Valley Giving Girls

The Valley Giving Girls in the Central Valley continue to raise money for their Giving Circle. They are determined to reach their $5,000 goal so that they can begin planning their trip to Guatemala. This group is having a special holiday party next month to shop and raise even more. To date, they have raised $1,362. Cheers to the Valley Giving Girls! To read more about them and learn how to start your own group, check out their website: Valley Giving Girls

Lillian Jordan Joy Luck

Valerie Wong & Robert Jordan will be returning from their NamasteDirect Journey to Guatemala soon. In the meantime, I am posting a quick update on their Giving Circle. Thanks to the interest and dedication of their friends and family, the Lillian Jordan Joy Luck Giving Circle has raised $3,760! Check out their website for more details on this group and how you can start your own: L.J.J.L.

First Annual NamasteDirect Fundraiser

Thanks to everyone who participated in the First Annual Fall Fundraiser "Directo a Mexico"!! It was the first largescale fundraiser we have done and it was an enormous success! Over 100 people attended to share the amazing food and margaritas generously donated by Tres Agaves and Partida Tequila, as well as the enormous excitement generated by renowned auctioneer Dave Reynolds! Thanks to your support, we raised over $60,000!


The contributions will go towards the Senoras de Tres Agaves 100+ Group. The participants will include approximately 100 women from the Yajalon region of Chiapas, Mexico. Yajalon is four and a half hours from San Cristobal de las Casas, the third-largest community in Chiapas. Most of the women are indigenous Choles and speak Chol.


They will be investing their microcredit loans in a variety of businesses including vegetable stands, grocery stores, coffee production, sale of both new and second hand clothing and sales of regional foods.


Chiapas is the southern most state in Mexico and is comprised of lush green hills and valleys splattered with vibrant colors. Though it is rich in natural resources, Chiapas is unfortunately the most impoverished state in Mexico and suffers from the country’s highest rate of malnutrition, estimated to affect over 40% of the population. The economic difficulties of the region are often felt most significantly by women, reflected in the strenuous reality of everyday life.


The loans will be administered by our Mexican partner organization, AlSol, which will support the women through the cycle and help them to be successful in developing their businesses.
A NamasteDirect fellow will travel to the region early in 2008 to interview the borrowers in their homes and businesses, attend their group meetings, and look into the results to date. They will be writing you to convey this information so that you can see the difference that your donation is making. Please visit our website (http://www.namaste-direct.org) for weekly updated articles on microcredit and additional information on the work of NamasteDirect.


Thanks again for your support!

Wong - Jordan House Party

Many thanks to Valerie Wong and Robert Jordan for hosting a NamasteDirect House Party in San Rafael on August 25th. 17 people enjoyed the beautiful weather and great food. The guests decided to form a giving circle with an initial goal of $5,000. Saturday's party got the ball rolling by raising $1,590! If you would like to contribute to the Lillian Jordan Joy Luck Giving Circle, just put "LJJL" in the comments section of your donation, either online or through the mail.

The official website will be live soon, but you can read about the Giving Circle here:

"The L. J. - J. L. group was formed to honor the

memory and spirit of Lillian Jordan and to continue enjoying the long-standing friendships of the Joy Luck group.
We all realize how fortunate we are to be able to gather together to support an organization like Namaste-direct. We believe the organization is appealing on many different levels and donors will contribute for various, often personal, reasons.
We've all travelled widely, seen the wonders of the world, taken the pictures, and now it's time to give something back.

Valerie and Rob are eagerly anticipating their trip to Guatemala with Bob Graham this fall. More on that later. Thanks for your generosity."

Locke & Klee House Party

After last night's House Party, hosted by Gay Locke and Michaeleen Klee, the Central Valley Giving Circle now has a name. Allow me to introduce the Valley Giving Girls!

Michaeleen & Anita

Members of the new Valley Giving Girls met at Gay Locke's beautiful home in Hilmar last night for dinner, discussion, and lots of shopping! Everyone ooh-ed and aah-ed over the jewelry selection which was hand picked by Sophy Wolters, NamasteDirect's Executive VP who lives in Guatemala.

