Redmond's Leona Coakley-Spring plans benefit concert for AIDS shelter in Bahamas

Leona Coakley-Spring is a Redmond resident, gospel singer/songwriter, recording artist, actress, painter, cosmetologist and faithful supporter of All Saints HIV/AIDS Shelter in her native Bahamas.

She will perform gospel and Christmas songs with a Caribbean flair at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5 at the Kirkland Performance Center, 350 Kirkland Ave. All proceeds will go to All Saints HIV/AIDS Shelter in Nassau.

Tickets are available at the Kirkland Performance Center Box Office. Call (425) 893-9900 or visit www.kpcenter.org.

Coakley-Spring and her husband Terry have produced an annual Christmas benefit concert since 1998. All Saints is the only shelter in the Bahamas that accepts homeless AIDS sufferers and other homeless victims of chronic disease, no questions asked.

Residents include intact families, single mothers with children and children who have lost both of their parents. Residents who are able help with cooking, cleaning and maintenance of the facilities to assist those who are unable to work.

All Saints receives no assistance from the government of the Bahamas and relies on private donations. Money from the annual Coakley-Spring concerts has supplied blankets, roof repair on the community kitchen, electrical rewiring and repairs to the small cabins in which the residents live.

Coakley-Spring was born in the Bahamas, the middle child of ten. Her mother died when she was 11 and she took care of her younger siblings. In spite of her poverty and deprivation, her strong faith in God helped her make it through the hard times.

Now a citizen of the United States, she wants to continue giving to others in desperate need in the Bahamas.

Recently diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, Coakley-Spring has a cosmetology business in her Redmond home and continues to use her artistic talents, such as writing and recording music and painting pictures inspired by her childhood in the Bahamas.

COMMENTING RULES: We encourage an open exchange of ideas in the PNWLocalNews.com community, but we ask you to follow our guidelines for respecting community standards. In a nutshell, don't say anything you wouldn't want your mother to read. So keep your comments:

• Civil
• Smart
• On-topic
• Free of profanity

We ask that all participants own their words by registering for an account. It's a simple process that will take seconds and helps keep our comments free of trolls, cranks, and drive-by commenters.

As a community site, we ask that the community help by using the "Flag" button on each comment if they feel the comment has violated the rules. You can also use the up and down arrows on each comment to voice your opinion about that particular comment.

Want to tell us something but you don't want it to be public? Talk to us privately.