JEFFERSONVILLE — Last year’s Hogs & Honeys Valentine Benefit for Mission Kids, Montgomery County’s Child Abuse Advocacy Center, brought in $7,725 and was a

huge success. But advance ticket sales and contributions to this year’s encore event, set for Saturday night at Jeffersonville Golf Club, have already soared above 2008’s bottom line. Tickets for the Feb. 14 social cost $30 per person and include food, wine and beer, and music. The festivities will also feature a drawing for a Baja 150 cc scooter and numerous door prizes and raffle items. Organizers Sue and Sam Gardy, proprietors of Kickstart Motorcycles in East Norriton, say the wealth of goods, services and gift certificates donated for a Chinese auction, “large prize raffle” and black jack-poker table have “far exceeded our expectations, especially with the economy the way it is these days. “I’m talking about merchandise and gift certificates for everything under the sun &ndash restaurants, hotel stays, all kinds of entertainment, weekend car rentals and car detailing, even a handyman-for-a-day and&hellipa lot of items still coming in,” Sue Gardy said. “We’re looking at a phenomenal number of gift baskets for our Chinese auction because the prizes just keep piling up and piling up. “People have been so giving. I think they like the fact that every penny we take in, once we’ve covered our (venue) rental, goes to Mission Kids. But it’s still been amazing.” Sam Gardy’s been particularly touched by “the generosity of the small shops &hellip hair salons, pizza shops, places that do music lessons, dance lessons … stuff like that.” “We started knocking on doors up in Limerick and really worked through the county, going into places and asking for donations &hellip and people really responded,” he said. Sunflowers by Denise in East Norriton is donating table centerpieces Zeber’s Bakery in Plymouth Meeting is giving a cake. Both are repeat contributors. Saturday’s party is the Gardys’ fifth annual Hogs & Honeys community fundraiser. “It’s just our way of giving back,” said Sue Gardy, who is also a 911 dispatcher. “We worried that we might have trouble this year &hellip the way people are tightening their belts, but I think Mission Kids is such a good cause that people are going out of their way to contribute, even if they’re not having the best time, financially, themselves. “The old farmhouse (at 530 W. Germantown Pike in Norristown Farm Park) they’re renovating to use as their headquarters is across from our shop, which makes it feel even more like we’re doing something to help our neighbors,” she said. “But the bottom line is, wow, we just love this charity and what the people there are trying to accomplish.” Spokesmen describe Mission Kids as “a nonprofit organization created by the collaborative effort of the Montgomery County district attorney, the Police Chiefs of Montgomery County and the Montgomery County Office of Children and Youth to help ease the criminal justice process for abused children in Montgomery County.” In the words of Montgomery County District Attorney and co-founder Risa Vetri Ferman: “Currently, a child needs to go through multiple interviews by law enforcement, social services, prosecution, medical care services, mental health care providers and counselors, often at different locations over an extended period of time, causing them to relive the horrors of their abuse over and over. “This process can cause unnecessary trauma to a child and makes it nearly impossible for many of them to find the strength to testify in court against their abusers. Mission Kids will serve as a child-friendly facility where victims of abuse can be interviewed, examined and counseled in one safe and comfortable location by a multidisciplinary team of compassionate individuals.” One Montgomery County woman whose 5-year-old daughter was assaulted a year ago believes Mission Kids “will make an unimaginably difficult time a little easier for the people who are suffering through it. “We had no control over what happened to our daughter, but the control we do have is lending our voice to a cause like this, which will help other children,” she said. “What we went through with our 5-year-old a year ago is hard to describe to someone who hasn’t been there. We had no idea what to do, where to go, how to get help. “Of course, you go to the police, but they’re not necessarily used to dealing with this kind of thing, and it just makes you sick, worrying about whether you’re doing the right thing, getting the best help you can to help your child get through such a trauma&hellip and then, the trauma of dealing with the police, the hospital, the D.A.’s office, a therapist &hellip listening as these people try to get a statement out of a 5-year-old.” Committee members for Feb. 14’s Mission Kids benefit include Hogs & Honeys Annie Fanelli, Flossie Sciarillo, Caroline Fellman, Jim and Trish Piazza, Walt Kuch, Debra Rizzo, Sharon Waterman, Karen and Tim McNally and Lynne Eisele. “Sam and I could not have done this without the help of all these people,” Sue Gardy said. “(We) started five years ago and we had approximately 40 people come to our first benefit. It kept growing by 40 to 50 people each year. Last year, it reached 180 people, and I knew this year we would definitely need help. “Our benefit is not just for the motorcycle enthusiast, either. It’s for everyone. We’re just the hosts.” Donations for the Mission Kids fundraiser can be mailed to Kickstart Motorcycles, 521 W. Germantown Pike, East Norriton, PA 19403. Checks should be made payable to Mission Kids. Requests for program book adsm starting at $25, should be accompanied by a business card or other promotional form. The latter may also be e-mailed to or faxed to 610-270-0287. More specifics are available at 610-635-0733 or in-person at Kickstart. Jeffersonville Golf Club is located at 2400 W. Main St., Jeffersonville. The Gardys anticipate tickets will be available at the door but welcome would-be attendees to verify availability by contacting them in advance. For more information about Mission Kids, call Executive Director Abbie Newman at 215-869-0492 You must be logged in to post a comment. Do not use usernames or passwords from your financial accounts! Note: Fields marked with an asterisk () are required! (children under 13 cannot register) Where The Mercury’s music junky dissects life and entertainment.
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