Fundraiser planned for Howell residents
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on September 5, 2006 1:46 PM
The staff at RHA Howell Care Center hope that a fundraiser later this month will help them buy Christmas gifts and equipment for the nearly 40 youths and adults they work with daily.
Howell's is a residential center for physically and mentally handicapped clients from ages 2 to 41, said Mary Jo Creech, case m`anager for the site on U.S. 70 East. Every resident is non-ambulatory, unable to walk or talk, she said. The nursing staff works 24-hour-a-day to care for them.
Fundraisers have been held in the past to supplement the residents' needs, Mrs. Creech said. Last year, they decided to hold a gospel sing but it didn't draw as well as hoped.
"We were competing with the fair and word didn't really get out that it was going on," she said.
Despite that, she said, the event raised $1,000. They are hoping to raise more money this year.
Entitled "Country Legends Gospel Greats," the concert will be held on Saturday, Sept. 16, at 7 p.m. in the Wayne Community College auditorium, featuring six performers from the surrounding area: Jeff Lane, Sara Dew, Doug Smith, Steve Vann, Taylor Fleming, Michelle Leigh and Celena Smith.
Mrs. Creech said money raised from the evening will be used to purchase Christmas gifts for the young adults, such as personal hygiene items, batteries, toys, school supplies, as well as any classroom equipment that might be beneficial.
Tickets are $10 each and can be purchased in advance or at the door, she said. For more information, call Howell's business manager Charlene Smith 778-3524.