on December 11, 2020
The event took place from 5-6:30pm on the Zoom platform as well as Facebook Live and was viewed by hundreds of visitors from all parts of the world. Featured were live and recorded performances by musicians Clan Dyken, and Richard Sholer, dancer Kelli Brock, juggler Kevin Axtell (who also MC’d), and storyteller BZ Smith. A heartfelt greeting from Chicken Ranch Me-Wuk Tribal Chairman Lloyd Mathiesen was a highlight, as was the live conversation with special guest, activist and physician, Patch Adams.
Adams had originally been scheduled to participate in person at an event earlier in the year, which had to be cancelled due to the worldwide health emergency. For fifty years, Patch has worked tirelessly to bring whole-person health to communities around the world through his Gesundheit Institute. Some will remember him as the real-life characterization played by Robin Williams in the film that bears Patch’s name.
The original fundraising goal of $10,000 was more than 50% met prior to the event’s start-time, so the target was increased to $15,000 during the last 24 hours and that figure was exceeded the night of the event. The total continues to grow as additional gifts arrive via postal mail and other sources (over $20,000 as of this posting).
Resiliency Village’s mission is to improve the quality of life for our unsheltered and otherwise traumatized citizens, and in so doing, improve life in the region for everyone. They will provide fundamental on-site services, creative art therapies, skill-building, and the model of a healthy lifestyle, supporting the opportunity for a self-sustaining future through housing, healing, and hope.
The Resiliency Village organization currently consists of Mark Dyken, Executive Director, Dr. Brenda Chapman, President; Shelley Muniz, Secretary/Treasurer; Robert Gelman, Colette Such, Joseph Mathiesen-Powell, board members. For more information, visit www.ResiliencyVillage.org.