Wednesday, October 31, 2007
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!
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!
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
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.
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."
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
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
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
Monday, August 13, 2007
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!
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!
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!
Monday, August 6, 2007
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!
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!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
