[StBernard] Benefits raise more than $1, 000 for the Community Center

[Westley Annis]

Music lovers enjoyed a real treat on Saturday, January 22, when
acclaimed local artist Anders Osborne played a free live performance
to a packed house at the Howlin’ Wolf. The concert, which was
organized by Kevin Schultz as a birthday celebration to benefit
WhyHunger local nonprofit partners Our School at Blair Grocery and
the Community Center of St Bernard, raised over $900 in donations and
sales of promotional items. 

In addition to the funds raised through the concert, the Neutral
Ground Ensemble (www.neutralgroundensemble.org), featuring local St.
Bernard resident Becca Chapman, offered several performances of
Bertolt Brecht’s play, “The Exception and the Rule” at the Elm
Theatre to benefit the Community Center. Known for their dedication
to achieving the highest level of artistic excellence and for their
original, powerful and affective theatrical performances, the Neutral
Ground Ensemble raised more than $400 in just 4 days. 

“We’re very grateful for the funds we’ve received from these
benefit events,” said Iray Nabatoff, Executive Director of the
Community Center of St Bernard. “2010 was a hard year in many ways,
with so many new clients coming to us for help because of the Gulf
Oil Spill. Our Food Pantry served over 2,100 families, and we had
more than 200 people sign in to our Clothing Bank every week. And it
looks like 2011 is going to be just as busy. This kind of community
support is absolutely vital so that the Community Center will be able
to provide the help that these struggling families so desperately
need.”

The money from the benefit events will be used to fund essential
services at the Community Center, including the food pantry, clothing
bank, computer lab, financial literacy classes, and other programs.
And as it approaches its 5th Anniversary on April 17th, 2011, the
Community Center of St. Bernard is working on a capital campaign to
acquire a larger facility so that it can better serve the more than
5,300 local residents who depend on it for assistance every year. For
more information about the programs and resources available at the
Community Center, please visit www.ccstb.org