CHRISTMAS 2006

When your Mom came up with her Christmas charity notion, we did not have any preconceived notion of what it would lead to, but we certainly thought it was worth trying. Your enthusiasm for the project from the outset was certainly encouraging. However the unique ideas that you each came up with, the research, the sensitive thinking behind each project (I particularly liked the rationale for giving homeless people cash vs. a more practical alternative---it is Christmas after all) and even the effort to write an interesting summary of your experience (Thanks Brigid for setting up the web-site), absolutely blew us away. So for Christmas 2006, we celebrated with Sean/Marjorie and their kids on the 21st, we met our new Granddaughter Fiona on the 23rd, we celebrated with Kevin/Sarah, Ryan/Ariel, Brigid and of course Fiona in Portland on the 25th, we celebrated with Brendan, Darren and Roxanne in Steamboat on the 26th, we celebrated again on the 31st with Gavin and the now “obviously pregnant” Cristen and through it all we had your incredible postings of true Christmas giving to enjoy.

Thank you all for the donation to NISRA—that was a great idea. And thank you all for being you. As you have heard us say many times, we cannot think of a more rewarding experience than to watch our children grow into adults that we are so proud of. This project has certainly reinforced that experience. Thank you all for a great Christmas 2006.

Having said all this, I must admit the process introduced a saddening element as well. In that it brought into focus how incredibly fortunate we are as a family and how much need there is in the world---certainly far away, but even right in our neighborhoods with people that perhaps we interact with frequently. We hope that you will all keep in touch with your 2006 projects and keep an eye out for other meaningful opportunities that we might be able to make a contribution of some nature to.

Happy New Year.

Love you--- Mom and Dad

Happy Birthday Darren!!!!

Nothing says Happy Birthday more than a little Rocket Man from one William Shatner, enjoy!

Heifer International

My first inclination when I heard about the gift giving idea was to try to do something locally here in Denver. I also wanted to do something that would have a lasting impact rather than just a random donation to a cause that looked interesting. Because I am new to this city, I had a difficult time finding something that I could feel connected to. When I talked to Roxanne about this great opportunity, she brought up Heifer International. Also, when she mentioned the gift idea to some of her colleagues, the name Heifer International kept coming up, so I decided to give it a look.
Heifer International is an organization that provides a sustainable income for starving families across the world through the gift of livestock. What they do is provide extensive training for a family on how to raise their given livestock in a sustainable manner. They teach them how to build shelters and also how to process food from the animals they are given. What really drew me to this is that HI doesn't just make a one-time gift, but rather provides a lifetime income for these families and communities. The idea is that a couple of families will provide offspring for their neighbors in order to create a community that can provide for itself. Although the gift is symbolic, $500 represents one heifer and the necessary training to go along with it for one family. I would encourage everyone to check out the web site at www.heifer.org to learn more about this organization.
Thank-you Mom and Dad for this great opportunity to give something back to rest of the world. Researching this has really shed some light on some of the problems in the world, and it feels good to make even a little difference.

Merry Christmas,

Darren

Holiday Giving

Sorry for taking so long to get my post up and running. The minute that Mom and Dad told me about their plans for our X-mas giving I immediately knew what I wanted to do. This is something that I like many others have wanted to do but just never get around to. I thought it would be best to split my money up between and International and a Local cause. I find them equally important but I thought it best to do something locally because during the holiday season you see so many in need. Quite some time ago I learned of an International program called KIVA- www.kiva.org. My local project was through the post office's "ELF" Program.

Here's a link to the story of how KIVA began
http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=about&action=story

The program is very similar to the Grameen Bank that Muhammad Yunus started and recently won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. Essentially what KIVA does is connect you with micro finance institutions throughout the entire developing world. Once you make a loan your money is transferred to the micro finance institutions loan officer and then dispersed to the individual(s) that you have chosen to sponsor. This is one of the greatest features of this program. This allows you to communicate with the individual that you have lent your money to. Most loans are repaid between 12-18 months. Periodically the individual or the loan officer will contact you via e-mail for updates on the business. With a success rate of +95% of loans being paid in full- at the end of your 12-18 months you have the opportunity to help more individuals by re-investing that money back into the program whether its the same individual or another on a different continent.

Here is a description of the individuals I chose to loan my money to:

Abibatou DROMANN ia married with 3 children and lives in Tsevie, TOGO. It is here that she supports her family by running her restaurant, Cafe d'Or. With my loan she will be able to stock up on more food, cartons of milk, glasses, egg trays, and other cafeteria items.
http://www.kiva.org/image.php?id=10360&isMain=true&size=fullsize

Narish Shirinova(44) is married with 2 children and live in Khirdalan Town, Azerbaijan. Her family are all Internally Displaced Persons (IDP). They were displaced from the Armenian-occupied territory of Azerbaijan Jabrail Region. My loan to Narish will help her open her own perfumery where townspeople can buy all kinds of soap and corner market things.
http://www.kiva.org/image.php?id=9728&isMain=true&size=fullsize

Petko Todorov is married and lives in Silistra, Bulgaria. After driving taxis for many years he started his own company in 1992 named Pierita and currently has 2 cars. My loan to him will allow him to Repair the vehicles he already has and help to possibly get another one in the future.
http://www.kiva.org/image.php?id=8601&isMain=true&size=fullsize

The second half of my money was donated through the ELF program- directed by any local United states Post Office. As all of you remember you used to write letters to the Santa in the North Pole. Well The ELF Program answers these letter for the kids and or families that are in need. I originally wanted to do just one family or one individual but in the end thought that I should spread my donations out. The first letter broke my heart so I spent most of my money on him-
Tim Jones is 11 years old and and has many health problems. He has endured several stomach and bowel surgeries and has several more to go. He loved Urlacher and the Bears. He is often made fun of in the neighborhood or at school because he cant tell when he needs to go to the bathroom. As a result he wears a diaper and is never invited to other homes to play. I got Tim an Urlacher jersey and a fleece Bears blanket. If he gets tired of watching the Bears choke then he can play with the remote control Monster Truck that I got him. I also got him a handful of pants and shirts as well as some pajamas.

