Amethyst House raises thousands at benefit

A full crowd packed into the studio of the John Waldron Arts Center Saturday for an evening of dancing, food and dessert, with not a drop of alcohol served. The Amethyst House, a non-profit organization for recovering addicts, held its fifth annual benefit titled Hope Café; Dance Performance & Celebrity Art Auction. In honor of September being National Recovery Month, Amethyst House decided to make the focus of the benefit hope for recovery from addictions. \n"This was our best one yet," said Amethyst House Assistant Director Janna Hocker. "It is the first one we had here in the John Waldron Arts Center. This gave a more intimate and more powerful dance performance."\nThe Indiana Dance Theatre is made up of three dancers, including choreographer Dianne Buzzell, who performed a piece in three parts titled "Hope." After the first group danced to Five for Fighting's "100 Years," three graduates of Amethyst House gave speeches on their current and former addictions to alcohol and drugs. Reconciliation of the past and hope for the future were major themes in all of the speeches. All three recovering addicts held hands and recited the biblical Serenity Prayer three times, once for each dancer to show a physical expression of hope. The dance concluded with a number to Lee Ann Womack's "I Hope you Dance."\nDavid Griego is a recovering addict who spoke and also contributed artwork to the live auction. \n"Back where I'm from (New Mexico) we do not have anything like the Amethyst House. It is an amazing place." Greigo said. "I decided to speak so that I can others in the crowd who are also recovering addicts."\nAmethyst House, a Bloomington-based not-for-profit United Way agency, provides high quality, structured living environments, treatment and recovery services for individuals with addictions, according to the organization's Web site. Hocker said this year the fundraiser stood out from all their other benefits. \n"It looks like we raised close to $10,000 this year, more than double what we've raised in past events," she said. \nThe proceeds made from the $25 tickets, live auction and silent auction will support programs and services provided by Ameythyst House. \nThe silent auction opened the evening along with food and music. The Indiana Memorial Union and chef Sherry Houze provided a catered buffet and deserts, served water, apple juice, sprite punch and coffee. Meanwhile, the band Mitten played an eclectic mix of French Café tunes. In addition to decorated ceramics provided by the local make-your-own-pottery shop Latest Glaze, the artwork included paintings, photographs, jewelry, a scarf and a quilt. The auctioned items ranged from realistic to abstract and playful to serious.\nMost of the participants of the event were Bloomington residents, but a few made a trip from some distance. Hocker lives in Louisville and commutes to Bloomington for her job. She invited her friend Mary Schulz, also from Louisville, to come last year. And Schulz brought her husband, Lee, this year.\n"We came here to support the cause," said Mary Schulz.\nAfter the dance and live auction portions of the evening, the event wrapped up with the conclusion of the silent auction while Bluegrass played in the background. Tom Cox, executive director of the Amethyst House, said the evening was good for the Amethyst House, and those who attended. \n"We got good prices for some of the (auctioned) pieces," he said."However, some people got some good deals."\n-- Contact staff writer Benjames Derrick at bderrick@indiana.edu.