A year ago, organizers of the College’s Winter Ball wanted to help victims of HIV/AIDS in Africa.
The event was a huge success, raising nearly $6,000. With help from Robert C. Daly ’71, an executive at Toyota Motor Sales, and a boost from an anonymous donor, the money helped provide a new Land Cruiser for the Foundation for Hospices in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The foundation, which was co-founded by another alum, Phil Di Sorbo ’71, donated the SUV to a hospital in Tanzania on the front lines of the fight for palliative care. The vehicle, decorated with the Union logo, shuttles medical workers and supplies around a region devastated by AIDS.
So what is the College planning for an encore?
This year’s Winter Ball is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 7, from 8 p.m. to midnight in the College Park Hall Ballroom. Proceeds from the ticket sales ($7 for students, $15 for individuals, $25 for couples) again will go to the Diana Legacy Fund. The fund, which works with the foundation, is named after the late Diana, Princess of Wales, who supported AIDS causes.
Organizers hope to raise enough to help purchase a second vehicle for the region, which encompasses nearly 50 countries south of the Sahara.
“The great thing about collaborating with the Diana Legacy Fund is that a small amount of funds can have a positive effect on a large amount of patients,” said Shanique Kerr ’09, co-chair of UNITAS, who along with the Minervas, is a co-sponsor of the ball. “Since the purchase of the first vehicle, we’ve seen the increase in hospice care in Tanzania. The SUV also provides encouragement for the victims and reminds them that they are not alone in their fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS.”
Through the efforts of Tom McEvoy, associate dean of students and director of Minerva Programs, and James Underwood, the Chauncey H. Winters Research Professor of Political Science, the College has developed a strong partnership with Di Sorbo’s foundation. Jeremy Fritzhand ’10 and Sara Jacobson ’10 are spending the winter term on an Independent Study Abroad that includes an internship at South Coast Hospice in Port Shepstone, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
The College’s commitment to the global community has not gone unnoticed.
At a ceremony last fall presenting the Land Cruiser to Itete Lutheran Hospital, Brighton Kilewa, the secretary general of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania, thanked Union for its help.
“Nearly 90 percent of Lutheran hospitals are in the peripheral areas of the country, where transport is a major stumbling block, but also where palliative care is much needed,” Kilewa was quoted in the Guardian newspaper.
Saturday’s ball is open to all faculty, students, Trustees, staff and other members of the Union community. Dress is semi-formal. There’ll be entertainment from the Ballroom Dance Club and the Union Dance team, dinner and a cash bar, raffles and a DJ. Tickets are available in advance at Reamer Campus Center this week (11a.m.-2 p.m.) and at the door.
Those who would like to make a cash contribution can send a check made out to the Diana Legacy Fund to the Office of the Minerva Programs, Room 303 of the Reamer Campus Center.