A fundraiser to support Inverness Park resident Joyce Goldfield’s annual four-day rafting trip for 70 physically disabled children on the Rogue River in Oregon will be held this Sunday in Inverness Park. Participants will learn how to make lavender wands and turn fresh lavender into a “hydrosol” through an ancient distiller owned by Eden Clearbrook, who has run the Garden of Eden Apothecary in Point Reyes Station for 18 years.
Lavender is blooming at its peak, Ms. Clearbrook said, and the distilled plant—which participants can take home, along with the wands—makes an effective palliative for skin problems, such as burns from sunrays and shaving.
“I love what Joyce is doing for all the kids, and I wanted to support that this year,” Ms. Clearbrook said. “I’ve been deeply moved by Joyce’s dedication to provide fun for these kids who would otherwise not be able to have that experience.”
For over 35 years, Ms. Goldfield has organized the rafting and camping trip for disabled children, 50 of whom travel by bus from Marin to meet with 20 others in Oregon. On July 31, these children will take the biggest available Marin Airporter up to Indian Mary Campground in Galice, Ore., on the banks of the Rogue River.
The next day, the group will drive upriver to a launch point and spend the day floating back down to the campground, where that night a band will play and a big dance held. The group will repeat the same trip on the following day before heading back down to Marin.
Throughout those days, volunteers come out of the woodwork to help the kids have a good time, Ms. Goldfield said. Typically, she makes enough dessert each day to feed 100 people, in addition to the 70 rafters. “So many people come and join in,” Ms. Goldfield said, “and I think it really helps change attitudes about disabled people.”
This year, a special chair made of aluminum, PsVC and heavy-duty webbing will be installed in one raft; it’s designed to help severely disabled children sit up straight and keep their heads from dropping to their chests so they can see the sites better along the river. Designed by Ms. Goldfield a decade ago, the chair was recently built by two of the trip’s longtime rowing volunteers and has garnered interest from the Coast Guard.
The rafting trip began at Halleck Creek Ranch in Nicasio, which Ms. Goldfield founded in 1977 by to provide hippotherapy for disabled children. Despite retiring from the ranch in 1997, Ms. Goldfield has continued the rafting trip as a way to give the disabled children to whom she has dedicated her life a unique recreational opportunity.
“We see kids challenge their disabilities,” said Ms. Goldfield, who is 78 and afflicted with multiple sclerosis. “It’s awesome.”
The “Lavender Magic” benefit will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, July 12 at a home in Inverness Park. A limited number of tickets are available for $125; those interested may call either Eden at (415) 663.1747 or Joyce at (415) 663.1787.