-
ited consist of homes that are
approximately 20 feet by 20 feet with
a dirt floor and no amenities of any
kind. Many of the villages are on river
flats that flood every year. The fami-
lies are living in extreme poverty.
The Harvest of Love was founded
by Charie Hendrick. This is a family -
run charity to feed less fortunate
people near her home in the
Philippines.
The Fundraising Dinner began as
a different project in 2014, when
Hurricane Hayan struck the Philip-
pines. The Canadian Filipino com-
munity realized that they needed
help and held the first Philippines
Fundraising Dinner. The first dinner
was such a success that it was
decided to hold it again, but this time
making it a combined fundraiser for
the two charities with half of the pro-
ceeds going to each.
Chris Hills explains that every-
thing is donated by the Filipino com-
munity to run this dinner, except the
church hall. All of the food is brought
in as a donation and Lilia Hill, owner
of Lil's Kitchen in Clinton, shuts
down her restaurant for the day and
volunteers to cook all of the food.
Chris states, "There is a large
number of Filipinos in the area.
They are all very involved in sup-
porting each other and those still in
the Philippines." This is part of their
culture. Hill explains that even in
the Philippines the people are very
generous, even the poorest of the
poor give to others.
Gail Hills comments, "It is like a
big party every time there is a fund-
raising dinner. It draws the com-
munity together to support each
other. Where there is food and peo-
ple gather it is a social event." This
is quite evident as there is lots of
laughing, hugging and chatting
going on throughout the day.
Chris Hills reported that the
response this year is much higher
than the previous year. The plan is to
continue holding the Philippines
Fundraising Dinner as an annual
fundraiser. Not only does it bring
together the Filipino community, but
gives the general public a chance to
taste the fare while supporting the
two charities. The hosts of this even
are very grateful for the continuing
support of all members of the local
community for this project.
For more information contact
Chris and Gail Hills at 519-522-
1913 or kithills@hotmail.com.
For more details on Sleeping
Children Around the World visit
www.scaw.org.
To learn more about Harvest of
Love contact Charie Hendrick at
519-238-1565.
PHOTOS CONTINUED > PAGE 3