Huron Expositor, 2015-12-09, Page 7Roger Roth from Clinton helped with the dishes at the refugee
fundraiser in Seaforth.
Wednesday, December 9, 2015 • Huron Expositor 7
1116 1111. 41 elh $
POPCORN
Founder and leader of the refugee initiative Brian Melady serves popcorn at an event to raise money for the Ethiopian family coming to
Seaforth.
The spaghetti dinner was a hit,
but with refugees here any day, the
organization is slightly behind in funds
With enough food to feed
hundreds, the "army" of
Bethel Bible Church volun-
teers brewed noodles in
gigantic pots, all for the ben-
efit of the refugees coming to
Seaforth for a better life.
The event to raise money
for the Ethiopian family of
five saw approximately 150
people from far and wide at
the Bethel Bible Church in
Seaforth on December 3. The
participants were greeted by
a popcorn machine upon
entry, followed by all sorts of
different varieties of spaghetti
which had many attendees
sitting down instantly to
indulge in the prepared meal.
Between the Melady-Powers
Seaforth Refugee Sponsor-
ship and the dinner pre-
pared, the charity organiza-
tion has raised in the vicinity
of $1500-$2000. According to
the founder and leader of the
refugee initiative Brian Mel-
ady, with all the donations
put together, this places the
funds at 25 percent of the
goal of $20,000. Part of that
money came as a surprise to
the Dublin resident,
particularly because it was a
$500 contribution from a
small business from the town
of Seaforth. At the request of
the donor the generous deed
is to remain anonymous.
Melady said a hefty part of
the success is thanks to all the
social media outlets and
media coverage.
"One lady said as soon as
she read the Expositor article
in the paper, the first thing
she said is, what is my
church doing? She sent an
email to some of the people
at her church that they had
to do something," said Mel-
ady. "That's exactly what we
want, we want people to ask
how can we help?"
He also mentioned in a
recent phone interview that
after this first refugee family
arrives and relocates, Mel-
ady predicts a "second
wave" of migrants could
possibly reach Huron East
as well. Nevertheless, the
organization run by Melady
is proud of how the dinner
turned out and with the
unnamed donation, but
they are still feeling anxious
with regards to the humani-
tarian efforts, as they cur-
rently are slightly behind
the schedule specified by
Melady in the groups Face -
book page. This shortfall
needs immediate attention
as the family is slated to
arrive any day now.
"Privately sponsored refu-
gees currently in inventory
overseas will arrive in Can-
ada through Toronto or
Montreal, starting shortly.
Sponsoring groups should
therefore prepare them-
selves to start receiving the
refugees they have spon-
sored, since these arrivals
are about to start," stated
Melady in a Facebook post,
referring to what was
emailed to him by the Men-
nonite Central Committee.
"As per usual practice,
sponsoring groups will be
given advance notice of
these arrivals. However, due
to the need to move this
group of arrivals quickly, the
usual NAT (Notification of
Arrival Transmission) ser-
vice standard of 10 working
days may not be possible.»
To help with the donations
Melady is asking the commu-
nity to challenge their church
to support the refugee quest
and notify him of any fund-
raising ideas. If anybody
would like to donate food,
clothing or money, or is curi-
ous about how to help, con-
tact Melady at 519-525-7133.
ea orthhuronexsositor.co
Cheryl Bennewies of north Dublin stirs the noodles for the
spaghetti dinner at the Bethel Bible Church in Seaforth on
December 3
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