Hestia's Hearth

When I picked up Alicia Spinnet at Six Degrees, I wanted her to be a philanthropist and heavily involved in a charitable organisation, so I created Hestia's Hearth to be that organisation. After months of meaning to write up information on the organisation, I finally did. The information was copied almost exactly from Six Degrees to Sidelines when I decided to bring Alicia over there, with only slight tweaks (the date of the Starlight Gala was bumped from February/March, when it had been held in Six Degrees, to June/July, to have more of an even spread between the two fundraising functions, and also to line it up as an anniversary celebration).

Hestia's Hearth

• Founded July 2, 1998, by Malina Harrison as a charitable organisation following the end of the war. Malina acts as the chairwoman for the organisation, and the whole thing is very personal to her because her muggleborn husband was wrongfully imprisoned in Azkaban during the war, and he died of pneumonia while imprisoned.
• The name comes from Hestia, the Greek virgin goddess of the hearth, architecture, and of the right ordering of domesticity and the family.
• In its first years, it sought to provide assistance to those families who were directly hurt by the war: persons who were wrongfully imprisoned in Azkaban (and/or their families) and families who lost someone in the war (such as a spouse, parent, child, or sibling).
• As things began to settle down after the war, they started branching out to help more varied persons in need in 2001.
• Generally, anyone who applies to Hestia's Hearth for assistance will be helped in some manner, but there are some criteria that a person or family must meet to qualify for assistance.
• There is an entire subsection of the organisation devoted to the families of Aurors and Hitwizards, providing support if their loved one is injured or killed in the line of duty.
• Some examples of charitable acts include:
  • Assisting people to find new jobs if they have lost theirs.
  • Helping to provide meals to families who have a loved one in the hospital, or who has recently passed on.
  • Building houses for those who have lost theirs (most of the proceeds from the 2004 Starlight Gala went to rebuild a house for a family who had an ashwinder move in under their porch and their house ended up burning down).
• Some of the future plans include opening a soup kitchen for the homeless and downtrodden to come in for a hot meal and just a place to get inside for a while.
• They have two big fundraising events every year. Both of the fundraising events are open to the public, and the entrance fees are usually reasonable enough that nearly anyone who wishes to help can at least afford the entrance fee.
  • Starlight Gala: usually at the end of June / beginning of July, it is a rather formal affair and is considered their anniversary celebration, always landing on the nearest Saturday to July 2nd. The first one was held in 2000.
  • Holiday Party: usually the weekend before Christmas, it is considerably more low-key and family-oriented than the Starlight Gala. The first one was held in 1999.