Stop by Hosta Sale, Bolivian Arts & Crafts Fundraiser

Hosta Sale and Bolivian Arts & Crafts Fundraiser will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 6, at Rich's Foxwillow Pines Nursery Inc., 11618 McConnell Road. Woodstock. All proceeds benefit Heifer International and Mano a Mano International Partners.

The Hosta Sale has several hundred varieties of hostas for sale to benefit Heifer International. All hostas are $5 and up. Sales are by cash or check only.

Heifer International is a nonprofit, humanitarian organization dedicated to ending world hunger and poverty and caring for the earth. It provides livestock, trees, training and other resources to help struggling families build sustainable futures. The recipients of the animals must "pass on the gift" of the first female offspring and training in environmentally sound agriculture to another family in need. In this manner, an endless cycle of transformation is set in motion as recipients become equal partners in ending poverty and hunger. Heifer International has provided food and income producing animals to more than 8.5 million impoverished families in 125 countries in the last 70 years.

Rich Eyre worked with this organization in the Peace Corps 44 years ago in Bolivia and he can give testimony to its positive effects in those communities. Rich and Susan Eyre served six years on the board of trustees of the Heifer Foundation. Rich Eyre's mother, Margaret, ("The Hosta Queen") spent many years taking care of the hostas. Now Ed Slomski and Mike Kraus coordinate volunteers to help divide and sell the hostas. Volunteers will be available to answer any questions about Heifer International on the day of the sale.

From 10 a.m. to noon, Tom Micheletti, former president of the American Hosta Society and Midwest Regional Hosta Society, and founder and first president of the Northern Illinois Hosta Society, will be available to identify hostas for people who bring the leaves of unknown hostas.

At noon, Tom Micheletti will do a short presentation about the merit and selection of the Hosta of the Year.

From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., browse through the Bolivian Arts & Crafts Fundraiser for Mano a Mano International Partners. This year's fundraising efforts will go toward building a school in rural Bolivia in honor of Margaret Eyre. Rich Eyre's mother Margaret recently celebrated her 97th birthday. A beautiful variety of colorful artisan made items will be for sale. Mano a Mano was originated by a fellow Peace Corps volunteer, Joan Velasquez, and her husband Segundo. In 2008, she won the Sargent Shriver Award for Distinguished Humanitarian Service awarded to a Returning Peace Corps Volunteer.

Refreshments will be served.

For details, call (815) 338-7442 or visit www.richsfoxwillowpines.com.