To All Garden Guild Members:
Thank you all for responding to the request for a vote in this year’s Community Project. Here are the results of that vote.
# of responses: 28 (90%)
No response: 3 (10%)
Abstentions: 2 (Sue Williams – the president does not have a vote except to break a tie
Janine Kirkland – as president of Operation Feed, she recused herself)
YES VOTES: 28 (100%)
NO VOTES: 0
With such a resounding endorsement, on Tuesday we disbursed these funds to both Operation Feed and Food Bank Lakeside. When I spoke to Christine Phillipson, the woman who has spearheaded Food Bank Lakeside, she was truly overwhelmed by our generosity. She said this was their largest single donation to date and that it would be used immediately.
I would like to thank Justine Bertram and her committee for supporting and assisting in making this happen so quickly. I would also like to thank Connie Hayes who came up with the original idea to make this our community project. Connie also deserves a great deal of credit as she is currently working to put together an article for the Guadalajara Reporter despite being presented with some unique challenges because of the current situation. Also, thanks to our treasurer Janine Kirkland who was able to dispense the funds so quickly even though she too faced some challenges overcoming changes in banking regulations.
Finally, thanks to you all for supporting this project so wholeheartedly. We as Garden Guild members can be proud that we are truly making a significant difference in the lives of many of the less fortunate residents of the Lake Chapala area.
Stay well and safe,
Sue Williams
Thank you all for responding to the request for a vote in this year’s Community Project. Here are the results of that vote.
# of responses: 28 (90%)
No response: 3 (10%)
Abstentions: 2 (Sue Williams – the president does not have a vote except to break a tie
Janine Kirkland – as president of Operation Feed, she recused herself)
YES VOTES: 28 (100%)
NO VOTES: 0
With such a resounding endorsement, on Tuesday we disbursed these funds to both Operation Feed and Food Bank Lakeside. When I spoke to Christine Phillipson, the woman who has spearheaded Food Bank Lakeside, she was truly overwhelmed by our generosity. She said this was their largest single donation to date and that it would be used immediately.
I would like to thank Justine Bertram and her committee for supporting and assisting in making this happen so quickly. I would also like to thank Connie Hayes who came up with the original idea to make this our community project. Connie also deserves a great deal of credit as she is currently working to put together an article for the Guadalajara Reporter despite being presented with some unique challenges because of the current situation. Also, thanks to our treasurer Janine Kirkland who was able to dispense the funds so quickly even though she too faced some challenges overcoming changes in banking regulations.
Finally, thanks to you all for supporting this project so wholeheartedly. We as Garden Guild members can be proud that we are truly making a significant difference in the lives of many of the less fortunate residents of the Lake Chapala area.
Stay well and safe,
Sue Williams
As you are all aware, the COVID-19 virus has had severe implications for our most compromised communities, especially with respect to their ability to feed themselves. Traditionally it has not been the Garden Guild’s policy to support specific charities, but we find ourselves in an extraordinary situation this year. Because of this we are recommending that our Community Project for 2020 be a donation to organizations that provide food to these compromised communities. For our Community Project this year we are proposing funding 2 organizations: Lakeside Food Bank and Operation Feed. Most of you are familiar with Operation Feed which services San Juan Cosala and the surrounding area. The need to provide food to at-risk families there has been ongoing for several years and has increased under the current conditions. The Lakeside Food Bank has been operational for 2 weeks and services Ajijic, San Antonio Tlayacapan, San Pedro, Chapala, Mezcala, Santa Cruz and San Nicolas. In the past 2 weeks they have spent $176,937.69 pesos to feed 612 families (2,378 people) at a cost of $76.78 pesos per person per week. More information is available at their website (Lakeside Food Bank). Supporting these organizations would mean that we cover lakeside from the east to San Juan Cosala. We do recognize that all charities are hurting right now. However, the people that Lakeside Food Bank and Operation Feed are serving will, in many cases, also be the clientele of organizations such as Ninos Incapacitados. In feeding these families we are indirectly helping the other organizations by providing for one of the most essential needs for their families: food.
Currently, our treasury stands at approximately $143,300 pesos. Last year our community project was almost $50,000 pesos. If we were to donate $60,000 pesos ($20,00 to Operation Feed and $40,00 to Lakeside Food Bank) we would have over $80,000 pesos remaining in the bank. We do need to bear in mind that we may not be able to have a Floral Show in 2020 but our expenses this year will be minimal so that we are still very sound financially.
Because this is a departure from our regular type of Community Project, we are sending this to all members for approval. Could you please respond yes or no to this e-mail as soon as possible? If we move forward, we would like to do so quickly as the need is immediate.
Thank you,
Sue Williams, President
Justine Bertram, Chair, Community Project
Currently, our treasury stands at approximately $143,300 pesos. Last year our community project was almost $50,000 pesos. If we were to donate $60,000 pesos ($20,00 to Operation Feed and $40,00 to Lakeside Food Bank) we would have over $80,000 pesos remaining in the bank. We do need to bear in mind that we may not be able to have a Floral Show in 2020 but our expenses this year will be minimal so that we are still very sound financially.
Because this is a departure from our regular type of Community Project, we are sending this to all members for approval. Could you please respond yes or no to this e-mail as soon as possible? If we move forward, we would like to do so quickly as the need is immediate.
Thank you,
Sue Williams, President
Justine Bertram, Chair, Community Project