Anita & Connie

The donations received last night will be added to the funds raised at Connie Stout's party in June. Glenda Barreto and Tammy Lucich are both hosting parties in Patterson that will be a part of the Valley Giving Girls. The gals also unanimously decided to host a holiday shopping party and fundraiser in early December. They are well on the way to their $5,000 goal to help a group of 20 women. The Valley Giving Girls website will be available soon.

Katie, Jen & Amber

Jorgensen & Qualls House Party

On Saturday, August 11th yet another awesome Jorgensen-Qualls theme party took place. This time it was a party with a cause, which is not to say that previous parties had no cause. This party, however, was for a great cause - the women of Nachij in Chiapas, Mexico. It was a NamasteDirect Tapas Fundraising Party! The Jorgensen & Qualls Family

Vince, Tammy, Judy, Mitch, and Himanshu prepared an impressive array of tapas including artichokes, paella, patatas bravas, tortilla de patata, olives, cheeses, and more! There were several varieties of sangria and local microbrews. What a treat!

As for the rest of the evening, it was a busy night with a presentation, raffle, and....Vince's Famous Trivia!

There were 10 questions all about microcredit and the crowd was savvy (or at least good listeners) since our winners got 7 out of 10 questions correct. This young group was new to fundraising parties, but raised an impressive $1,300 so far! If you would like to contribute to the Qualls-Jorgensen party and the women of Nachij, click here!

Pierscinski House Party

Victoria Pierscinski seems to have found the perfect House Party formula:
Late Morning + Lunch + Great weather + Discussion = Success!

Everyone enjoyed a pleasant Sunday afternoon at the Pierscinski home on Sunday, August 5th. One of the highlights of the day was listening to Victoria's trip highlights from her recent visit to Chiapas on a NamasteDirect donor journey. All proceeds from the party will be added to the Timshel Group. The new grand total for the group is $3,385! The group is well on the way to their $5,000 goal.

Thanks again for hosting such a lovely event, Victoria!

Anhaltzer House Party

It was a beautiful summer afternoon in sunny Lake Oswego, just south of Portland, OR. Guests were mingling on the deck, reaching into the aluminum cooler for a cold Hawaiian beer or perusing the table where mini pizza, burgers, and platters of salmon and filet mignon were artfully arranged and smelling divine! It was none other than an Anhaltzer summer party supporting NamasteDirect!

Jeff, Marcy, and their family have been supporters for many years. They traveled to Guatemala with Bob and they were eager to share their stories and excitement about NamasteDirect with their friends.

The highlight of the evening was a leisurely boat ride around Lake Oswego. Even Buster the dog enjoyed the evening as he took the helm as the official hood ornament. This is just the start of a great fundraising effort in the Portland area with much more to come.

Ketchpel House Party

Our thanks go out to Steve Ketchpel for hosting such a wonderful party! Thanks also to everyone who attended the event.

We all spent the first hour of the evening sipping drinks from the diverse selection that Steve so graciously provided for the event while making introductions and getting to know our fellow guests. Next, we were treated to food from Pasta Pomodoro Catering. We settled down into informal conversation groups as we enjoyed the delicious meal.

Then it was time for the main event. Steve did the honors of introducing Bob Graham to the audience. Bob talked about how he originally became involved with microcredit and why he feels that it is such an important cause to support. Sam Goldman shared with us some of his experiences as a NamasteDirect fellow in Guatemala. Next, we played a video and people were able to see the faces of some of the women who have taken micro loans to improve their businesses and help make their families more economically independent.

After the film, Bob Graham, Sam Goldman, Sunny Mahant and Athena Waid took turns answering the audience's excellent questions. Afterwards Steve got up and finished the presentation by adding his perspective on microcredit and relating some of his experiences with the field. The final treats of the evening were a delicious Tiramisu dessert and more great conversation with the guests.