Marvin Porter is an 8 year old and like most wanted a Playstation 3 and some Air Jordans. He told me that his father left his home a long time ago and his mother is currently unemployed. His true passion is school and basketball so I got him a basketball and a couple books to read.

Kymia Brooks is 5 years old and is being cared for by a distant family friend because her mother was not able to care for her. Her new mother has 3 grown children and is having a hard time this year making ends meet. I got Kymia a big Dora the Explorer Doll and well as practically every book there is out there on this Dora girl whoever she is. I also threw in a couple classics from our day like Little Mermaid and that one with the puppies. To finish it off I got her some pajamas that she can enjoy while her new Mom reads her to bed at night.

This experience has been amazing. I thank you soo much Mom and Dad. Its been so nice to touch so many in need at years end as well as take a step back and realize how fortunate we really are.
Best of Luck in the New Year
Brendan

Mercy Corps

We both really liked the idea of a Christmas gift that required us to give to someone else.It sparked some good discussions between the two us as to which causes are most deserving and how to ever make a difference, and for that we thank you both.

We chose to donate our money to Mercy Corps, an international aid organization based in Portland that focuses on long-term solutions to hunger and poverty instead of short-term relief. They have a great track record for efficiency in actually getting the most out of donations and I was impressed by their claim that for every dollar donated they're able to "secure $20.89 in donated food and other critical supplies".

We ultimately decided that education is one of the most crucial and empowering form of aid, and also one of the most expensive, so our donation will be used to support classrooms and education.

Merry Christmas,
Ryan & Ariel

Holiday Giving Near & Far

We were so excited to have the opportunity to make such a large impact on so many people and organizations this holiday season—thanks Mom and Dad for the help and the gentle nudge to move us in that direction. When deciding where we most wanted to help, a number of different organizations and people came to mind. There was one cause and organization that was particularly important to us this year, and other opportunities to give back that allowed us to give in ways we'd always wanted to give, but hadn't actually followed through.

We decided to make two donations to TEB's Troops, the organization set up by friends of Tricia E. Black ("TEB"), Sarah's friend and former colleague who passed away in July after a courageous battle with melanoma. During her illness, TEB researched grassroots and established organizations that support melanoma research and provide financial assistance to individuals who qualify for the types of experimental treatments that TEB was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to participate in as part of her treatment. It was TEB’s wish that TEB’s Troops would continue to raise funds for these organizations regardless of the outcome of TEB’s personal battle, and TEB's Troops has done so in an incredibly smart and commendable way (www.tebstroops.com). Our two donations to TEB’s Troops were made in honor of Joel Johnson and in honor of TEB herself. Through these two donations, we hope we have done at least a little bit to honor two people who were amazing beyond description, the loss of whom this year touched us both so deeply. We learned so much from Joel and TEB and their memories remind us every day to value the people we love and live everyday to the fullest.

Our next donation was made to Nothing But Nets (www.nothingbutnets.net). Nothing But Nets is an organization Kevin learned about after reading a column by Rick Reilly on the back page of Sports Illustrated. The original column Kevin read was written some months ago, and it was kind of shocking in it's simplicity. Essentially, millions of kids in Africa die each year from malaria. This can be prevented by providing the kids, and their families, with mosquito nets, and teaching them how to use them. That easy! For whatever reason, as moved as Kevin was at reading about this, nothing was done to contribute to the effort until this opportunity presented itself, which just happened to coincide with another column by Reilly asking for contributions. It really hit home how much we in civilized society take for granted and how such a relatively small contribution on our part can have such a profound and meaningful effect on those truly in need.

Finally, we gave $20 gifts to five of the homeless men and women that Sarah encounters regularly on her walk from the train to her office downtown. We originally considered giving McDonald’s gift cards, but on our way to McDonald’s to pick them up, we decided that we simply preferred to give cash. We know that it’s always possible that one or all of them took the money and bought a bottle of booze or cigarettes, or something else that our first instinct told us would be a waste of money…but after discussing it we decided that the purpose of the gift was not to impose our morals on these people, (especially because neither of us can pretend to have any idea what would be the most appreciated gift by each of these people), rather, the reason we wanted to make the gift was to, even if just momentarily, lift the spirits of folks who don’t seem to have much to look forward to during the holiday season. Ultimately, we decided to let each of these people decide how best to spend their money. Whether that was on something they "needed" or just "wanted." In whatever form that came for each of them, we hope it made the day a little easier and happier than it otherwise would have been.

Thanks again so much for the opportunity to make such a difference this year and for reminding us during the holiday of how fulfilled we are. Spending the holidays in Portland & Steamboat we feel SO blessed to have the family & friends around us that we do. We will continue to seek out opportunities to help others experience a fraction of the love and support that we are lucky to experience ourselves.
Happy Holidays!

Love,

Kevin & Sarah

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MARY/MOTHER/GRANDMA MALIA

Greetings from the 'Boat!