Hallett Fundamental Academy principal Charmaine Keeton thought it was pretty special that Denver chapter of The Links Inc. offered to give her students a holiday treat by providing resources for them to have a musical program in the days leading up to winter break.
It was a wonderful gift, something the entire 380-member student body could enjoy. What Keeton hadn’t anticipated was the “something extra” that came during intermission: the donation of 40 computers and related equipment that will “have an immediate and positive impact on the lives of our students.”
Hallett, in Denver’s Park Hill neighborhood, operates on a tight budget — so tight that having a music teacher is out of the question.
So Link Tina Walls used her connections to get two musicians from Colorado Children’s Chorale to spend a month formulating a holiday concert that would showcase the talent of Hallett third-, fourth- and fifth-graders. In addition, the Links paid for a music teacher from Denver Public Schools to work with kids in Early Childhood Education through second grade so they could be part of the program, too.
As intermission began, Ida Daniel, co-chair of the chapter’s Services to Youth committee, and president Rhetta Shead stepped forward.
“Let’s just say that Santa has arrived,” Daniel proclaimed as fellow Links rolled out a cart and removed its cover to reveal one of 40 computers that the chapter, in cooperation with Time Warner Cable, was giving to the magnet school.
“Your generosity will make an immediate difference in the lives of Hallett students,” Keeton said. “We will be able to put three additional computers into each of our classrooms; we are so very grateful.”
The donation also included printers and about 50 new monitors to replace the school’s outdated CRT models. The equipment had originally been purchased for Time Warner Cable’s national division, but when the Denver office closed, human resources vice president Linda Williams, a member of the Denver Links, arranged for it to be part of the donation to Hallett.
“Our philosophy in adopting this school two years ago was to help these students by giving them opportunities to enrich their lives, to know the possibilities that lie ahead of them and to encourage them to go to college,” Daniel said.
Coming right up.
The Hollyfelds and Hillbilly Inferno headline the fourth Concert for Cash, a benefit for The Children’s Hospital that starts at 7:15 p.m. Saturday at the Oriental Theater, 4335 W. 44th Ave. Tickets, available at the door, are $35 for VIP seating and $20 general admission. . . . Also on Saturday: a “friend-raiser” to benefit Mary’s Hope Sober Homes. It’s from 5-9 p.m. at Pinehurst Country Club; call Mary Brewer, 303-830-2064. . . . Attorney Dan Caplis and Lynn Blake are the speakers when the American Heart Association Advisory Council meets for happy hour at Morton’s in the DTC on Jan. 26. . . . Colorado Neurological Institute is having an open house at its new headquarters, 701 E. Hampden Ave., Suite 415, on Feb. 1. Anyone who’d like to attend the 5 p.m. event can RSVP to mcmoss@thecni.org. . . . The National Council of Negro Women is seeking nominees for its annual Living Portraits of African American Women celebration. Suggestions for the seven women and two youths to be honored at the springtime event can be e-mailed to joyce.cheatham@att.net; the deadline is Jan. 31.
Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@denverpost.com; also, and GetItWrite on Twitter
