Woman Puts On A Command Performance For Kosovo Refugees

Human suffering fills Chaeli Sullivan with sorrow, squeezes her heart until it aches and spurs her into action.

That’s why this pink-bereted silversmith with a childlike voice had to find a way to help the disenfranchised Kosovo refugees she saw on television.

“I’m horrified. I thought, `This could be me,”’ says Chaeli, 53, as she thinks about the pictures she saw of starving people grabbing for loaves of bread.

She never doubted her ability as one person to make a difference. She’d organized community efforts in Oregon, most likely earning her neighbors’ participation with her genuine concern. She knows strength comes in numbers.

This time, she wants to rally Coeur d’Alene to raise money for food and medical supplies for the refugees.

But, “I’m not comfortable just asking for donations,” she says. “If you’re going to ask, you have to give something.”

She decided to offer the community a performance. She found immediate support from Sandy Seaton, Lake City High’s theater teacher.

“I had a weak moment,” Sandy says, laughing.

Sandy’s students typically perform improvisational theater in the spring to raise money for a scholarship. This year, the money raised will go to the Kosovo crisis.

“I have really wonderful kids who like to help other people,” Sandy says. “They don’t have a clue what war really is, but they understand the suffering, and they want to do something.”

As students and teachers contributed their thoughts, Chaeli’s idea blossomed into a full-blown social event that takes place at the school tonight.

It begins at 6:30 p.m. with dessert, coffee, a silent auction and a concert by the school’s award-winning jazz band and choir.

At 7:30 p.m., Sandy’s drama students will perform “By The Way, Whose Line Is It Anyway?” a contest that will determine the evening’s best improvisational performer.

Tickets are $10. Several local companies have donated hundreds of dollars at Chaeli’s request. Every cent raised will go to the American Red Cross to take to Albania, she says.

“Imagine what an angel I met when I met Sandy,” she says. “If the community gets involved as a whole, it can really make a difference.”

Tickets to tonight’s event are available at LCHS, Rosauers, the American Red Cross or at North Idaho College’s Boswell Hall office. For details, call 769-0769.

Skilled workers

Baby sitters have credentials, you know, if they’ve taken the time for formal training.

Worley’s Gayle Dyer made sure her daughter took a baby sitter training class years ago, even though she had to drive her to Spokane for it. After that experience, Gayle helped develop a similar class for kids in her area.

Now, the annual class is a community event. For two days this month, 23 lucky Lakeside Middle School students learn pediatric CPR, first aid, how to react to strangers and fire safety.

They practice diapering and games on real toddlers, and learn about nutrition, crafts, even fitness for little ones. The training doesn’t cost the students a cent.

They’re even provided snacks and lunches, thanks to Worley Ambulance, Town and Country Club, Worley Fire Association, Benewah County Sheriff’s Department, Benewah Medical Center and the Benewah Wellness Center. Whew.

Over the hill

My youngest daughter, Megan, is 18 today, which makes me old. Except she keeps me so happy that I usually feel pleasantly young.