Chris Gillespie is usually found playing jazz, Broadway show tunes and other favorites at the upscale Carlyle Hotel. On Thursday, May 6th, he joins Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy Kidder, Broadway musical star Kate Fisher, who performed the role of Cosette in Les Miserables, and others for a special charity fund-raiser for the tiny African nation of Burundi. The event is called Jazzical, and supports Village Health Works, a clinic in Burundi which has treated some 34,000 people since it opened less than three years ago. Jazzical is at 6 p.m. on May 6th at the DiCapo Opera Theatre, 184 E. 76th Street. There also will be a silent auction. It promises to be an inspiring and entertaining evening.
The clinic is the dream of Burundi native Deogratias Niyizonkiza, now an American citizen. Please read the next page for the inspiring story of Deo, the important health care clinic he built in Burundi, and how you can help.
The fashion industry charity group Fashion Delivers will be donating new clothes, blankets, and accessories to the Haiti effort. Fashion Delivers is asking for donations of new — not used – lightweight clothing suitable for the Caribbean climate of Haiti in all sizes, for children and adults. That means t-shirts, tops, shirts, jeans, shorts, slacks, sportswear, active wear, etc. [...]
The misery and suffering in Haiti is profound, and many of us are opening our wallets to help the earthquake victims. Let’s just be sure we are giving to a legitimate, honest charity and not to a scam artist.
The FBI warns about phony emails asking for money, which also could contain malicious virus programs or link to phishing websites. And I warn you to be careful of fake charities whose name sounds oh, so close to a legitimate one.
Give only to well-known charities, or to your local religious group. If in doubt, check Charity Navigator, a non-profit watchdog site that rates charities for their honesty, reliability and perfomance.
These charities are some of the ones which have received a four-star top rating from Charity Navigator –
Chris Gillespie is usually found playing jazz, Broadway show tunes and other favorites at the upscale Carlyle Hotel. On Thursday, May 6th, he joins Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy Kidder, Broadway musical star Kate Fisher, who performed the role of Cosette in Les Miserables, and others for a special charity fund-raiser for the tiny African nation of Burundi. The event is called Jazzical, and supports Village Health Works, a clinic in Burundi which has treated some 34,000 people since it opened less than three years ago. Jazzical is at 6 p.m. on May 6th at the DiCapo Opera Theatre, 184 E. 76th Street. There also will be a silent auction. It promises to be an inspiring and entertaining evening. 