Steve, we appreciate the opportunity to attend such a great party and spread the word about microcredit. If you would like to contribute to Steve's party here online please click the donate now button and indicate Steve's name in the notes section. Thank you to everyone who chose to support NamasteDirect!!!

First Quarterly NamasteDirect Open House

Thanks to all who attended the first ever NamasteDirect Open House on Thursday, July 26! It was such a roaring success that we have decided to host an Open House each quarter. The Open House was our first opportunity to share the new NamasteDirect office and more importantly, to welcome our new Executive Vice President Sophy Wolters. Sophy traveled here from her home in Panajachel, Guatemala, where she works closely with the borrowers and our partners in both Guatemala and Mexico.

The event featured "The Voice of the Borrowers" which was relayed through live footage from a recent visit and highlighted by Sophy's anecdotes and experiences. She spoke not only of the successes, but of the challenges our borrowers face. Most interesting was the description of the non-formal education the borrowers receive. More often than not, the women provide the majority of the lesson, be it about women's health or profitability.

It was a full house at the office so we are considering hosting future events elsewhere. If you have a venue that would like to host a NamasteDirect Open House in the future, please contact Jennifer Williams.

Elizondo House Party

Many thanks to Maricela Elizondo and David Nagy for hosting a NamasteDirect House Party at their home in San Diego on July 21st. Maricela sent out this note to the party guests, highlighting the party:


Here is a link to an excellent article in today's (7/25/07) San Diego Union Tribune that highlights the wonderful changes that happen in people's lives as a consequence to Namaste & other non-profit organizations that provide microloans to poor indigenous women in Mexico & Guatemala. Please know that our recent fundraiser was a success and raised $2,075.00 so far! Yeah! I appreciate your interest in contributing to this fabulous cause.


If you would like to contribute to Maricela's party, please feel free to send your donation in her care made out to NamasteDirect. If you want to do so with a credit card, you can click here:


Thank you so much for choosing to make the world a better place!

An Evening of Peaceful Discussion

Many thanks to Sami Sunchild for hosting An Evening of Peaceful Discussion at the Red Victorian Peace Cafe in the Haight. Sami is the owner of the Red Victorian Bed & Breakfast and Peace Cafe. It is a haven for world travelers who share the common goal and ideal of making the world a more peaceful place. It was the perfect venue for a discussion about NamasteDirect and ending poverty by helping women in Guatemala and Mexico.

I apologize for the lack of photos from the event, but you can get a glimpse of the welcoming environment at the cafe. Attendees gathered to enjoy a vegetarian meal of homemade lasagna, salad, and dessert of their choice. Three of our NamasteDirect fellows, Wes Selke, Shirin Belur, and Ellen Dobie were onhand to offer their firsthand experiences in Guatemala and Mexico. After dinner, everyone participated in World Conversations inspired by the presentations. You could hear conversations in French, English, and Spanish between guests from Columbia, Bosnia, and the US - it was truly an international evening!

Stout House Party

Guests braved the Central Valley heat to enjoy a relaxing evening at Connie Stout's House Party on Wednesday, June 20th. There was food and drink aplenty as well as great conversation.

The group was inspired by the presentation, beautiful products, and stimulating discussion. 4 people volunteered to host a house party and help spread the word about NamasteDirect. Everyone decided to form a Giving Circle with an initial goal of $5,000. The group felt that by forming a circle, everyone together could make a more substantial contribution. They are still coming up with a name, but check back soon on the webpage for more information! If you would like to join the group, please contact Connie.

Connie's party made a good dent in the group already - they raised $750 on Wednesday! If you would like to contribute to Connie's party and the Giving Circle, please indicate this in the notes section.

Save the Date! Wednesday, July 11

The Red Victorian Peace Cafe and NamasteDirect present
“An Evening of Peaceful Discussion"

Please join us at the Red Victorian Peace Café to learn more about easy ways that you can contribute towards making the world a more peaceful place. NamasteDirect, a San Francisco based non-profit organization, raises money to provide microcredit loans to women in Guatemala and Mexico. After the short presentation, we will split up into small groups to discuss ideas and actions for a Peaceful World.

