News

Verve raises cash to benefit Haitians

Posted on Jan. 24, 2010, at 11:40 p.m.

Verve, located in downtown Orono, has joined in with nonprofits and citizens around the world to aid relief efforts in Haiti after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck the Caribbean nation on Jan. 12.

Sunday night, Verve co-owners Heather and Abe Furth hosted a fundraising event at the restaurant to raise awareness and donations for the cause.

Pairing with Velma, a local band, the Furths hosted an after-hours concert to raise money. Velma consists of Steve McKay, Sue Hamlett, Paul Riechmann, Harvey Kail, and Margo Lukens. Kail and Lukens are both professors in the English department at the University of Maine.

By 8 p.m. all the chairs in Verve were filled with attendees. Guests stood around the door, the cash register and the back hall as the Furths worked the counter, handing out refreshments and snacks and greeting many of their patrons by name.

The band performed on the platform which is typically occupied by couches and armchairs while more than 50 community members looked on from their seats.

Off-duty Verve employees even made the event to show their support and more guests continued to mill in throughout the night.

The members of Velma are regulars at Verve and Woodman’s Bar and Grill, which the Furths also own, so the connection seemed obvious to all involved.

The band was planning a Sunday night performance at Verve for a while, but with the recent tragedy in Haiti, they decided to turn it into a fundraising effort for relief. The concert is one in a series of planned after-hours Sunday performances at Verve.

The event ran from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. with mandatory donations at the door. Attendees donated what they could.

“It doesn’t have to be more than a dollar,” Abe Furth said. By 9:15 p.m., Verve had already collected more than $1,200 in donations.

“Maybe you can put a little more in there, because it’s going to the American Red Cross,” Kail, the harmonica player announced in between songs. The donation basket was then passed through the laid-back atmosphere of the restaurant while patrons added to the pile of cash.

Lukens, the guitar player even altered the words of Van Morrison’s famous song, “Moondance” to encourage attendees to donate more.

“We’re here at Verve café, on Mill Street, playing for Haiti,” she crooned.

Coffee, smoothies, pastries, wine and spirits were also sold at the event, with a portion of the sales going to relief funds. Furth said he didn’t know what the percentage would be yet, but it would be relative to the sales they made for the night.

“We want to make sure we donate a decent amount,” he said.

All funds raised at the event will be donated to the Red Cross. As of Jan. 21, the American Red Cross had already committed $34 million to the cause but more help is still needed.

The island-nation of Haiti is one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world and the capital, Port-au-Prince, was devastated by the earthquake.

Campus Currents: Disaster in Haiti