North Chattanooga resident Brenda Brackett visits with children in Lagosette, Haiti, where she helped serve village children lunch during the summer to prevent malnutrition in the fall. She organized Crop for Haiti, a scrapbooking event benefiting the summer food program, to be held at Clear Creek Church of Christ Saturday, Feb. 26 from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Contributed PhotoNorth Chattanooga resident Brenda Brackett is calling all scrapbookers to Crop for Haiti at Clear Creek Church of Christ Saturday, Feb. 26 from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
"It's a way for scrapbookers to come together, see old friends and meet new friends," said Brackett, who raised $1,500 for Ronald McDonald House of Chattanooga through a previous scrapbooking event. "Women who scrapbook are generally very giving - they want to help a good cause and have fun while they're doing it."
Brackett said she went to Haiti on a mission trip with a group from Clear Creek last June, when she discovered Manna Mission's summer food program for children.
While school is out for summer, the mission located in the village of Lagosette feeds village children lunch to prevent malnutrition, which she said is common when students return to class in the fall.
"It's amazing to think that when they come [to the mission to eat lunch], in a lot of cases they haven't eaten since the day before," said Brackett.
Despite this deprivation, she said she was surprised to find the village children waited patiently for their turn to fill their bowl or pencil box with food, which they gladly shared with others.
"They're just so appreciative," said Brackett. "You can feed a child in Haiti for a quarter a meal, so I'm trying to get lots of quarters."
Event attendees are asked to give a $40 donation, which covers the cost of lunch and dinner. She said all other proceeds will go to the children's summer food program at Manna Mission in Lagosette.
Brackett said participants should bring enough pictures, pages and other supplies such as colored pens, stickers, stencils and ribbon to spend the entire day scrapbooking.
An instructor will be present to teach attendees advanced cropping techniques and introduce new ways of designing pages, she said.
Participants will have a chance to win a variety of door prizes, including family tickets for the Tennessee Railroad Museum, Avon cosmetics, a manicure and pedicure as well as items donated by scrapbooking companies.
IF YOU GO
If planning to attend, contact organizer Brenda Brackett at 227-2517 or crop4haiti@comcast.net.