Juanito Pascual, Sasha Jacobson, and Tupac Mantilla
For those who were unable to attend our Flamenco Fundraiser last Friday, you missed some really fabulous music – as well as some top-notch socializing with supporters of OCR and the Marin AIDS Project. It was such an honor to be among people who want to make the world a better place through their actions, and for some, through their music.
In the end not a ton of funds were raised. Unless the guest-list is peppered with high-end donors these events rarely do make more than the efforts and expanses put in to produce them. But there is outreach and goodwill, the mixing and blending of communities, and a chance to meet and confer with like-minded folks. By my estimation this is priceless.
Although one gift came in that really moved me. I had asked a daughter of some friends if she would like to help manage the door. She is headed off to college in August and this might be one of the last times I get to see her before she sets the world ablaze.
After the concert was over and the festivities were coming to a close she came up to me and handed me an envelope. She had opened up her Tzedakah box; the envelope contained the money that she had saved for the purpose of charity. It wasn’t a lot of money, but because it was comprised of the nickels and dimes she had collected and deposited in the box since she was five, it was a monumental gift.
In the end OCR will live another day on the proceeds of the event. But we will live a lifetime on charitable gestures such as this.
