Jan. 18 Bluffton benefit lunch assists New Orleans group

A Martin Luther King Day benefit lunch, with all proceeds going to the Fight Back Center, New Orleans, La., is planned from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, Jan. 18, at the First Mennonite Church, Bluffton.

Tickets at the door are $10 for adults, $5 for youth under 12 and free for pre-school youth, according to Wendy Chappell-Dick.

The event features a free children's program from 11 a.m. to noon for grades kindergarten to fifth called "Levees, Prayers and Hammers."

From noon to 1 p.m. will be live jazz music. During that time, information about Survivors Village and the Fight Back Center will be shared.

The menu includes muffaletta sandwiches with homemade bread, New Orleans-style read beans and rice, salad and sweet potato pie. All meal items will be made from scratch by Jonah Agner, according to Chappell-Dick.

Recently Andy and Wendy Chappell-Dick and Jonah Agner participated in a service trip to New Orleans. They worked on re-building a community center there.

"On Martin Luther King Day 2010 that place, The Fight Back Center is celebrating their grand opening. In solidarity with them, we invite all to attend our benefit lunch, raising money to send to continue their cause for housing the poor in NOLA," said Chappell-Dick.