The First Copy of Under a Living Sky went to Action For Healthy Communities.
The bid was up to $17.00 by the time I left the auction.
How did this happen? I got this very nice email (see below), and of course immediately consented
to the request. Given the themes in the book, how could I refuse?
Copy # 1
Greetings Joseph,
I'm not sure if you will remember me. We've met a couple times - over the
dinner table at Kabode when Caroline still lived in the house, and you lived
down the block, and at the 2004 Heart of the City Music Fest. I was one of the
coordinators for the event and you and your wife were a couple of the dedicated
volunteers who braved rather cool temperatures to lend your support to the
community event.
I read about the long over due release of your book in the McCauley News with
much pleasure. I know it's been a long haul for you to get to this point, so you
must be feeling both happy and relieved to see your book in print. Caroline
tells me it's a good read, so I can't wait to pick up a copy and read through it
before I pass it on to a child in my life.
It is regards to your book that I'm writing, and specifically to enquire whether
you would be able and interested in providing my organization, Action for
Healthy Communities, with a copy to be included in a silent auction we're
holding on 5 November. I realize this might be jumping the gun a bit, giving
that the book will be officially launched the next day, and I'm also not sure if
authors have the liberty of giving away free copies of their books. However, I
thought I would write and enquire just in case - we would be extremely honoured
to include the work of a community resident and avid community supporter such as
yourself in our auction.
As perhaps you know, Action for Healthy Communities works in 10 central Edmonton
neighbourhoods (McCauley, Boyle Street, Central McDougall, Norwood, Eastwood,
Spruce Avenue, Parkdale, Cromdale, Queen Mary Park, Alberta Avenue) with a focus
on building stronger and healthier communities. Our programs include a
leadership workshop series that builds on residents skills and experience, and
encourages them to initiate projects that will contribute to improved community
health and well being. Other programs provide residents with support and
resources to put these projects into action for example, guidance to develop a
senior's exercise program, help locating space for a collective kitchen or small
amounts of funding to purchase balls for a kids soccer program. We also have
been involved in such initiatives as Heart of the City and a women's wellness
retreat benefiting women who live in the inner city.
This year, our organization is celebrating its 10th anniversary and in
conjunction with this celebration, a fundraising event is being organized. Money
raised from the event will be used to support future resident-initiated projects
in central Edmonton. The event will be held in the Red Strap Market on 5
November and will include a silent auction as well as an arts and culture
display highlighting the talents of individuals who participate in our
programs. Our hope is that the event will also provide
local artists with an opportunity to reach a wider audience.
Action for Healthy Communities is a registered charity and thus we are able to
issue tax receipts for the fair market value of all in-kind donations. All
donors will be formally acknowledged at the auction and in our organization's
newsletter.
Please do not hesitate to contact me should you require more information about
the event or our organization. You can also visit our website at
www.a4hc.ca.
I look forward to hearing from you and hope there might be some way we can
include a copy of your new book in our event.
