Dining for Women fundraiser a success

The Dining for Women Waynesville chapter had a special fundraiser on the evening of July 20.    

This year, three members, Linda Witte, Bonnie Grumka, and Margaret Roberts, neighbors in the Villages of Plott Creek, hosted the event at their community pavilion.

They served a potluck with fried chicken provided by the meeting hostesses. While the organizers were hoping for 40 attendees, more than 70 people attended.  

Beth Ellen Holimon, Dining for Women president, and Kay Manley, regional coordinator, spoke to the group about the mission, programs and chapters of Dining for Women.

Speaking about the disenfranchised women and children that DFW helps to support, Holimon spoke about an interview that she had with the Collateral Repair Project that is assisting with the Syrian refugee crisis.

David Crane, whose wife, Judy, is a member of the Waynesville chapter, was the guest speaker. David was appointed by the United Nations as the chief prosecutor for the Special Court of Sierra Leone. 

He indicted then president of Liberia, Charles Taylor, for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Taylor is now serving a 50 year sentence in the Hague. David is now helping collect evidence for potential future prosecution of Assad in Syria.

David shared his knowledge of the crisis happening in Syria today. He was appointed a professor of practice at Syracuse University College of Law in 2006. In conjunction with his students and the law school, he started Impunity Watch, an online publication which seeks to inform the world of human rights violations as they are happening.

The public is welcome tojoin members for a Dining for Women meeting as they “socialize for substance.” Meetings are held the first Thursday of every month. 

For more information on the Waynesville chapter of Dining for Women, contact co-leaders Beth Thrift at 912-614-3124 or Nancye Buelow at 828-421-1441.