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Friday December 6, 2002  It is that time of the year for our annual Charity Smoker. The U. S. Cigar Corporation will feature their latest creation, the Helix cigar, for this event, and The Wharf will supply the ambience. This year the Volunteers of America will be the recipient of all donations. Two previous Wharf Charity Smokers for the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army raised in excess of $2,000. The Wharf RATS © (Respectable And Tolerant Smokers) have always come through in a big way. We don’t just blow smoke! Both of the previous recipient organizations are well known, but I have to admit that I only recently became aware of the Volunteers of America.
The Volunteers of America is a national, nonprofit, spiritually based organization providing local human service programs and opportunities for individual and community involvement. In a nutshell, here are some pertinent facts and figures:
VOA was founded by Ballington & Maud Booth on March 8, 1896. Nationwide, VOA currently employees over 12,000 professionals and more than 60,000 volunteers. Fiscal 2001 revenues were $591M. 88% went directly to services for individuals, families, and communities. VOA is one of USA’s largest and most comprehensive charitable nonprofit human services organizations. In rural areas & inner-city neighborhoods, VOA provides efficient, well-managed services that deal with some of today’s most pressing social needs. VOA is one of USA’s largest nonprofit providers of quality, affordable housing for the underprivileged, the elderly, and the disabled. VOA provides about 100 kinds of services in some 300 communities across the nation, serving more than 1.4 million people a year.
HELIX CIGAR: The cigar featured by The Wharf will be the Helix brand manufactured by the U. S. Cigar Corporation, makers of those fine Don Thomas and Astral cigars that you have come to enjoy. The Helix is a hand-made, long-fill, all tobacco cigar. The filler is a blend of Cuban seed grown tobaccos: Dominican, Nicaraguan, and Brazilian leaf and is bound together with a semi-sweet Mexican binder leaf. To top it off, top grade Connecticut Valley wrapper completes the presentation. There are no surprises when smoking this cigar constructed only with aged tobaccos. As you would expect, it is smooth, mild, and draws extremely well. DETAILS: We will post the final details by the end of the week. What is definite at this point is that every cigar smoker attending this event will receive a Helix cigar (minimum retail $3.00) for a $1.00 donation to VOA. We will also be selling raffle tickets at $1.00 each for some very fine prizes. A box of exquisite HELIX cigars will be one of the grand prizes. All raffle proceeds will go to VOA. VOA will have a truck in our parking lot to receive large (non-cash) donations. Please put this important event on your calendar! The Helix will use a Connecticut Shade wrapper, with the filler and binder still a closely guarded secret. I smoked a prototype HELIX last week and found the cigar to be mild, with ample flavor. The wrapper was impressive for a cigar in this price category, and the construction was excellent. The HELIX will be made at the same Danli, Honduras factory that produces the Astral, Don Tomas, and Don Tomas Cameroon Collection under the auspices of US Cigar's Bent Ahm. Helix follows years of painstaking development for the most distinguished blend of aged tobaccos. Helix cigars are favored for the lighter flavor and silky texture of its true Connecticut Shade Grown wrapper leaf. The filler is a mix of Cuban seed grown tobaccos; Dominican, Brazilian Mata Fina and Honduran Talanga farm tobacco. The semi-sweet binder, which provides an excellent burn, is Cuban seed leaf harvested in Mexico. All of the tobaccos are aged a minimum of three years; The Connecticut Shade wrapper leaf is over five years old. |
