Shaggy to Perform at Gala

Grammy award-winning reggae star Shaggy to celebrate gala milestone

	Shaggy (left) talks with Food For The Poor President/CEO Robin Mahfood. Shaggy, a longtime supporter of the South Florida based-nonprofit, will perform at the 20th annual Building Hope Gala Feb. 6, 2015.
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COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Oct. 29, 2014) – Come build homes and provide hope for Haiti with award-winning reggae artist, Shaggy, at Food For The Poor’s 20th annual Building Hope Gala, Friday, Feb. 6, 2015, at Boca West Country Club in Boca Raton. Attendees will be invited to create a legacy by pledging to build critically needed houses in Pon Batay, Haiti.

“Shaggy is a true friend of Food For The Poor,” said Food For The Poor President/CEO Robin Mahfood. “Thanks to Shaggy, the determination of Building Hope Gala committee members, and the South Florida community, Food For The Poor is positioned to build even more homes to commemorate the gala’s 20th anniversary.” 

Shaggy a longtime supporter of the South Florida based-nonprofit Food For The Poor, will perform at the 20th annual Building Hope Gala. Shaggy’s philanthropic giving is based on the premise that “to whom much is given, much is required.”

“The gift of a safe, secure home is a tremendous blessing for a family who lives in a crumbling one-room shack, and does not know where there next meal will come from,” said Mahfood. “A home offers more than shelter to a destitute family – it offers hope.”   

Since inception, Food For The Poor has built more than 91,000 housing units for people desperately in need of adequate shelter. A gift of $3,200 will move a destitute family from their dirt-floor makeshift shack in Pon Batay, into a permanent home. The community’s dire living conditions are compounded by the lack of clean drinking water in the area. Pon Batay residents must walk miles to the nearest community to fetch water from a well.

Supporters who donate a Food For The Poor home in advance of the Building Hope Gala will be entered into a drawing to win two tickets to New York Fashion Week in September 2015. The winner and guest will travel to New York in style, wearing custom-made dresses, selected by an A-List wardrobe stylist. Hotel and airfare accommodations are included in the package. Each home donated between Nov. 1 and midnight on February 5, 2015, will generate an entry for the drawing. The winning ticket will be pulled during the gala.

At the event, attendees will be able to bid on additional silent auction prizes, such as electronics, jewelry, vacations, golf and dining packages at Boca West Country Club, 20583 Boca West Drive, Boca Raton, Fla. 33434. This year’s theme is old Hollywood glamor.

The Building Hope Gala committee has organized a pre-event party on Nov. 13 at Shop DNA, Royal Palm Place, 1000 Plaza Real S., Suite E, Boca Raton, FL 33432. A portion of the proceeds from sales will be donated to Food For The Poor. Lea Black, from the cast of The Real Housewives of Miami Season 3, will attend the event. Please call Hillary Wallace at 888-404-4248 to request an invitation.

For additional information regarding the Building Hope Gala, sponsorship opportunities, and tickets, available at $250 per person, please call 888-404-4248 or visit www.FoodForThePoor.org/boca.

Committee members include Wedler Alexandre, Carlos Bodden, Matthew Bryant, Becky Carlsson, Gregory Fried, Ronda Ellis Ged, Erin Heit, Susan Krassen, Julie Mahfood, Rene Mahfood, Dan Overbey, Tashia Rahl, Candace Rojas, Kara Seelye, Dr. Deborah Shapiro, Renee Stetler and Max Tucci.

Gala sponsors include Leslie L. Alexander Foundation, Boca Raton Observer, Club Managers Association of America, Dennis Charley & Associates, Inc., Gregory’s Fine Jewelry, Oceans 234, Seaboard Marine, TD Bank, and Trinity Direct.

Shaggy won a Grammy for his album “Boombastic,” and was nominated for “It Wasn’t Me,” “Intoxication,” “Hotshot,” and “Summer in Kingston.” Shaggy has sold more than 20 million albums and has had seven number-one albums. Shaggy has also had eight number-one hit singles.

Food For The Poor, named by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 95 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.