My Experiences: Hope For Children Gala Hosted by Cross International

On Friday I went to work like any other day. But the evening that followed was anything but normal. At 7PM I walked through the doors of the Hilton Akron/Fairlawn and into a world of caring, giving, and hope.

I had walked through the hotel lobby and straight into the 3rd Annual Cross International Hope Gala, "Hope For Children." A charity event put on by Cross International to raise money to open schools in Haiti that were closed because the donors who sponsored them before all left.... they walked away from the children that relied on them and just closed the schools. The goal of the evening, to reopen 10 schools for one year, at a cost of $2000 per school. (To put it in perspective, $2000 will keep the school open, teach the children, give them somewhere safe to go, and feed them one hearty meal a day for a full year!)

I saw generosity I would never have expected. When the auctioneer asked, "Who wants to sponsor a school for a year?" A gentlemen in the front row raised his hand and said, "I'll cover three of them...."

I've never seen such generosity out of a group of people so far disconnected from the children they were supporting. All the miles between our little corner of Ohio and Haiti melted down to nothing because these people were willing to open their hearts, lives, and wallets up and let the generosity flow. It was amazing, and it changed my perspective on a lot of things.

Next up on my event list is the Get Motivated Seminar on Weds, May 12th. I have a funny feeling that the "push" I get from that event is going to work reversely and help me find a way to make an impact on the mission Cross International is working on. I guess time will tell.