Hope Through Health Finds Friends in Huntington
No one can ever say the Huntington community isn’t generous to a fault. On a cold, rainy night, a crowd of more than 100 turned out for the fourth annual Hope Through Health benefit at the Huntington Yacht Club. Proceeds from the evening will help improve and even save lives thousands of miles from these shores in the faraway land of Togo in West Africa. It’s a poverty-stricken place where hope is sometimes hard to come by.
Huntington’s connection to HTH comes through its executive director, Jennifer Schechter. The 2000 graduate of Huntington High School is a dynamo. She served a stint in Togo as a Peace Corps volunteer, meeting eventual HTH founder Kevin Fiori, Jr. there while he, too, was serving with the Peace Corps. Last summer the pair was married.
Ms. Schechter is currently studying for a master’s degree at the University of Washington and Mr. Fiori is in his second year of medical school there. But, on a recent Saturday night, the two were mingling with HTH supporters here in Huntington and sharing a message of hope and what’s been accomplished in the past year.
The evening included a silent auction where the local Huntington business community’s generosity was evident to all. Despite very challenging economic conditions, dozens of quality items were donated, allowing HTH to raise thousands of dollars.
A lovely, relaxed atmosphere was enhanced by J. Taylor Finley Middle School string musicians Sarah Toturo, Christian Jamison and Hailey Giordano, who performed a series of delightful selections that met with the approval of the crowd.
Ms. Schechter, who earned an undergraduate degree at Georgetown University, said that having the support of her family, friends and former Huntington classmates means a great deal to her. “It’s been amazing,” she said at the benefit.
Hope Through Health provides comprehensive medical, nutritional and psychosocial services to several thousand adults and children living with HIV/AIDS in Togo. The organization has expanded its program to prevent the transmission of HIV from mothers to infants.
Ms. Schechter’s parents, Duncan and Evie, who were instrumental in organizing the benefit, hosted an afterparty at their home. The pair is fully committed to the HTH mission and has brought many other community members into the fold. Their son, James, a 2004 graduate of Huntington High School who also attended the benefit, is another strong supporter of the organization.
Financial backers at the benefit were assured that 98 cents of every dollar donated will be spent directly on programs in Africa. Attendees “bid up” auction items knowing the lifesaving difference their dollars will make in a distant land.
For more information about Hope Through Health contact Ms. Schechter at jschechter@hthglobal.org or visit the Hope Through Health website at www.hthglobal.org.
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