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| WELNepalis (left to right) Barry, Anton, Ashley, David Daai, Anh, Diana, Betty |
WELNepal recently threw its 12th Annual Benefit Bash, and what a bash it was! It was our first time in Toronto’s famed Tranzac Club and the venue was perfect. There was a plenty of room to meet, mingle and dance (and believe us, dancing was a big part of the evening!).
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| Auction tables |
We welcomed about
100 guests to the party and treated them to delicious food donated and prepared
by “our” chefs Mike and Max and popular Toronto restaurants The Roastery and
Mt. Everest. We also showcased live entertainment, including performances by
Nepali musical group Aryan and Band (fronted by adorable three-year-old drummer
Aryan), belly dance troupe Tribe MayaFire and high-energy afro-pop band Njacko
Backo and Kalimba Kalimba. DJ Simon provided the perfect soundtrack in between
performances.
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| Aryan and Band |
We also received a
great response to our silent auction, and some lucky guests walked away with
hockey tickets, original art, Nepali and Canadian-made jewellery and more.
Guests also liked our colourful grab bags, and for the first time ever, we
offered attendees the opportunity to sponsor two young women that we work with
in Nepal.
Thanks to some very
generous donors, both girls will be starting post-secondary school soon.
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| Njacko Backo and Kalimba Kalimba |
All of us at WELNepal
— and all the
women we work with — are incredibly grateful to everyone who took
the time to come out and celebrate our work with us. The benefit is so much
more than a simple fundraiser. It’s about raising awareness of the issues so
many Nepali women face and doing so in a fun, memorable and meaningful way. The
night is a celebration of our mission, our women’s groups, Nepal and our
incredible donors. We hope everyone had as fantastic an evening as we did and
we hope to see you all next year!
We’d also like to
take this opportunity to offer a very, very special thanks to the people who
dedicated so much time to making this benefit the best it could be.
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| Tribe MayaFire with Aryan |
A heartfelt thanks
to our Maitre D and host Michael, all of our performers, Anneli, Pat, Anh,
Jennifer, Big Guy Shane, Meesh, Hideki, Eli, Suzanne, Betty, Isabelle, Holly,
Ethel, Celina, Chip and Nancy (for her famous noodle salad that she kindly
provides every year). If we forgot anybody, feel free to call us out in the
comments!
We’d also like to
offer a huge thank you to our wonderful MC and dedicated donor and fan, Barry
Flatman. His speech about his trip to Nepal helped boost the profile of the
tiny country we all love so much.
So to everyone who
came out to enjoy eating, drinking and partying with us — thank you! Your
donations will give so many women the gift of literacy.
Namaste,
WELNepal
