North Central News

Features

Local artist seeks support for orphans

By Teri Carnicelli

    In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, local artist and philanthropist Haydn Anthony hopes that Phoenix residents will let their loving hearts shine … all the way to Kyazanga, Uganda.
    Anthony, a longtime North Central resident, is the founder of the Bright Heart Human Enrichment Program, which teaches the principles of courage, compassion, truth, justice, freedom and peace to the children of this often-overlooked Third World country.
    She started the program in 2007 after rescuing eight orphaned children in the Kyazanga community and building them a home with the assistance of Joseph Lukwago, founder of the Ugandan nonprofit Joy for Humanity. Lukwago and his mother, Susan, operate the Kyazanga Modern Primary private school, and donated the land for the adjacent Bright Heart Home. There is room on the property for 23 more homes housing a total of 184 more children whenever sponsors come forth.

Creating change one meal at a time

By Patty Talahongva

    One day Carol Blonder happened to be browsing the various postings on her Facebook wall when something about a potluck to raise money for charity caught her eye. She read it more closely and smiled; it sounded like an excellent idea. Her friend Jennifer Woods also saw the posting of their mutual friend and thought, “Why don’t we do that?”
    “It was such a simple proposal to casually dine in with friends, learn about and discuss women’s issues around the world and then be able to collectively contribute to the monthly selected causes,” Woods explains.
    So Blonder and Woods joined the Dining For Women (DFW) organization and started “changing the world, one dinner at a time.” DFW started in South Carolina in 2003 when 20 people got together for a potluck dinner. Money they would have spent on a restaurant meal, was instead donated to a fund which the founder, Marsha Wallace, donated to an organization. The idea caught on so well that today DFW is a national nonprofit group with chapters all across the United States, internationally and even in cyberspace. There are eight chapters in the North Central Phoenix area and local organizers hope to add many more.