Sheri’s Soycream Dream Benefit
OK, this is so cool. There’s a woman who sits at the counter of the Square Foods deli every day during the lunch hour. I’ve been going there a lot lately since I’m working so close by. Her name is Sheri, and she has Huntington’s Disease. Because I’m a psychologist, I thought she had Tourette’s. I guess you see what you know. Anyway, and I always sit and talk to her while I’m waiting for my order. She’s a real sweetheart. Every day, she eats half a pint of either soy or rice "ice cream." It’s her little thing she does! Since we talk a fair amount, I know her name is Sheri. I know everyone likes her. And I guess it was last week wh
en I finally asked her about her med-alert necklace and what it meant. We ended up having this really interesting conversation about Mohammed Ali. I got to see him when I sang for the Olympics. Man, that was cool. We didn’t know who would light the flame until that night, and even though I was on the other side of the stadium from him, I could tell who he was because of his Parkinson’s shake. And seeing him gave me this amazing chill. I mean, my hair stood on end! Anyway, I was in Square Foods a little late today just to get some of my Organic Lactose-Free Milk (hey, we all have our quirks), and I saw a sign on the front door:
Sheri’s Soycream Dream Benefit
Saturday, August 20, 2005 (Damn, I have to be in Nashville)
9pm at the Hi-Tone, $7
The Antique Curtains, Issen, Esque and DJ Scowl (aka Angry Bob).
Square Foods Benefit to raise money for a soy cream machine for Square Foods on Madison. A portion of the All profits raised through soy cream sales over the next year will be donated to the Huntington’s Disease Foundation.
What a brilliant idea! I wonder if Sheri was the one who thought of it.
There is nothing I love more than those kind of relationships… the people you meet at the bus stop, or at the cehckout counter, or the UPS man. Makes life so much better. I always feel kind of sorry for people who don’t "see" all those great people in the world. I will miss some of the colorful folks I’ve met here. Don the mailman. Sheri at Square Foods. And the security guard at UT who wears a regular security uniform but puts on her sunhat when she checks the parking lot.
Comment by Rachel
August 17, 2005 @ 8:59 pm
I wrote an article about this for the CA. My editor said it was too promotional.
Here it is:
Soycream Dream
When the soycream machine at Square Foods Natural Market, a health food store located in Overton Square, broke last month it spurred a grassroots movement by employees and customers to come together and figure out how to replace it. Soycream is sort of the heart of the deli, a quick soft serve treat on a hot, humid day draws a steady flow of traffic during the relentless summer heat. A plan was hatched for a benefit show to raise the money to replace the machine.
“Reality is that buying a replacement machine just doesn’t fit into our budget–our old used one was a find at $1800.†says owner Jeanice Blancett, “To replace it will cost most likely twice that much, used, at the very least.â€
However, although she was touched by her customers and employees offer to help raise the money, she had an ethical dilemma that she couldn’t shake.
“It sounded like a fun idea, but it seemed odd to me that we’d be having a benefit for a viable business to raise money for a piece of equipment we should purchase on our own.†explained Blancett. “I was about to pull the plug on the benefit when I realized that something really good could come from it.â€
Square Food’s favorite “juice-barfly†and daily visitor Sheri Stoker suffers from a disorder known as Huntington’s Disease. The disease affects one’s nervous system, causing jerky movements and slurred speech. It’s fatal, but the staff swears you wouldn’t know it from Sheri’s positive outlook on everything from dancing to dirty jokes.
“Sheri has the best memory and quickest wit of anyone we’ve ever met.†Says Blancett, “She spends most days with us from about 11 to 3, helping keep customers feel welcome and always thanks them for coming by.â€
Blancett decided that this could be an opportunity to not only raise money for a new soycream machine but to help out Sheri. So she decided to go through with the benefit show and is pledging that from August 20, 2005 through August 20, 2006 Square Foods Natural Market will donate all profits from soycream sales to the Memphis Chapter of the Huntington’s Support Center, a volunteer organization providing patient services and research for a Huntington’s cure.
“Square Foods isn’t like a normal grocery store.†says Greg Faison, an employee of Square Foods and drummer for The Antique Curtains, one of the bands scheduled to play the benefit, “We know our customers and they know us. They want to help us and we want to help them.â€
And so the benefit has been green-lit to take place at The Hi-tone on Friday August 20th. The lineup is Issen, Antique Curtains, Esque, and DJ Scowl.
“It’s really a community thing.†says Faison, “The bands and DJs involved are either current employees or ex employees, or customers. We’re midtown based and the bands involved play in midtown and eat and shop at Square Foods.â€
Rachel Hurley