On Saturday July 26th, the same night as the West coast Pub Crawl, Great Shape! Inc. hosted its first ever East Coast Fundraiser. It was a lively outdoor dinner party in Milford, Connecticut that brought together roughly 60 people, some volunteers of GSI and others friends of friends.

When guests arrived they were asked to donate at the door, a sum of their choice with a minimum of $25. This alone raised $2,700, while another $800 was raised by a small auction and raffle.

(Rumor has it somebody may be matching the total sum of $3,500, but sources have not confirmed this.)

The event planners worked selflessly for days preparing the food, decor and entertainment for the evening. The menu for the night consisted of Jerk chicken, rice and peas, pineapple cake and of course rum punch.

We were blessed to have The Shane Brothers attend the event; Oshane was the DJ and together the twins drummed for everyone and were of course the highlight of the event.

Several speeches were given by the hosts and by volunteers who got sentimental about their experiences in Jamaica.

It was an event that drew a crowd, one optometrist drove in from Maryland (a 6 hour drive) while others commuted from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and the like. GSI Executive Director Joe Wright flew in as well. There was a lot of interest in Great Shape! Inc. and several new dentists seemed overtly inclined to sign up for next years projects. At least one volunteer registered on the spot for the Spring projects.

Overall the evening was a success in terms of volunteer relations and general good will. It’s always a beautiful thing when people can come together on behalf of a great cause. All for the love of our Jamaican families that we serve. We’re blessed to be a part of such an incredible experience, and hope to persist with the East coast fundraisers into the future.

One Love and thank you to our host Christine and everyone who helped pull off the night.

-The GSI Team