Above: organizers of the Germain Street Open (GSO) present L’Arche Saint John with a cheque of $17,300. The 30th annual mini-putt event uptown Saint John took place on Oct. 19, with all proceeds supporting L’Arche’s art studio on Prince William Street, Creative Connections. From back left: Derek Chaisson of GSO, Matty Belyea and Rachel Vander Vennen of L’Arche Saint John. Front front left: Diane Richards, Konnor Long and Anna Kane and Kiersten Ferguson of GSO.
One of the core values of L’Arche is “live in joy.”
It’s a call and a reminder to us to choose joy, live in a spirit of gratitude and create opportunities in our daily life for fun and laughter. I can’t help but think that any organization with “joy” in their set of core values must be on to something!
Joy is expressed in so many different ways in our daily life together, from quiet, tender moments between two people, to community-wide events and celebrations. On Oct. 19, we got to experience the latter as the charity partner of the 30th annual Germain Street Open.
The Germain Street Open is an urban mini-putt course set in businesses and residences throughout uptown Saint John. Teams of four or five sign up, fundraise for a good cause and come dressed in costumes to play the 19-hole course throughout the uptown area.
Teams picked a clever theme and coordinated costumes – from Pacman, to Johnny Depp and Jim Carrey characters, to barrister robes, to Hazmat suits and more. Venue hosts along the route – pubs, businesses and private residences – constructed sometimes elaborate mini-putt holes in their establishment, some even directing the golf ball through a PVC pipeline down a storey to the hole below.
It was living in joy, in-action.
It wasn’t all just fun and games that came from the day – the event raised over $17,300 for our art studio, Creative Connections. These funds, raised by participants and event sponsors, will support the operations of the creative arts program for adults with intellectual disabilities.
Creative Connections is an integral part of the heartbeat of our community – and the arts scene in uptown Saint John – but our least financially sustainable. Every year we must fundraise over $130,000 to keep the lights on. Funds raised from this event makes a big impact on reaching that annual fundraising goal for the program.
My sincere thanks, appreciation and admiration for the Germain Street Open organizing committee, including Derek Chaisson, Kiersten Ferguson, Diane Richards, Konnor Long, Anna Kane and more.
Together, we’re building a world where everyone belongs – one hole-in-one at time.
In gratitude,
Rachel Vander Vennen
Community Leader & Executive Director