It may be icy and cold in Barrington this week, but party planners are preparing for a steamy scene at Hot Night in Havana, an event coming up later this month in the Wickstrom Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram showroom on Northwest Highway. This party is all about heating things up in the heart of winter, but its larger purpose is to help bring families in Africa the means to escape a life of poverty and disease.
Hot Night in Havana is part of a new series of international-inspired parties hosted by Hands of Hope, a group of women in Barrington dedicated to helping women and children in Sub-Saharan Africa. Their mission, according to their website, “Is to give entire communities the sustainable tools they need to feed families, educate children, improve health and become economically self-sufficient.”
Hands of Hope is a 100% volunteer 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. And it’s the same group that hosts the Barrington Country Garden & Antique Faire at select estates throughout Barrington in June every year. The founder, Barrington Hills resident, Vicky Wauterlek, started the organization after she took a ministry trip to Nigeria in 1999.
During that trip Vicky saw, first-hand, what she calls, “Startling conditions affecting women and girls” due to the cultural practice of early childhood marriages (as early as age 11) and the pregnancies that follow.
When Vicky came home, she formed Hands of Hope. Because of Vicky’s vision, countess families in Africa have clean water, new schools to attend, places for medical care and the means to escape a life of poverty and disease.
In the past 12+ years, the group has raised well over $3-Million dollars to build new schools, a hospital and dozens of water wells in the poorest parts of Zambia and Uganda, Africa. The proceeds from Hot Night in Havana will benefit Hands of Hope and be used to provide even more fresh water wells in Zambia.
The party is happening on Saturday, January 26th, from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. and they say tropical attire is “optional”. They’ll be featuring a “taste of Cuba with exceptional Cuban food, drink music and dancing”. For this fun Cuban escape, they’re planning to temporarily transform Wickstrom’s showroom at 660 W. Northwest Highway in Barrington.
The cost is $75 per person or $90 if you purchase your tickets after this Sunday, January 20th. To purchase tickets online, CLICK HERE or mail payment to Hands of Hope at 800 Hart Road, Suite 100, in Barrington, IL – 60010.
For more information about the event, contact Starr Shum at 847-494-6272. If you’d like to learn more about Hands of Hope or to make a donation, visit HandsofHopeOnline.org. And to better understand the mission, this video takes us to the places and shows us the faces of those we can so significantly help through Hands of Hope.
