On Oct. 11, 2008, Bobby Niebauer of Boulder died after a six month battle with Leukemia. He was 19 years old. Bobby was a very creative and free spirited kid. After his death, his family and friends decided to have a tie dye party in his honor. His funeral service was awash in colorful tie dye shirts worn by many. Bobby’s spirit was very much present at the tie dye party. His mom, Teresa Henry Niebauer, felt especially close to Bobby while tie dying. So she and others kept tie dyeing in the months after his death.
In January, Teresa went on her second medical mission to Petit Trou de Nippes, Haiti, with The Colorado Haiti Project. She took 20 tie dyed bandanas with her for the volunteers to wear. Some of the children at St. Paul’s, the school supported by CHP, got their hands on the tie dyed bandanas. They loved them. Teresa had a vision. She wanted to spread Bobby’s fun loving spirit everywhere. She wanted to spread it to Haiti. She wanted to make a tie dyed shirt for every student at St. Paul’s. The idea for Tie Dye for Haiti was born.
Teresa recruited her sister, Patti Henry Tussey and good friend, Leslie Harvison, to help her manage the project. Both Leslie and Patti were close to Bobby and like Teresa they felt his spirit in the messy fun of tie dye. To date, they have managed 10 tie dye parties and created more than 300 shirts for the children at St. Paul’s. More parties are scheduled in the weeks to come.
In addition to making a tie dye shirt for a child in Haiti, each party participant is able to make one for themselves that they take home. The typical cost of a Tie Dye Party is $15 per participant. In addition to the cost of the two shirts, there is enough money in the $15 fee to cover the cost of hot lunch for a St. Paul’s student for a month.
Party participants also create a small drawing that is sent to Haiti. The drawing is part of the art exchange that was started at St. Paul’s by longtime CHP supporter, Rev. Pat Laudisio. Kids in Haiti speak Creole and kids in Colorado speak English. They can’t communicate in each other’s language. However, they can communicate through art.
These parties raise awareness about Haiti while making a bit of money to keep children fed. They keep Bobby’s Niebauer’s memory alive and are fun. Most importantly the parties are creating a very special gift for the kids and staff at St. Paul’s.
On Wednesday, Dec. 9th, Tie Dye for Haiti will be at Columbine Elementary School in Boulder hosting their biggest party yet. Fifty Columbine students are expected to participate with their parents help. The Columbine effort is part of a parent involvement/integration group called TODOS (Together Our Differences Offer Solutions). TODOS offers a variety of family involvement activities at Columbine including a twice-yearly community service project. Columbine is a predominantly Latino/low income school. It’s exciting to see this school participate in helping those who are less fortunate.
- From a press release