When Joe Thrift first saw news footage of the Haiti earthquake and its aftermath in January, he knew he wanted to help. At first, he just didn't know how.
"I would sit there watching the news and crying," he said. "It hit me the same way Hurricane Katrina did."
The Jan. 12 Haiti earthquake killed more than 200,000 Haitians and left more than 1 million homeless. Rebuilding efforts have been under way ever since.
In the following months, Thrift, a musician and violin maker from Surry County, kept thinking about the devastation. He realized that there was something he could do locally to help the people of Haiti: Put together a benefit to raise money.
His initial idea has become "Give 'Em Shelter: Helping Haiti Rebuild," a fundraiser and series of benefit concerts being held in Winston-Salem over the next three days. It will collect donations for Habitat For Humanity International's rebuilding efforts in Haiti.
Thrift's first step was to call
Richard Emmett, the owner of The Garage in the Downtown Arts District, to see if the club could spare the time for a multi-day event.
"One night was not going to bring in much money, so we needed a three-day weekend," Thrift said. "He was totally great. He started calling musicians right away."
Meanwhile, Thrift got in touch with artists he knew to see if they had pieces of art they could donate for the cause.
"I was going door-to-door to galleries, seeing if anyone wanted to donate," he said.
He found plenty of takers, and he found that the 5ive & 40rty art gallery on Trade Street could open its doors for a week-long silent auction.
On the musical side of things, The Garage will be putting on three nights of themed shows with various musical acts tonight through Saturday, for a $10 admission each night. Other acts will perform at 6th & Vine, with free admission and a donation jar.
In the art gallery, 50 items by more than 40 artists, most of them local, are being auctioned. The silent auction began last week and runs through Saturday evening. There are paintings, prints and sculptures by such artists as Tory Casey, Rob Mangum, Anastassiya Popova, Ron Propst, Joy Ritenour and Mike Shepherd.
There are also musical instruments, most of them hand-crafted, including one of Thrift's violins. His violins usually sell for up to $10,000; he estimates the value of the one in this auction at about $5,000.
Two pieces, a paper-mache statue by Casey and a sculpture by Mangum, were done especially for the fundraiser.
The silent auction also includes some other items, such as dinners at Salem Tavern and holidays.
"We've got some great stuff here," said Amy Garland, who runs 5ive & 40rty and has background in nonprofit organizations. "People have been very, very generous."
Thrift estimates that about $20,000 worth of art has been donated, and hopes to earn another $1,000 a night at The Garage and 6th & Vine.
Basic homes being built in Haiti by Habitat For Humanity cost about $6,00-$7,000, Thrift said, so he is optimistic that he will earn enough to get several homes built.
All of the musical acts are performing for free, and The Garage will be donating a portion of its bar sales. And none of the artists are being paid, either, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to Habitat for Humanity International through the Blessings Project Foundation, which is acting as the fiscal agent for the fundraiser. T-shirts and posters will also be for sale.
"I love this," Garland said of the fundraiser. "It's art for human's sake."
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