During each Grand World Voyage, money is raised for a charitable organization at one of the ports of call.  This year Vision Rescue in Mumbai was chosen.  These people work with children in the slum communities bringing them nutritious meals and teaching preschool and school in a converted bus/classroom. Schoolrooms are also established in the communities.

The idea is to empower children and help them discover options that are open to them through education and expanding their outlook beyond the slum community.

My watercolor class donated completed artworks and raised $2,100!  There were also donations by the arts and craft classes, the ladies who knit and crochet in “hooker’s corner”, as well as contributions from the various departments around the ship.  The entire auction earned $11,538.  $1,430 was raised by individual donations and $3,550 was earned at a live poolside splash auction where various high-profile officers and staff from the ship were drenched by huge water balloons.  The grand total donation to Vision Rescue was $16,518… a record amount that will significantly support this organization.

Paul was very pleased that his art projects significantly contributed to this very worthy effort. 

Some of the other items in the silent auction included cooking classes, dance lessons, tours of the bridge and engine rooms, a set of navigational charts used on the voyage, a concert by two of the musicians, spa treatments, and dinners with various crew members.  The entire effort was a lot of fun and supported a worthwhile cause.