HALO Group to showcase vision and goals to the community with fundraiser  

PERRY —  The HALO Group is hosting its inaugural Garden Party Gala this weekend, a fundraiser giving the community a chance to experience the vision of the local non-profit. 

It will be held Saturday, April 18, at the Georgia National Fairgrounds/Georgia Grown building. Dinner will be served at 6 p.m. with doors opening at 5 p.m. 

The event will feature a silent auction, live music from Darin Curtis and Chin Lee and guest speaker Michael Craven.

“The gala is not just a fundraiser; it also brings awareness of what services are offered to the teammates at the HALO group,” Executive Director Angela Barrett said. “We want the community to know what the Halo Group has on the teammates as far as their quality of life and also their impact on the community, in general.” 

HALO Group was founded in 2018 by Barrett, Melanie Murphy, and April Tew. 

Barrett said HALO Group is a Christ-centered vocational and life skills training program for adults with developmental disabilities and autism. 

All three believe they were called by God to start the HALO Group. Murphy said the Gala is a celebration of all they accomplished in the eight years as an organization. 

The program started out being very simple, but has since grown exponentially over eight years. 

Barrett said the plans have shifted for the better. The teammates at the HALO group participate in many programs, like entrepreneurship. The Perry location is in the process of becoming a retail store, so the teammates can practice selling the products they make. 

The group also has an agricultural component, which includes growing food on two acres of land near the Georgia National Fairgrounds, one of their strongest community partners. Teammates can take care of livestock and chickens on a hobby farm.

“We have a lot of different things in the [agricultural] portion of the program which is important to us because Georgia is an agricultural state,” she said. 

The HALO Group strives to reimagine what community is, due to its community focus. 

“That’s how we learn and that’s community integration,” she said. “We are really doing life together in just about every aspect.” 

Murphy said reimagining the community is about breaking stigmas and showing those with disabilities can be successful. 

“People in the community are watching how our staff and people interact with each other as adults doing life together,” Barrett said. 

The HALO group hopes everyone can be a part of the joy that they experience every day. Barrett said there is a huge need for the quality of life of the individuals they serve. 

“We just want the community to not only celebrate what’s unfolded in the last eight years, but also want them to be aware,” she said. 

To learn more about the HALO Group and the Garden Party Gala, go to: www.halogroupga.org/halo-vision-dinner

Those interested in attending can email HaloGroupGa@gmail.com.