July, 2008
Brooklyn, NY
http://www.clintonhillblog.com/2009/05/27/chb-interviews-jason-voegele-of-republic/
In the summer of 2008, Chrissie Lam, the founder of Create for a Cause, volunteered at Gisimba Memorial Center in Kigali, Rwanda to work with over 200 children who have been orphaned by genocide, HIV/ AIDS and malaria. The picture she paints of her experience there is of a bright hope in the midst of a chaotic and bleak future for the youngest of Rwandas generations. Filled to capacity the center is now only able to take in children under special circumstances and only receives about five children per year. All of the children are required to go to school and a large number go on to study higher education making them more able to build normal lives once they become old enough to transition out of the orphanage and into regular life. The orphanage and its schools also prepare the children to reinvest their skills and knowledge back into their communities and to contribute to the hope of a better future for a new Rwanda.
Inspired by Chrissie and the Gisimba Memorial Center, REPUBLIC is proud to present REACHING OUT: GISIMBA ORPHANAGE. As the first in our ongoing REACHING OUT program of recurring charitable fundraising projects, REPUBLIC and CREATE FOR A CAUSE are working together to involve our local communities and New York City at large in a campaign to keep Gisimba Memorial Center equipped with the basic necessities it requires to stay in operation and to help provide the children who live there with basic healthcare, food and education. The proceeds from the campaign will also be distributed through the Memorial Center to support sustainable revenue generating projects within the Kigali community.
Friday, May 29th at Le Grand Dakar Restaurant in Clinton Hill Brooklyn, REPUBLIC will be hosting an extraordinary evening of celebration and fundraising with dance performance, music by Indoda Entsha percussion ensemble, food by master chef Pierre Thaim and drinks with a silent auction and exhibition of photography by contemporary Rwandan artists.
Bring an empty belly and a full heart! Your financial contribution to this important cause does so much more than help the Gisimba Memorial Center, it also helps to further the reputation of our own community as a shining example of brotherhood and sisterhood throughout the world. New York has always been a city that leads by example. This is an opportunity to set an example for our own children and for our own families, for our friends and neighbors. This is an opportunity to reflect on how blessed we truly are and to reach out to the less fortunate than ourselves with just a small helping hand, not to pull them up but to help give them the tools to pull themselves up.
All monetary and silent auction donations are greatly appreciated and are tax deductible. REPUBLIC will be collecting donations throughout the entire month of May. Checks should be made out to Fractured Atlas, with Create for a Cause in the memo line and be sent to Chrissie Lam at 298 Mulberry St. 7L NYC, NY 10012.
