The
Shawnee Institute ltd
Locals Raise $7,700.00 for Tsunami
Relief
Monday, February 28, 2005 – Shawnee On Delaware,
PA - Just short of the big snowstorm, over 200 people gathered
at the Shawnee Inn to support the Pocono Tsunami Relief
Concert on Sunday, February 27th. Throughout the day, eight
local bands donated their time and talents, each playing
40-minute sets to entertain those who showed up to support
the event. Other activities included a silent auction,
raffles and an occasional verbal auction for some very
special items. Many children’s activities also took
place during the event as Keith Karkut, Joseph Raven and
Brushes the Clown entertained the youngsters in attendance
with face painting, animal shaped balloons and magic tricks.
The key players in organizing the charity concert were
Jud Krinsky (SawMill Furniture), Garth Woods (GarcomWeb.com),
Rob Howell (Director of Sales and Marketing for the Shawnee
Inn) and Monica Restrepo (Shawnee Institute). The event
coordinators fell a bit short of their goal, but are extremely
pleased to announce that $7,700 was raised by the event,
all of which will be donated to the Shawnee Institute Tsunami
Relief efforts. A special thanks goes out to all who attended
and everyone who donated their time and efforts to make
this a successful event. Charlie Kirkwood states, “The
concert was a great success ...not only did it raise a
decent amount of money but it was also a lot of fun. The
concept was good and the execution perfect. I want to thank
all of you who helped. I am sure Pete will be thanking
you as well . You can pride in a job well done for a worthy
cause.”
On behalf of the Shawnee Institute, we would like to specifically
thank:
Bands
Stasis, Legacy, Kate & CJ, Kathy Phillips, Randy Bigness,
Who Knows Band, Fuzzpipe, along with special guests Minimum
Wage
Supporters
WSBG 93.5 (Gary in the Morning and Bob Matthews), Pocono
Record, Eastern Pocono Community News, Pocono Shopper,
Blue Ridge Cable Ch. 13, WNEP CH. 16, Stroud Mall and
East Stroudsburg University.
Silent Auction Sponsors
SawMill Furniture, Garcom Web Services, Shawnee Village,
Flooring America, The Music Store, Starting Gate Action
Sport Shop, Lewis True Value Hardware, The Farda Family,
Stroudsburg Foto, Radisson Lexington NYC, Main Street
TV & Appliances, Vitulli's Outdoor Sports Center,
Thyme & Thyme Again, Camp Coleman (The Crossings),
Trading Company Records, Cherry Valley Golf Course, Pocono
Wellness Fitness Center, Designer Crafts on Main and
Liz Tech Jewelry.
Raffle Sponsors
Shawnee Golf, Shawnee River Adventures, Shawnee Playhouse,
Shawnee Mountain, Kate White @ IMI Housekeeping, Camelback/Camelbeach,
Sam Snead's Tavern, Maritas Cantina, Besecker's Diner,
Lippy's Extreme Sports Bar, Yankee Doodle Diner, The
Coffee Rush, Howell's Flowers, Jim the Hairdresser, Hair
Excellence, Hairscape, Scissor Wizards, Spirals Hair
Salon, Flamingos Hair Design, Lesley’s Salon, Flos
New Generation, After Hours Cutz, Jiffy Lube (Stbg),
Big Wheel Roller Rink, Country Kettle, Geo Trading Company
and Music Store
Event Donations
The Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort (venue), Abeloff, 5 Star
Precision Printing, Embroidery Express, Majestic Athletics,
Double M Productions, Brushes The Clown, Joseph Raven
Magical Productions, Joseph Raven Entertainment, Sam
Snead's, Christy Edmondson, Clarence Hawley, Kim and
Howard Kerrick, Randy & Sue Martin Family, Diane
Possinger, Chris and Don Siptroth, Ken and Linda Siptroth,
Diane, Steve & Ben Siptroth
Volunteers
Dave Timko, Mandy Cunard, Chris Laubengeyer, Tamara Pettite-Laubengeyer,
Kelly Williams, Sharon Fish, Marsha Wermuth, Gary Lambert,
Ray Chase, Lance Heil, Chris McCabe, Cece Collins, Erika
Sengbusch, Karol Parra and Jason Startari.
Locals Host Concert at the Shawnee Inn
to Benefit Tsunami Relief
Shawnee On
Delaware , PA, Thursday February 24, 2005 -
Shortly after the Pocono Record printed the article
on Peter Kirkwood’s efforts (December 23, 2004)
locals Jud Krinsky and Garth Woods wanted to find
their own way to contribute to this worthy cause.
Both being local musicians, members of the band “Legacy”,
they thought a benefit concert would make a nice
fundraising event. Jud and Garth first contacted
Jon Kirkwood, Peter Kirkwood’s
younger brother and fellow local musician in his spare
time. Jon was fond of the idea and when he explained the
event to his brother in Phuket, Peter was elated to hear
of the continued local support. A buzz about the event
was soon created and a committee was formed to begin the
planning process. The committee to organize the Pocono
Tsunami Relief Concert consists of Jud Krinsky - owner
of SawMill Furniture / local musician, Garth Woods - owner
of GarcomWeb.com / local musician, Rob Howell - Marketing
Director of the Shawnee Inn, and Monica Restrepo - Project
Manager for the Shawnee Institute. When the idea began
to materialize, Jud and Garth immediately turned to the
Shawnee Institute because they knew that donating to a
hands-on charity drive would allow virtually all of the
funds to be allocated directly to the relief effort itself.
