The Ugandans have moved on, but the spirit is still with us.

The Spirit of Uganda’s visit to Greenwood School last Thursday and the performance that evening were a resounding success on many levels. The day proved to be a fantastic educational experience, and the memories and inspiration will stay with us all for years.

The event was also highly successful for Empower African Children, the parent organization of Spirit of Uganda, which runs orphanages and schools and provides scholarships to educate the next generation of African leadership. Greenwood exceeded its fundraising goal by more than $2,000.

Local press recognized the event, with a nice writeup in the Mill Valley Patch, and two prominent photos in the Marin Independent Journal. You can see the Patch photos here.

And of course Gary Yost has posted many of his marvelous photos of the day online, with more photos and videos to follow.

We’d like to thank some of the many people, businesses and organizations who helped make it happen. Apologies to anyone left off the list!

First, a special thanks to Toast, Cafe Del Sol, Tamal Pie and Noci Gelato – outstanding Mill Valley eateries who donated delicious food to nourish our Ugandan friends.

Several Greenwood volunteers were instrumental. Board member and former Greenwood parent Cynthia Ulman was the original connection who first brought Spirit of Uganda to Greenwood in 2006, and has kept them coming back. Susan Gladwin and Lisa Blum co-chaired the event and kept it all moving. Dan Fost wrote nearly everything you’ve read about it, Gary Yost took nearly every photo you’ve seen, and Merel Kennedy designed the beautiful program. Anne Veh set up the Brown Paper Tickets site, Rachel Adler did an amazing job collecting donations following the show, and Cynthia Brown and others helped in many other ways.

Thank you to the entire Greenwood community for coming together and making this a day and night to remember for a long time.