Clean drinking water should not be taken for granted. And a small but significant crowd turned out at the Villa Marre in Little Rock on May 22 to help a local agency ensure that clean drinking water would no longer be an unreachable luxury for those in the world who need it the most.
The event, Art & Sole, is the third annual fundraiser for Ozark Water Projects. Guests were greeted by hosts Karen Holderfield and Kathy Swanson, along with organization founders Karla and Beckham Allen.
Awaiting attendees were libations, silent-auction items, refreshments and a program during which volunteer Bobby Gilbert told of his recent fundraising efforts on behalf of the organization. "The man could sell a double bed to the pope," quipped the ever-wisecracking Craig O'Neill, who again oversaw the event's live auction. Sold for amounts ranging from $130 to $500 were works of art, portrait painting and photography services, horseback riding lessons, three hours of blues music by Ben "Swamp Donkey" Brenner, a Chanel "grab bag" and an Arkansas Travelers game treat for 10 with O'Neill as host. There Is a Solution, a painting created onsite by Gabriel Solis, went for $1,000.
Ozark Water Projects collects used shoes for foreign resale, the proceeds of which are used to pay for the digging of water wells and installation of water purification systems in communities in Kenya, Haiti and other Third World countries. A trip to Haiti to install systems is planned for July.
High Profile on 06/01/2014