Party photos of the week: Salama Shield Foundation fundraiser
"Some kids in Uganda don’t know what a dream is – we take dreams for granted,” said a teary-eyed Luke Willms, assistant director of the The Salama Shield Foundation at their inaugural fundraiser in Toronto last week. With a mission to challenge the local charity circuit to ensure the focus of the evening was really about the cause – not the party, as it often is at these events – Mr. Willms and his father, Dr. Dennis Willms, who founded the organization, gave heartfelt remarks that left the intimate crowd of 120 feeling happily humble. In addition to the Willms family, a representative from their Ugandan office, Hope Kyarisiima, gave a first-hand account of her hometown situation and thanked guests for donating their time and money by saying, “It’s humbling you take the time to think of us – we’re not your problem.” The evening raised more than $20,000 for the foundation’s childhood, youth and adult programming that focuses on education, health, and finance.