Big, beautiful bouquets to global-thinking Autumn Simpson, a seventh-grader at Kimpton Middle School in Stow.Autumn is the entrepreneurial talent behind Autumn’s Originals, a purse business. She is joining forces with purse-makers halfway around the world in Mozambique, Africa, and a local group called WOW (Women for Oppressed Women) at 5 p.m. Oct. 15 for a Very Special Purse Party. The dinner, silent auction and boutique of new and lightly loved designer handbags and “purses for a purpose” will be at Guy’s Party Centre, 500 E. Waterloo Road, Akron.Autumn is donating several of her unique creations, made totally out of duct tape, for the cause.“The story of the Very Special Purse Party began in 2008, when Autumn’s church, The Chapel of Akron, Green and Wadsworth, recognized the need for microenterprise in Mozambique and sought a way to help,” writes event spokeswoman Kathie Clark Brown. “Daily, the Mozambican people face obstacles that are difficult for us to fathom: 4 of 10 Mozambicans live on less than $1 a day; 6.6 percent of Mozambicans are orphaned children; 3 of 10 children die before they turn 5; 16.1 percent of Mozambicans are living with HIV or AIDS.”The Chapel sent teams of volunteers to the Mozambican villages of Chaimite and Koka Misava, to train the women to knit handbags from hemp with the goal of creating a sustainable business.WOW — composed of several women, also members of The Chapel — entered the picture to help launch a much- needed agriculture project in Mozambique.“WOW has secured donations of handbags and themed purses from women and men all over the country,” Brown continued. “Those donations will be auctioned off on Oct. 15, and 100 percent of the proceeds will be donated to The Chapel’s agriculture fund in order to launch a sustainable farming plot with a drip irrigation system.”Purses up for sale include a computer bag with a laptop, a chocolate lover’s bag and a travel bag that comes with a vacation to Hilton Head Island, S.C.Tickets are $15 or two for $25. Please call Brown at 330-928-4493 or email wow3moz@yahoo.com.Spirit NightDelanie’s Neighborhood Grille, 67 West Ave., Tallmadge, will sponsor Spirit Night for Team Fuzz from 4 to 8 p.m. Sept. 26 to benefit the American Heart Association’s upcoming Heart Walk. Twenty percent of the restaurant’s profits during this time will be donated to AHA. Please mention the AHA to your server.“This will be the 10th year that Team Fuzz has supported the American Heart Association in honor of my son, Cameron,” writes Kristy Simonetta. “Cameron was born with transposition of the great arteries, a VSD (ventricular septal defect) and pulmonary stenosis. He has undergone open heart surgery three times and countless heart caths. We continue to support the American Heart Association to help fund research that could further help Cameron (who is 9 and a fourth-grader at Munroe Elementary School in Tallmadge) and other children born with congenital heart disease.”Pig roast fundraiserFriends and family of Norman Keith Gillis Jr. are hosting a benefit pig roast at 2 p.m. Sept. 24, at 2089 Warren Ave., Akron, to help ease the financial burden associated with his medical care.The 50-year-old Gillis is battling Stage III squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.“He has worked for the same company for almost 29 years as a welder/fabricator at Engineered Products Incorporated, building places such as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Inventure Place, Jacobs [now Progressive] Field and Browns Stadium and even Summa’s cancer center at Akron City Hospital, where he is currently receiving treatment,” his daughter, Betty Jo Foster, said.Norm was laid off in August 2010 and his wife, Annette, who also worked there, was laid off in January. Then the factory closed indefinitely.Shortly after losing his job, Gillis became sick, but because of their financial situation and having lost his medical insurance, he was hesitant to get it checked out. Unable to continue job hunting, he also lost his unemployment benefits.“Finally, he agreed to go to the emergency room,” Foster said. “The only assistance they are receiving is for chemo, radiation and surgeries. Nothing for doctor visits, prescriptions, scans or tests.”Music, games, raffles, door prizes and a fear-factor challenge are planned. Cost is $15, or $20 at the door. Please call 330-603-5289 or 330-603-2544.Donations are welcome. Alcoholic beverages are permitted but not supplied.Golf outingRebuilding Together Greater Cuyahoga Valley and Beef O’Brady’s Family Restaurant & Pub are looking for golfers to participate in the Beef O’Brady Charity Fundraiser on Friday at Fox Den Golf Course, 2770 Call Road, Stow, with an 11 a.m. shotgun start.The $75 cost ($300 foursome) includes 18 holes of golf with cart, boxed lunch, beverages, dinner, 50/50 and prizes. Proceeds go to Rebuilding Together, the volunteer nonprofit whose mission is to keep low-income elderly, disabled and veteran homeowners safe, warm and dry.For information or to register, please call 330-773-4100.Dinner and musicThe Children’s Concert Society has left no stone unturned and no pot uncovered with its 2-in-1 fundraiser extravaganza, to be held at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 1 in the Crystal Room at Gallucci Residence Hall, the University of Akron.A palate-pleasing dinner will be combined with a Concert of Steel. Members of the university’s Hospitality Club will demonstrate their culinary prowess as they prepare everything from sushi to sliders to stir-fry. The university’s Steel Drum Band will play music ranging from traditional calypsos and classical to pop.All proceeds benefit Children’s Concert Society, which supports more than 170 free, in-school concerts and eight performances at the Akron Civic Theatre for students throughout Summit County and Greater Akron.Tickets are $65 patron; $100 grand patron (includes a gift). Call the society’s office at 330-972-2504.Sponsors for the evening are Francia Albrecht, the F.W. Albrecht Family Foundation, Edward and Fran Bittle, Chris and Larry Levey, Dianne and Herb Newman and A.E. and Lee Wallach.Family fun runSt. Sebastian Parish Knights of Columbus is hosting its inaugural 5K Race Around the Park & Family Fun Run around Akron’s Schneider Park Oct. 22, with Inspiron Logistics as the sponsor.The family fun run/walk gets under way at 9 a.m.; an entire family can register for just $10. The 5K race begins at 9:45 a.m. Fee is $20 if you register online by Oct. 18; after that it’s $25. Race begins at nearby Forest Lodge Park at the corner of Mull and Greenwood avenues. Event T-shirts and awards for 5K age group winners provided.To register, please call Tony Burgoyne at 330-805-7628.Race day proceeds will benefit the organizations and nonprofits supported by St. Sebastian Knights of Columbus.Jewell Cardwell can be reached at 330-996-3567 or emailed at jcardwell@thebeaconjournal.com.