Coat Drive 2010

Our Coat Drive was a Success!
We collected 102 coats, jackets, sweaters, hats, etc. for the homeless in the South Bay!

Many people cleaned out closets, put up flyers in their offices and brought items in to our November dinner.  One Warm Coat provided banners, stickers, guidelines and templates.  DIRECTV facilities provided large boxes and dollies.  Glad provided trash bags.

The items were distributed to Shared Bread and the Harbor Interfaith shelter.  We received a letter of thanks from Harbor Interfaith and a wonderful thank you card from Shared Bread saying "each coat was greeted with joy and gratitude".

Many homeless people will be a little bit warmer thanks this drive.  And it took so little effort!  Congratulations!

Shoe Box Packing Update

Our Shoe Boxes Made it to the Philippines!
We received word from Operation Christmas Child that our shoe boxes were delivered to the Philippines. Our 60 shoe boxes filled with  toys, games, playing cards, stuffed animals, school supplies, toiletries, t-shirts, flip-flops, baseball caps and candy and personal cards were distributed by OCC as gifts to children living in poverty and victims of recent flooding.

Thank you again to everyone who participated in our November Shoe Box Packing Party !

For photos, stories, and other information about Operation Christmas Child in the Philippines click here.

December 2010

Upcoming Events

• Counterpoint Dinner Party - Tuesday, January 18, 6:30 PM. 
• The theme is Dignity.  Discuss rights of indigeonous people and other human rights issues in the spirit of Martin Luther King Day. 
• Homeless Count - Wednesday, January 26, 6:30 PM dinner, 8:00 PM count. 
  • Pair up or go in small groups to volunteer and assist throughout the South Bay with the 2011 Homeless Count.  In order to make a difference in the lives of homeless men, women and children in the South Bay we need to know who and where they are. See the website of the South Bay Coalition for the Homeless for an application.  http://www.sbhomeless.org/ 

Things You Can Do

• Register your favorite charity with your grocery store card. 
• To register your Ralphs Club Card, click here: Ralphs Club Card
• To register your VONS Club card, go to the eScrip website
• To register your Albertsons Preferred Card, click here: Preferred Card
• Save canned food, toiletries or coupons for the needy.
• Send us your old coats, jackets, sweaters, gloves, hats.
• Let us know if you hear of any local art education programs.

December Dinner Topics

• Cold Weather, Warm Hearts: a heart-warming story from "No Way Home" with Dave Price on CBS Early Show http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7067082n 
• One Warm Coat provides banners, stickers, guidelines and templates to put on your own Coat Drive.  They will also send you a coupon for a free box of Glad trash bags.
• Shared Bread provides a foundation for change in our community including
• A warm home-cooked meal every Wednesday from 6 to 7pm.
• Warm clothing and other comforts as available.
• Hygiene item distribution as available.
• Professional counseling for employment and de-tox referrals on an ongoing basis.
• Food pantry for distribution on request
• Harbor Interfaith Services "to empower the homeless and working poor to achieve self-sufficiency by providing support services including shelter, transitional housing, food, job placement, advocacy, childcare, education and life-skills training."
• South Bay Coalition for the Homeless is network that addresses the needs of the homeless to ensure human dignity and compassion through advocacy, service and referrals.
• The number of homeless in the South Bay has doubled in recent years.
• Sandpipers is celebrating 78 years of philanthropic outreach to those most in need in our community. 
• Shoe Box Packing Update
• 60+ boxes were delivered from our November packing party
• DIRECTV donated $420 for shipping
• http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/

November 2010

Upcoming Events

• Counterpoint Dinner Party Tuesday, December 21, 6:30 PM. 
• Update on our shoeboxes - we'll track where they are being shipped.
• Update on Kiva loans.  Select the next borrower to support.
• Gift Ideas: Get your Christmas Shopping done while supporting good causes.
• Ideas for January activities in the spirit of Martin Luther King Day. 
• Coat Drive - Save your old coats, jackets, sweaters, gloves, hats.  We will distribute them to local shelters.  Details coming soon...  Plus a heart-warming story about sharing the gift of warmth.

Things You Can Do

• Search the internet using GoodSearch and help spread the word.  It's easy!
• Send us your old coats, jackets, sweaters, gloves, hats.
• Shop for gifts that help support others.
• Urge Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the City Council to remove the WTAC and the CMYAC from the list of facilities slated for privatization.
• Let us know if you hear of any local art education programs. 

November Dinner Party Topics
It's always amazing how much we can learn about in one evening:

• All the Arts for All the Kids - is an independent nonprofit organization for the city of Fullerton dedicated to developing, sustaining, and supporting the arts as an intrinsic part of every child’s education.  We would like to network with other local groups working to enhance art eductioan.  In a quick search on the internet we found Adventures in Art, a PTA sponsored art education program at our old alma mater Howard Wood Elementary in Torrance.  We hope we can find and support many more.

• CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty, improve basic education, prevent the spread of HIV, increase access to clean water and sanitation, expand economic opportunity, protect natural resources and deliver emergency aid.  CARE places special focus on women because, equipped with the proper resources, women have the power to help whole families and entire communities escape poverty.
  GoodSearch - GoodSearch donates to the charity of your choice everytime use search the internet using GoodSearch by using a patented way to track and direct a portion of advertiser dollars.  Powered by Yahoo and endorsed by ABC News.

• The Watts Towers - this cultural icon is slated for privatization and the center urges us to ask the Mayor to stop this action. 