The Pocono
Tsunami Relief Concert will take place this coming Sunday,
February 27th from noon – 8pm at the
Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort’s Ballroom. The suggested
donation of $15 per person will give you access to a full
day of entertainment and fun (the first 200 attendees will
also get a free t-shirt.) The event is geared to people
of all ages, children welcome. The day will consist of
seven local bands (Stasis, Legacy, Kate & CJ, Kathy
Phillips, Randy Bigness, Who Knows Band and Fuzzpipe) that
will be donating their time and talent by playing on the
hour. Along with the entertainment, there will be raffles
and a silent auction that people can partake in. The silent
auction will be held from noon – 5PM and will feature
big ticket items such as a Lazyboy Recliner, Oak Cedar
Lined Storage Chest, Microfibre Video Rocker Chair, $1,000
Gift Certificate to Flooring America, One Week Villa Stay
compliments of Shawnee Village (good at participating timeshare
locations in the US), Fender GA43s Acoustic Guitar, Salomon
Skies, Garcom web hosting for 1 year, digital camera and
much more! In addition to these activities, there will
be face painting and balloons for the children to enjoy.
Charlie’s Place, the Inn’s main restaurant,
will also have a limited menu available throughout the
day.
The committee
is very honored by the support of the community and we
would like to extend our sincere thanks to all those
who have contributed to this event. To name a few, WSBG
93.5 (air time advertising, 2-minute Warning invitation),
the Pocono Record (complimentary 5 ½ “W x
10” H ad and articles on the event), Majestic Athletics
(t-shirts), Embroidery Express (t-shirt screening), Double
M Productions (t-shirt screening), 5 Star Precision Printing
(posters and flyers) and Sam Snead’s Tavern. Snead’s
will be donating 10% of their restaurant profits during
the day of the event and is also hosting an after party
following the concert’s end at 8pm.
For more
information on the event, please visit www.poconoaid.com.
All benefits of the concert will be donated to the Shawnee
Institute’s tsunami
relief efforts; to find out about the current projects,
go to www.shawneeinstitute.org.
Recovery
Efforts Close to Home:
Residents
of Shawnee , PA to Hand Deliver Aid Relief
Shawnee On
Delaware , PA, Wednesday, December 29, 2004 – Before
the devastating effects of Sunday's catastrophic events
could even be fully realized, massive aid and relief
efforts began to take shape. In a tragedy that has
directly impacted civilizations and countries worldwide,
it does not take long for the effects to hit very close
to home.
Peter
Kirkwood, 34, was born in Thailand where his father practiced
law from 1965 thru 1972. A few years later the family
purchased the Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort and Peter and
his four siblings were raised here in Pennsylvania ,
in the small village of Shawnee on Delaware . For the
past two years, Peter and his wife Elizabeth have been
living in Phuket , Thailand , working as environmental
lawyers and also conducting business there with Peter's
brother Timothy. Phuket is an island off the west coast
of Thailand and was the one of the hardest-hit parts
of the country. The Kirkwoods were fortunate to be in
the US for the holidays and their home in Thailand ,
which rests nearer to the hills of the island, was not
significantly impacted.
Upon
hearing the news of the tragedy, the Kirkwoods first
reaction was to figure out what they could do to help
out the victims of this horrible event. This urge to
contribute was only strengthened by the numerous calls
from friends and family wanting to find out how they
could also help. Pete and Liz are planning to return
to Thailand just after New Year's, but their trip will
not be an ordinary return home. Immediately after their
arrival, the couple expects to provide hands-on aid to
the many people in desperate need of help. They feel
that their efforts are different than most large aid
organizations because they are residents of the area
and are accustomed to the culture and language of Thailand
, a country they care so much for. Because they speak
Thai they can provide invaluable help to local families,
and because they speak Spanish, French and English, they
can do the same for stranded and bereaved tourists.
Although
this is an extreme circumstance, the Kirkwood family
is quite familiar with assisting to people in need. The
Kirkwoods have vast experience in contributing through
worldwide organizations including the Peace Corps, Special
Olympics, and other development agencies. Peter's mother,
Virginia Pearsall Kirkwood, has also been involved with
the Peace Corp both in the U.S. and abroad, serving as
the Director of the Peace Corp in Thailand from 1990
to 1993 and earlier as a Peace Corps volunteer in Turkey
.
Aside from delivering hands-on aid,
Pete and Liz are reaching out to the global community for
help. Many times when a disaster like this strikes, people
feel helpless and overwhelmed by the recovery efforts.
However, the Kirkwoods truly hope to create a strong enough
buzz in order to collect as many funds as possible to deliver
aid to the disaster victims themselves. Since Thailand
is so near and dear to their hearts, Pete and Liz are anxious
to do something on their own. Peter will personally
oversee the distribution of all funds collected to ensure
that they provide maximum relief to the devastated coast
of Thailand .
If
you would like to help alleviate this truly global tragedy,
please send your contributions to the address below (financial
contributions only, please- unfortunately we do not have
the ability to transport material donations):
The
Shawnee Institute Ltd
P.O. Box 406
Shawnee On Delaware , PA 18356
You
can also contribute online at www.shawneeinstitute.org or www.shawneeinn.com .
For questions
please feel free to contact Monica Restrepo at 570-424-4050
x1272 or email contact@shawneeinstitute.org . You
can also drop off your contribution to Saen or Boonchad
Pruettipun at their restaurant Saen Thai Cuisine, Shawnee
Square , Shawnee On Delaware , PA 18356.
The
Shawnee Institute Ltd is a 501(C)(3) Public Charity and
all monetary donations are tax deductible.
|
