Kessler kicks up support

The Pay It Forward Celebration on April 19 meant a $40,000 payday for the Northwest Arkansas Free Health Clinic. Some 150 supporters joined the nonprofit organization for the benefit dinner at Mermaids Seafood Restaurant in Fayetteville.

The group presented its inaugural 2015 Pay It Forward Award to Susan and Buddy Chadick in recognition of their commitment to helping others.

The health center provided more than 12,000 patient services in the last year, according to Jane Guyton, health center director of development. Proceeds from the fundraiser will help the center provide medical and dental supplies and services and some pharmaceutical needs, she said.

Guyton said the group is working to add new dental services such as oral health education and add restorative care to its current emergency dental services.

Friends funding the Free Health Center included June and J.B. Hays, Sara and Bill McBee, Sheri Rothwell and Woody Bassett, Frank Johnson, Mary Alice Serafini, Gen and Frank Broyles, Ellen and Malcolm Hayward, Elaine and David Longer, Holly and Marty Bryan, Dena Stockalper and Joan and John Threet.

Restore Humanity welcomed 80 guests to its annual Wine Dinner on April 19 at Bordinos Restaurant and Wine Bar in Fayetteville. The gourmet meal with wine pairings helped the group raise more than $35,000.

Proceeds from the annual fundraiser will help support the nonprofit organization's James Christopher Opot Children's Center, an orphanage in the Hundro Village in the Nyanza Province of Kenya.

Construction work continues on the maternity ward in Sirembe, Kenya, that Restore Humanity and a local government clinic are building in the village, but the ward's delivery room was recently completed and has "delivered 12 healthy babies to 12 healthy moms," Sarah Fennel, Restore Humanity founder, told me.

Those wining and dining to benefit Restore Humanity included Julie and Rick Roblee, Leslie and Scott Bailey, Mary and Mike Russell, Amy and Rick Sorell, Allyson and William Mertins, Ceri and Rolf Wilkin, Jean Ann and Joe Fennel, Tareneh and Lance Manning, Sarah and Jacques Hagopian and Julie and Chris Haimbach.

That same evening, the Gala for Mount Kessler saw more than 250 guests at Pratt Place Barn in Fayetteville. The Fayetteville Natural Heritage Association fundraiser helped raise some $50,000 to help the group preserve 376 acres on Kessler Mountain for public outdoor recreation, education, watershed protection and natural resource preservation.

The evening's program began with a performance of Phillip Kessler Revisits His Mountain, written by Frank Sharp with Hugh Kincaid in the title role.

The Walton Family Foundation and the city of Fayetteville gave the effort a boost in 2014, each donating $1.5 million, and the Chambers Family Foundation donated 48 acres. Proceeds from the gala go toward fulfilling the association's pledge to demonstrate community support for the effort by raising $300,000 in three years.

The evening's program also included recognition of Women Out Walking (WOW), a group of Benton County women who make hiking excursions to area trails and forests. WOW made the initial gift toward the preservation of Kessler in the early days of the initiative.

Among those kicking up support for Kessler were Sara and Bob Caulk, Judy and Duane Woltjen, Margo and Pete Heinzelman, Pam and David Parks, Lisa and Rob Sharp, Terri and Alan Lane, Natalie and Steve McBee, Barbara Taylor, Ivone and Jeremy Hudson and Angie and John Coleman.

For more event photos -- nwadg.com/photos/society

Columnist Carin Schoppmeyer can be reached by email at [email protected].

NAN Profiles on 05/03/2015