PORT ANGELES — Hawaiian dancing, gymnastics routines, singing, bands, poetry readings and a silent auction tonight will benefit a Port Angeles pastor who suffered a brain aneurysm, and who will be released from a Seattle hospital the next day.
Kevin Jones, who has been treated at Harborview Medical Center since he fell ill during a pastors conference in Leavenworth in November, will be released Saturday, said his wife, Donna.
Tonight’s benefit will raise money to buy a new minivan for the family and possible wheelchair-accessible renovations to the Jones’ Port Angeles home.
The show, which features 23 performances of students and community members, begins at 7 p.m. today. Doors at the high school auditorium, 304 E. Park Ave., will open at 6 p.m. to allow bidding on silent auction items.
The event, put together by Port Angeles High School’s Leadership Class, will include a mix of acts of students and community members from Port Angeles, Sequim and Forks.
Admission is $8 for adults, $5 for students or $20 for a family of four.
Kevin is the pastor of a small church, Cornerstone Tabernacle, and an employee of Sunset Do it Best Hardware in Port Angeles.
Kevin, who spent a month in a coma, is still in therapy and will live for a while at his parents’ home in Marysville before returning to Port Angeles, Donna said.
Donna and the couple’s three children — Benjamin, 15, Christopher, 13, and Abigail, 10 — have been staying with her in-laws in Marysville to be closer to Kevin while he is in the hospital.
The in-laws’ house is set up to be wheelchair-accessible, which will make it easier for Kevin.
He is partially paralyzed on his left side but has regained some small movement in his left leg. Donna said she and he hope he eventually will be able to walk with the use of a cane.
Because they will be at the hospital learning about Kevin’s routine, the family will not be able to attend tonight’s event.
Silent auction
The silent auction will offer items ranging from handmade quilts to pottery and gift certificates and gift baskets, said Rachael Ward, Leadership Class adviser.
The silent auction will run in the hour before the talent show, and people may make their last bids at intermission.
Bids will be closed at the end of intermission, and bidders should check back at the end of the show to see if they won, Ward said.
Ward, along with 29 students in the school’s Leadership Class, organized the benefit.
Last year’s event, which benefitted Tammy Goodwin who suffered from cancer, raised about $10,000, Ward said.
Donations may be sent to Port Angeles High School, 304 E. Park Ave., Port Angeles, WA 98362.
A donation account has also been set up at the North Olympic Peninsula branches of Sound Community Bank.
For more information, phone Ward at 360-565-1529 or e-mail rward@portangelesschools.org.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.