UCC - N.Y. teen offers ?All-Star? efforts to Heifer International

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

N.Y. teen offers ?All-Star? efforts to Heifer International

> Written by Jeff Woodard
> March 16, 2011

Erin Welsh is going whole hog for Heifer International.

Drawing inspiration from a church retreat at
Heifer?s Overlook Farm in Rutland, Mass., the
15-year-old member of St. Peter's UCC in West
Seneca, N.Y., is singing and strumming up a storm
for the popular mission-driven organization.

"I just realize that not everyone has it as good
as I have it. I'm really lucky,? says Welsh,
whose Erin?s Amazing All-Star Heifer Farm Revue
comprises a medley of folk artists, jazz players
and a jug band striving to raise $5,000 for a gift ark for Heifer.

?There are ways people who are fortunate can help
people who are less fortunate. I decided I could be a part of that."

The group looks to add to its current total of
$1,400 raised when it returns to the stage March 18 at St. Peter?s.

Welsh ? who has an act of her own, singing and
playing her red guitar on covers and original
songs alike ? notes that the concept of the
figurative fund-raising "ark" was developed by Heifer.

?I figured that $5,000 was a realistic goal, but
at the same time it would take a while to achieve
and would give us an ongoing purpose. So far it has!?

Providing gifts of livestock and training, Heifer
helps families improve their nutrition and
generate income in sustainable ways, empowering
them to turn lives of hunger and poverty into
self-reliance and hope. Heifer calls the animals
"living loans" because in exchange for livestock
and training, families agree to give one of its
animal's offspring to another family in need.

?I love Heifer?s mission to end hunger and
poverty,? says Welsh. ?I find it really
interesting that in addition to donating animals
to poor families, Heifer International teaches
people skills like farming and advancing women?s rights.?

> Heifer buys animals near their intended
> destinations to avoid the cost and time of
> raising them elsewhere and shipping them long
> distances. ?They are distributed where they are
> needed the most and where they are suitable to
> certain locales,? says Welsh. ?So water buffaloes
> may go to Cambodia, and llamas to Peru, but not vice-versa.?

Welsh?s music career began at age 4 when she took
up the violin. At 7, she added piano to her
repertoire, and then began on the guitar when she
was 11. ?I also take voice lessons every other week,? she adds.

Grateful for the variety of musical aspects that
support the Revue, Welsh says she feels blessed.
?It?s so great to see a bunch of talented people
come together for a good cause.?

To find review performance dates or to sample the
Revue, visit <myspace.com/heiferfarmrevue>. For
more information on Heifer International, visit <heiferinternational.org>.

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