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MASSARO: Festival brings in harvest of help

By Gary Massaro, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published October 2, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.
Updated October 2, 2008 at 2:05 a.m.

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Bob Wallace does his part as a waiter at last week's fundraiser.

Photo by Special To The Rocky

Bob Wallace does his part as a waiter at last week's fundraiser.

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So you have Congress bickering over billions in bailouts and 300 private citizens dropping bucks in buckets to help hard-luck folks.

People gladly donated last week for the Helping Hearts & Hands Harvest Festival.

It was the eighth fall fundraiser, but the first to have maitre d's trying to herd a host of volunteer waiters, who passed out bread baskets and dished out salad from bowls that would have made any goldfish happy.

Harold LaFleur was one of the maitre d's. Evidently, a few people must have commented on my waiter skills in the past because I was the other.

Helping Hearts and Hands is a "community partner with Jeffco Action Center," according to its Web site. Its mission is to help people who need help but don't qualify for governmental assistance.

"The government will pay to have all your teeth pulled," Betty Proctor, Helping Hearts & Hands founder, said a while back. "But it won't pay to get you false teeth."

So the nonprofit does mostly small, one-time things, like help with rent or utility payments or car repairs.

Last year, more than 1,100 families applied for help. This year, 900 have.

As usual, Proctor recruited a slew of volunteers to help out. Waiters collect tips and hand them over.

The Jefferson County Board of Realtors gave Proctor a community service award last week and a $10,000 check Thursday.

Some guys really got into the waiter thing, like Bob Wallace, director of Outreach Services for St. Anthony Hospital.

He looked like an admiral, or maybe a marching band director, in a dark Nehru jacket with gold brocade along the front.

"Jane Barnes (St. A's manager of senior programs) asked if I'd be willing to do something for charity," Wallace said. "I said I do it all the time. I'd stand on my head for charity."

Barnes said Wallace asked her if he should rent a tuxedo.

"We have something else in mind," she said.

So besides the band jacket, Wallace wore gold-framed shades and a dark wig.

Barnes volunteered Wallace and also showed up with a table of diners because "Betty has reeled me in for years," she said. "You can't get away from Betty."

Waiters were shameless in scrambling to increase tips. Lakewood Police Chief Kevin Paletta bribed his guests with stick-on paper cop badges and pens.

The lunch was at Arvada United Methodist Church. So strong is Proctor's pull that the volunteer cooks came from Shepherd of the Hills Presbyterian Church. For the record, they were Myke Belair, Debbie Berger, Lynn and Mary Carpenter, Shirley Hudson, Katie Vigil and Elaine Wendler.

About 300 diners showed up. Proctor invited members of the Arvada West Kiwanis Club.

They filled three tables, waited on by Felix Cook and Darl Hobson, who encouraged Proctor to join the club about eight years ago.

"And our club has prospered ever since," Hobson said. "She has brought in a lot of members."

massarog@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5271