Where: Red Victorian Peace Café
1665 Haight Street
San Francisco, CA 94117
415-864-1978
http://www.redvic.com/

When: Wednesday, July 11. 6pm – 8pm

A selection of prix fix dinners will be available during your discussions for a very reasonable price. You can also indulge in some of the Peace Café’s regular treats and beverages.

Schedule 6:30pm – Welcome & Introduction
of Events: 6:35pm – NamasteDirect Video
6:45pm – Question & Answer
7:00pm – Peaceful Discussion Groups & Dinner

Chesbrough House Party

Many thanks to Katherine, Hank, Emily, and Sarah Chesbrough for hosting a NamasteDirect House Party on Saturday, June 9th. The event featured wine tasting by the Wine Thieves, countless yummy treats prepared by Katherine and Susan Foord Catering. The Chesbrough home seems as if it were designed for parties - everyone gathered in the library, surrounded by a 6,000 volume collection of books, to hear the presentation and watch a short DVD.




What made the party unique was the attendance of several Miramonte High School students.
One of the students will be going on the NamasteDirect Donor Journey to Chiapas and Guatemala this summer. Emily is excited about the trip and plans to speak at her school about the experience when she returns.



The party was also a fundraising success - at $1,955, we're just short of our $2,000 goal. As an added incentive, each $100 donation will receive an autographed copy of a Hank Chesbrough book: Open Innovation: The New Imperative for Creating and Profiting from Technology or Open Business Models: How to Thrive in the New Innovative Landscape. It's not too late to participate in the event and contribute to the San Antonio group of women borrowers in Guatemala.

Chiapas Fundraiser at the San Francisco Mexican Consulate

On May 2nd, the San Francisco Mexican Consulate generously hosted a fundraiser at their beautiful office on Folsom Street. The funds raised will benefit the Nachij community in Chiapas, Mexico. To date, the fundraiser has raised $4,406 which will be put towards the Nachij group. To show your support for the Mexican Consulate and the women in Chiapas, click here:

The event featured live music, dancers, authentic Chiapatecan appetizers prepared and served by Toni Moore Catering, a silent auction, and video presentations. The Chiapatecan goods were of particular interest to all who attended - the entire supply sold out in a matter of hours! Featured speakers were Katia Corroy, the Executive Director for NamasteDirect's partner in Chiapas - AlSol; Alejandra Garcia Williams, the Consul General; and Bob Graham, the founder of NamasteDirect.

Thank-you to the San Francisco Mexico Consulate for hosting this fun, entertaining, and worthwhile event!

Davies House Party

Phyllis Davies hosted a House Party at her home in San Luis Obispo on April 28th. Phyllis is a House Party professional whose home was built for entertaining. Phyllis modeled a beautiful Guatemalan sweater that was a big hit! NamasteDirect is on a shopping mission to find more to sell at future House Parties. The party was well attended and has raised $1,213 so far. You can help contribute to the Davies party by clicking here:

Kent Wilson's House Party

Kent Wilson hosted a House Party at his Law Office on April 21st. It was a beautiful location -
his office overlooks the San Diego Bay. It's mesmerizing! Kent provided Pinot Noir for tasting and Lucia Bonis prepared an amazing, homemade spread. Everyone enjoyed themselves and they had lots of questions about NamasteDirect. To date, Kent's party has raised $765. You can help contribute to Kent's party and the women in Chumatanes by donating now!

Welcome to NamasteDirect House Parties!

After attending a luncheon today hosted by the Development Executives Roundtable and listening to a very interesting presentation by David Perry, I realized that NamasteDirect needs even more web presence.



The purpose of this blog is "All House Parties, All The Time!" You can find out about upcoming parties as well as read stories and see photos of past parties. It's also your chance to support the party by donating.



Thanks for reading and please check back often for upcoming parties.