Daviot Kelly, Staff Reporter
Left: Kimela Isaacs touched the hearts with her songs. Right: Janice Davis and her son Horace Leray were special guests. Horace is one of the many children the Army is helping with mentoring.
THERE ARE some events that everybody looks forward to every year and the Salvation Army (SA) Fund-Raising Dinner is is one of them.
The Eastern Jamaica Division hosted its annual fund-raiser at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel on Tuesday evening and guests were the recipients of a laid-back evening with entertainment and great atmosphere (fund-raisers always seem to have that appeal).
Via video presentation, General Shaw Clifton, International Leader of the Salvation Army thanked "the army behind the army," the helping band of volunteers and friends who assist the organisation. He hoped that he would be able to meet the division's members face to face.
Major Devon Haughton, divisional commander, outlined the SA's initiatives to transform men into productive citizens. He spoke of men's fellowship groups meeting and hosting man-talk sessions where different issues were discussed. As he spoke, guests viewed a slide presentation of the army's outreach programmes. In one of the evening's heart-warming moments, Horace Leray, a teenager encountering social and educational problems who is being assisted by the SA, was introduced to the audience. Horace is one of many stories of the SA's work in Jamaica's communities.
Left: Chairman of United Way, Alvaro Casserly (left), and businessman Pokar Chandiram, examine the latest bids on these items at The Salvation Army, Eastern Jamaica Division Advisory Board's Fund-Raising Dinner 2006. Right: Dr. Rebecca Tortello is absolutely amused at the jokes of Lt. Col. Raphael Mason of The Salvation Army. - PHOTOS BY WINSTON SILL/FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER
A much-anticipated part of the division's fund-raising dinner is the silent auction where guests bid on almost everything imaginable including beach chairs, paintings, stays at hotel resorts, World Cup replica balls (signed by the Reggae Boyz), and tool kits. Board member Robert MacMillan not only opened the bidding but intermittently 'reminded' guests to keep their eyes open in case other bidders were getting the better of them.
The entertainment package was quite enjoyable, featuring the musical talents of the army's band. First the brass section blew their way through some selections before incorporating the services of the keyboard, guitar and drums, all making pleasant music while guests dined. The show-stopper, however, was Kimilia Isaacs, the visually-impaired performer with an outstanding voice. She shook the gathering with her three-song set which ended with Yet Still I Rise.
Last year's dinner raised over one million dollars.
