‘American Pickers’ Star Danielle Colby Headlines Cobra Lounge Benefit For Puerto Rican Orphanage
The desolation of Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria cannot be overstated. Although the island’s plight is fading from the headlines, its residents are still in dire need of help.
Two Chicagoans, Danielle Colby of “American Pickers” and scene stalwart Jeremy Scheuch, are trying to help in any way they can. The duo has already coordinated the delivery of much-needed supplies to the island, even traveling there personally to bring essentials to Puerto Ricans.
“Danielle and I visit Puerto Rico often and the people and island have given us so much, this is the least we can do to give back,” says Scheuch. “And we couldn’t sit around and do nothing while our friends needed help.”
So the duo is looking for local help on a very granular level now. On Nov. 20, they are mounting “Save The Orphanage — A Benefit to Help Rebuild La Casa De Todos Orphanage in Juncos, Puerto Rico.” At the event at Cobra Lounge, there will be performances by Gin Rummy (Danielle Colby, Soda Gardocki & Zach Puppy Babbe), burlesque sensation Lilly Rascal and Stella Cheeks. The evening will also include DJ sets from Jill Hopkins and DJ Glorified Jukebox. There will also be a silent auction for numerous works of art created by Chicagoans.
According to the event page:
La Casa de Todos is an orphanage in Juncos, Puerto Rico run by Sor Carmen Carmona, an amazing woman who opened the orphanage in 1980. These are kids that in some cases have been removed from their homes because of bad situations. They are running out of money and in danger of closing. They need cash to pay employees or they will close. They had to sell a generator just to stay open. The government owes them money, but all that has been delayed. Five employees lost their entire homes. They need money. They need serious construction. Part of their roof is gone and they have no electricity or water. The garbage hasn’t been picked up in over two weeks. We will be sending down a crew of people and supplies to help rebuild and repair La Casa de Todos in early December and your donations will help make this happen.
“When everything else is looking so grim and the world is changing so fast that it’s scary, one thing that remains consistent is kindness,” Colby said. “Kindness will always make things feel better, more stable. Like Mr. Rogers says, ‘Look for the helpers.’ No matter what government does or does not do, people need to remember the power is in their hands to make their small part of the world better. Set a tone of kindness. Be honest with your intentions, the rest will follow.”
Scheuch sees inspiration in the words of Roberto Clemente: “If you have an opportunity to accomplish something that will make things better for someone coming behind you, and you don’t do that, you are wasting your time on this earth.”
We can get down with that.
