“Celebrating 10 years of Hope” was the theme of Sustainable Hope’s annual Gala held October 7 at the Stoney Creek Hotel and Conference Center. This celebration was to commemorate the ten-year anniversary of our We CanTM Clubs in Thailand.
The decoration theme was Thai oriented with a lovely display of fruit cuttings in the beautiful and exotic flowers found in Thailand. The table centerpieces were glowing candles in candle flutes with delicate fairy lighting and red orchids scattered.
We had an overflow attendance of 100+ people attend in both Thai cultural clothing and evening attire. The buffet meal consisted of a green salad, jasmine rice, candied baby carrots, both pork loin and chicken breast. Both carrot and chocolate cake were served at each table setting. When guests arrived, they were invited to visit both the silent and super silent auction items and make their bids.
Visiting continued until mealtime. While guests ate, they were able to enjoy a slide show of not only the We CanTM Club programs in Thailand, but also adventures into the lovely countryside of this land.
The program included recognition Sustainable Hope’s “Champions of Hope”, people who created the We CanTM Club program, as well as those who insure the continuation of the program.
Another exciting event included a video-slide presentation of the We CanTM Club since its inception.
Kent, a local Thai restaurant owner, shared his experience, coming from a small, impoverished Thai village, and his struggles working very hard and sacrificing luxuries to take his huge step out of poverty to where he is now, a successful owner of two local Thai restaurants and a website helping other entrepreneurs become successful. (read his story elsewhere in this website)
The evening closed with people continuing to visit and pick up their successful bid items.
The evening brought both the Thai and Asian community together with others who openly support youth striving to make the necessary steps to become self-sufficient and are no longer youth in poverty.
The locations of our We CanTM Clubs is in northeastern Thailand. Currently, post-Covid we have We CanTM Clubs in 7 of the 10 Government Welfare Schools in the Essan Provinces. Two more schools have signed up for the program but are currently battling Covid.
The next decade of Sustainable Hope International’s We CanTM Clubs look very, very bright … we are opening doors to work with local Rotary Clubs in the areas of our welfare schools are located, for their support in helping youth to achieve their dreams.