V Club, First Congregational Church to raise funds and provide donations to local homeless shelter for winter

Walking+Dead+poster+for+Harmony+House

Hunter Ellis

HUNTER ELLIS | THE PARTHENON A poster bearing the signatures of cast members on AMC’s “The Walking Dead” is among several other items that will be offered in a silent auction Thursday during Harmony House’s Karaoke for a Kause event at the V Club.

Hunter Ellis, Reporter

The Harmony House, a day shelter for Huntington’s homeless, is raising funds and supplies through two events this week.

Karaoke for a Kause is Thursday 6 to 9 p.m. at the V Club, where attendees can sing with a live band or with background music.

The second event is Blankets for Breakfast on Saturday 8 to 11 a.m. at First Congregational Church on 5th Avenue to collect blankets or cash donations in return for a home-cooked breakfast.

Karaoke for a Kause will feature DJ Billy Drysdale and different musicians so people can sing karaoke live with the different bands or with background music.

Tickets are $20 per person and include food catered by Jimmy Johns and 10 raffle tickets to use toward prizes. Additional raffle tickets will be available at the event, as well as silent auction items.

Bill Rosenberger, Harmony House director of development, said he wants to provide as many opportunities as possible to generate funds and support for their clients and mission.

“They’ll have an opportunity to learn who we are,” Rosenberger said. “We want people to walk away not just getting to do live karaoke with a fun night out, but also knowing what we do, what our mission is and helping the homeless or those at risk of being homeless.”

At Blankets for Breakfast, participants can donate a new or gently used blanket or pay $5 to receive a pancake and sausage breakfast.

Then Harmony House will distribute the donated blankets to clients throughout the winter.

“We’ve had a very warm fall, so we haven’t had as many people asking, but then when you get cold days, people start asking for blankets, and we just needed a way to get some more,” Rosenberger said. “We want to help the homeless in any way we can, so doing these different fundraisers provides an opportunity for everybody to get involved in some way.”

Rosenberger said Harmony House helps the homeless or people at risk of being homeless by meeting their most immediate needs. Harmony House has a shower, a laundry facility, clothing donations, hygiene donations and computer labs that clients can use.

Rosenberger said they work on long term solutions with unemployment programs and housing options and also work with Prestera for people with mental health and addiction problems to provide support for all aspects that can contribute to homelessness.

Hunter Ellis can be contacted at [email protected].