By Sydney Clarke and Megan Angulo
Nearly 300 people attended Homeless Solutions’ annual Dream Builder’s Bash, a gala to benefit the organization’s four shelters and various community projects. Attendees were treated to an evening of good food and auctions, along with a live band, on March 1 at the Westin Governor Morris hotel in Morristown.
The main attraction of the night, however, was the “Can-Struction,” a massive can rendering of Homeless Solutions’ newest property, located on Martin Luther King Avenue in Morristown. Created by NK Architects, the structure was made of mostly yellow tomato cans, donated by Cento, to mimic the yellow coloring of the real building.
Photos by Megan Angulo. Please click icon below for captions.
Guests had the opportunity to purchase a window or door, which was covered by a black blind. Upon purchase, the blind was rolled up to reveal a photo of a child benefiting from the donation. If all sold, the house would raise $10,075.
“It is a feel-good auction,” Homeless Solutions’ Communications Manager Susan Robinson said. Once the night was over, all of the cans went to good use, being donated to the Interfaith Food Pantry.
If “feel-good” auctions were not guests’ forte, there also were plenty of physical goods to bid on. Everything from digital cameras to weekends in Vermont was up for grabs.
Perhaps the most alluring prize was a piece of original artwork done by Nina Nemeth, who received the Mary Van Kirk Volunteer Spirit Award for her work with Furnishing Solutions.
The award, in its second year, is given in memory of Mary Van Kirk, a volunteer who died in 2009.
Nemeth is in charge of volunteers, inventory and other aspects of the shop, staffed by about 30 volunteers. In all, about 550 volunteers help out at Homeless Solutions, doing everything from running workshops on budgeting to cooking, babysitting and yard work.
Robinson emphasized the importance and relevance of the organization, which works to “help people right here in our community.” She said she hoped to bring to people’s attention to the fact that “homeless people are not always the scary guys in trench coats,” but can be families and people who lost their jobs or homes due to the economic crisis.
“We always have a waiting list for people to get into the shelter,” Robinson added.
Anyone interested in volunteering or donating to Homeless Solutions can find more information on the website.
