Alfreda LaBoard sewed the finishing touches Wednesday onto "Kum Bah Yah," a handmade patchwork quilt shot through with red, brown, orange and gold.
Today, "Kum Bah Yah" hangs among nine creations at Hebron Presbyterian, a 136-year-old, one-room church on Bohicket Road.
Tonight's second annual Gullah Gala fund-raiser from 7 to 10 p.m., will feature the quilts for auction and will put them in the hands of the highest bidders.
The goal is to raise enough money to restore the old church as a new senior center for islanders.
"We're counting on this fund-raiser to help us," said LaBoard, director of the Hebron St. Francis Community Center. The center is part of Hebron & Zion United Presbyterian Church, the modern offspring of the older church.
The formal gala will feature a Gullah-style dinner at $100 per plate, music, dancing and a Gullah storyteller. The event is open to the public and tickets will be sold at the door.
Hebron St. Francis Senior Citizen Center members Alfreda LaBoard, (from left) Hortense Rivers and Virtere S. LaBoard work on a yo-yo quilt Wednesday. The women, along with other center members, prepared quilts for auction today at the Gullah Gala.
The old clapboard-style church was built in 1868 with lumber from a shipwrecked schooner off Kiawah and Seabrook islands gathered by freed black slaves.
While the building still stands, it is in disrepair and it has no electricity or bathroom facilities.
The restoration cost is $250,000, said Cathy Marino, one of the gala's coordinators from Kiawah Island.
Last year's gala raised $20,000, and Marino wants to raise the same amount this year. She's hoping for grants and donated monies to meet the total cost and restore the church this year.
The old church has a long history. By 1980, the building was no longer used as a church. The Hebron St. Francis Senior Citizen Center was founded there by Franciscan Sisters Bernadine Jax and Irene Kelly.
Hurricane Hugo damaged the building's foundation in 1989, and the center moved to the fellowship hall of Hebron & Zion United Presbyterian Church.
There the seniors have limited space because they share the fellowship hall with a child care center. Going back to the old church would provide room for more programs, such as exercise or ceramics classes.
Plans also are to add a building behind the old church, with a kitchen, bathroom and medical office space. A retired Seabrook Island physician has agreed to offer free medical services to the seniors on the island, Marino said.
"We have a lot of folks who really, really want to help," Marino said, adding that some building work is being donated.
The quilts are the women's contribution to the project.
Virtere LaBoard attended last year's gala. She said she enjoyed watching those in attendance compete for the quilts she helped to create. "People were trying to outbid each other. It makes you feel good," she said.
The lowest bid last year was $700, Alfreda LaBoard said. The highest was $1,000.
"There's a story that goes with each of these quilts," Marino said. "It's really owning a piece of history, a part of Johns Island."
WANT TO GO?
The second annual Gullah Gala will be held from 7 to 10 p.m. today at the old Hebron Presbyterian Church on Bohicket Road. For more information, contact Hebron & Zion United Presbyterian Church at 559-0865.
