A recent star-studded event organized by G Adventures and the Love In Action organization was held to benefit the non-profit Planeterra. The events raised $22,000 dollars to support Haiti relief efforts and supply microsurgeries for a vision restoration project in Tibet.
The benefit, held at Toronto’s Revival Nightclub on March 17, 2010, was hosted by Toronto television personalities Melissa Grelo and Matte Babel of the morning show CP24 Breakfast, and included a silent auction and raffle. Funds were raised through sponsor donations, event tickets and individual donations.
The event was also the culmination of the successful five-week Love In Action contest, an interactive competition that challenged Canadians across the country to form into teams of three and create local charity initiatives to fundraise for Tibet vision restoration charity, Seva Foundation.
The teams shot video of their events and posted two-minute clips to loveinaction2010.org.
A total of eighteen teams from British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario participated with creative fundraising initiatives ranging from art auctions staged in partial darkness to attempts to break the world record for most hugs received in an hour.
Out of the 10 finalists, Love At First Sight-comprised of students from the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario, was chosen as the group that best displayed their love in action.
The team members built a website and used fundraising events to ask respondents what they would miss most if they were to lose their eyesight. Responses flooded in from as far away as Japan and the team was able to raise $1,000 dollars in four weeks.
G Adventures founder Bruce Poon Tip was in attendance at the March 17 event to award Love At First Sight with a free voluntour to Peru courtesy of G Adventures. The winners will be helping to maintain and improve a women’s weaving cooperative developed and supported by Planeterra. They will be blogging about their experience at loveinaction2010.org.
Musical acts at the event included, hip-hop artist Slakah the Beatchild, folk musician Dylan Murray, Toronto songstress Trish (who closed the show), and DJ Jedi. Tibetan monks performing sacred chants, Tibetan artist Penpa Tsering, Siony's Hawaiian Dance Company, and cabaret aerialist Zero Gravity Circus provided performances throughout the night.