Hello Everyone!
Welcome to a very special edition of our Eat So They Can newsletter. This edition is dedicated to all our wonderful hosts around the world who have been a part of Eat So They Can this year. Can you believe that at each location marked on this map people have been Eating So They Can? Amazing!
I have heard so many great stories over the past couple of weeks that I wanted to share some of them with you. Unfortunately this newsletter is not long enough to include details of all the events that have been taking place, but I have selected a few which I hope will make you feel proud for being a part of our global movement! I'll also be adding more stories and photos to our website as they come in so if you haven't emailed us yet, please do.
We have already had over $110,000 come in. We are so close to reaching our $120,000 target so if you haven't yet submitted your donations please do so here.
Thank you again!
Best,
Courtney
ESTC Co-Founder and GVN Foundation Director
 |
 |
 |
Australian animals join ESTC!
Victoria Brennan, Australia:
"We are all very happy with the result for such a small group and everyone is so inspired to do it again. A highlight was the skype video call with my son Jeremy who is a volunteer in Kenya – it certainly made it
all real for us!"
As you can see, even the dogs joined in with Victoria's event!
Meryl and Peter Gamgee, Australiah:
Former hosts and GVN volunteers, Meryl and Peter hosted another event in their wonderful home near Melbourne this year. Lauren McMahon, our Media and Communications Manager, was fortunate enough to attend their event and snap this wonderful photo of their pet 'zebra'!
Shanghai Event takes off!
Shelley Bragg, China:
Shelley held her event at the Grand Mercure Hotel in Shanghai. The event was ushered in by a performance from one of Shanghai’s finest entertainers, Carlton J. Smith, who set the mood for a fabulous evening. Singer and pianist Brendan McGibbon provided melodious music throughout the rest of the evening, while the guests enjoyed a lovely meal, and learnt more about the Eat so they can campaign and the challenges faced in Africa.
A highlight of the evening was the performance of the traditional South African Gumboot Dance, given by students from the Kliptown Youth Progam, straight out of Johannesburg, South Africa, via Skype video. 
The dance was exhilarating and the organizers of the program were inspiring. The spirit and energy brought through from the dance, and the performers, provided a positive finish to an evening with a serious cause, reminding everyone that there is a lot to celebrate in Africa, which is why we need to take action to support it.
There were also raffles, a lucky draw, and a silent auction, with prizes being supplied by the South African Fine Wines company, and with 100% of the money raised going to the campaign. The evening proved to be a great success.
Spreading awarness amongst East Asian Societies in Scotland
Yu Maruyama, Scotland:
"The event at the Edinburgh University Campus went very well. We ended up having about 100 people from East Asian Societies turning up for the dinner. Although I was very nervy with my speech, I think I got my message across! We had a catered buffet which cost 4 pounds per person which people paid on the door. We showed the film at the start, and I saw some people cry and really appreciate the video.
Some great stories? Perhaps it was great in the way that I was really able to raise awareness to the Chinese, Korean, Singapore, Hong Kong Japanese students, who never came accros these things. And I feel this is so important in the furure as they go on to work for the government and big corporations."
Catching the ESTC bug in Australia
Anita and Dennis Camenzuli, Australia:
"Well it's done ... and what a buzz ...21 dinner guests and three dinner parties later we have $990.00. The weekend is a blur .... cooking, cleaning, preparing, dressing ... and all through this Mr Bean to entertain the boys.
Each night was a success. The meals Anita prepared were fantastic and everyone had a chance to watch snippets of the DVD you sent. But it's not over for us ... we've got the bug now and we will continue to raise awareness and funds throughout the year so that next year we might be able to reach our goal of doubling our takings.
You have really inspired us!!!""
3rd ESTC event in Winnpeg!
Cat Ross, Canada:
Cat Ross hosted her 3rd Annual Eat So They Can dinner at a new and larger location this year, St.Alphonsus Hall in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. After 9 hours straight of cooking this Kenyan themed dinner with a group of fabulously dedicated volunteers the night prior to the event, Cat was excited for a great turn out on October 18th, 2009. Cat has traveled to Kenya to work within both the HIV/AIDS Clinics as well as a school in Kibera, Kenya and so her interest and dedication to Kenya itself played out through her meal.
4:00pm doors opened to her 2009 Eat So They Can Dinner Event and guests were all graced with the musical talent for the evening: Maggie Howison and Jordan Bissonnette. Over the next hour over 100 people entered this hall to take part in this great campaign to raise funds and awareness for Eat So They Can. On the menu you'd find Rice, Chapatis, Kenyan Cabbage Dish, Kenyan Beef Stew, Sukuma Wiki, and Kunde and for dessert your palettes were pleased to see both Coffee, Chai, and Maandazi with an assortment of Jams.
Over the evening we screened the new Eat So They Can 2009 video and afterwards world hunger statistics were given to shock the audience. It was a successful event and the feeling and knowledge people left with was worth every minute of cooking and planning for this event! Cat would not have been able to manage this event without the help of her fabulous group of volunteers! Sandy Raposo-Loyd was a huge helping hand in every aspect of this event (for the second year in a row), and Mae Ross and Fatima Narciso both dedicated hours to preparing and cooking this delicious meal.
Sydney event raises $70,000!
Cassandra Treadwell, Australia:
"We had a fantastic night on Thursday night with 300 people in a black marquee in Sydney. People arrived and walked down the black carpet through African drummers to the project board where we invited people to purchase items for the primary school we are building in Kenya. I could not believe the generosity of our guests.
I think the video footage took people to Africa and helped them understand the need over there. Someone paid $10,000 to build a library, someone else bought a trip to Africa we had donated ...and very importantly everyone had a great night with us having to kick them out at 2.30am. It was just so nice to be able to do something that will make life a bit easier for the incredible children of Africa."