• Charity Watchdogs - further research shows that there are no reliable watchdogs and we need to do our own checking.  Our goal now is to take the information we have gathered and put together a few simple steps to follow.
• Dignity - I brought in the signed copy of the Dignity book and shared the wonderful pictures by Dana Gluckstein.  We took copies of the form letter urging President Obama to endorse the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous People (UNDRIP) to sign and mail in and give copies to others.
• The Women's Conference - I shared my experience at the fabulous conference in Long Beach and all the wonderful people I met and organizations I learned about.
• MDA Lock Up - Cathy's son Sam participated in a fund raiser for Muscular Dystrophy in Portland.  We watched the really cute video about my jailbird nephew.  www.joinmda.org/2010neportland/argonaut405

Shoe Box Packing Party for OCC

The Shoe Box Packing Party for Operations Christmas Child was a huge success!

19 people contributed to this event with 14 people attending to help pack boxes.  We packed a total of 55 shoe boxes for girls and boys of all ages with items including toys, games, playing cards, stuffed animals, school supplies, toiletries, t-shirts, flip-flops, baseball caps and candy, along with personal cards with best wishes from us.  We also have stuff for about 6 or 7 more boxes.

So many of you brought items, made trips to the store, hauled loads back and forth, scrounged inventory, prepped and sorted, wrote notes, contributed money, helped wrap, pack and clean up.  I am truly grateful for all of your help.

Thanks to all of you, over 60 needy children living in poverty will receive a box with items that will put a smile on their face, clothes on their backs, shoes on their feet, and will also warm the hearts of their parents who long to give them more then they have.

AND we had fun doing it!
Congratulations on this accomplishment!

Dignity

I was extremely privaleged to be able to attend this event that celebrated the publishing of a new book Dignity by accomplished photography Dana Gluckstein in collaboration with Amnesty International honoring indigenous people throughout the world.  We heard moving stories and interviews and received an autographed copy of the book.
http://www.danagluckstein.com/

They ask us to urge our politicians to endorse the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous People (UNDRIP).

Shopping Trip to Ten Thousand Villages

Our shopping trip to Ten Thousand Villages in Pasadena was really wonderful.  We enjoyed browsing through all the  unique handmade gifts, jewelry, home decor, art and sculpture. textiles, serveware and personal accessories representing the diverse cultures of artisans in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.  I got all my Christmas shopping done!  And got a few very special items for myself including a singing bowl like the ones I admired when I was in Nepal that makes a really beautiful ringing sound, and a hand made bird house from Lao.
http://www.tenthousandvillages.com/

We also enjoyed a wonderful brunch at Lamills Coffee in Silver Lake.  It was a very unique coffee experience and we can't wait to go back.

http://www.lamillcoffee.com/

The Women's Conference

I was privileged to be able to attend Night at The Village at The Women's Conference in Long Beach in October.  I attended many great events and met wonderful people including

• First Lady Maria Shriver  spoke about her project called "A Woman’s Nation" which will take a new, empirical look at the status of American women, who, for the first time, will make up half of the nation's workforce. 
• Jane Fonda, Actor, Author, Fitness Advocate, Activist
• Giada De Laurentiis, Celebrity Chef, #1 New York Times Best-Selling Cookbook Author who spoke about how she broke from family tradition to follow her passion.
• Jessica Simpson, Singer, Actress, Entrepreneur spoke about her VH-1 docu-series,“Jessica Simpson’s: The Price of Beauty.”  Jessica traveled to Japan, Thailand, France, Brazil, Uganda, Morocco, and India then back home to Los Angeles to meet every day women and pop culture icons and reveal what is beautiful in the differing cultures.

I also learned about many new organizations including

• CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty, improve basic education, prevent the spread of HIV, increase access to clean water and sanitation, expand economic opportunity, protect natural resources and deliver emergency aid.  CARE places special focus on women because, equipped with the proper resources, women have the power to help whole families and entire communities escape poverty.
• Six Billion Paths to Peace represents the idea that it is possible to inspire new reverberations of peace if we each step up and investigate our daily actions and make a commitment to offer our unique contributions to the world.
• First 5 LA strengthening families and communities in L.A. count through public policy change.
• Ndebele Art Project celebrates the magnificent artisans of Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe and addresses the urgent need to fight AIDs and malaria.
• We Include employs Californians with developmental disabilities. 

October 2010

Upcoming Events

• Counterpoint Dinner Party Tuesday, November 16 6:30 PM.  See link for details Counterpoint Dinner Format .  Topics will include:
• Gift Ideas: Get your Christmas Shopping done while supporting good causes. 
• Womens Conference in Long Beach last month.
• Shopping trip to Ten Thousand Villages and dinner in Pasadena Saturday Nov 6.  Meet at Mona's at 2:00.  Get some Christmas shopping done, enjoy dinner with friends and support a good cause.
• Shoebox Packing Party for Operation Christmas Child Friday, November 12 at 12:30-2:00 PM in El Segundo.  Spend lucnh with friends while helping spread the joy to needy children throughout the world.

Things You Can Do

• Save your shoe boxes for us to use for Operation Christmas Child.
• Help pack and wrap at our shoe box packing party.
• Vote in November.  Pay close attention to local initiatives.
• Shop for gifts that help support others.

October Dinner Party Topics

• The Gift of Water: Drilling Wells, Saving Lives  Read a truly moving story of a Maryland businessman turning his work into a life-changing for himself and thousands of villagers in Ghana.

• Wesnet Health Solutions is dedicated creative uses of current technology to help bring medical care to those in need around the world.  Cell phones, digital media and the internet can help bring low cost health care in hard to reach places.
• A Day Made Better  See how OfficeMax is working to erase teacher-funded classrooms by $1,000 in supplies and find out how you can help.  If you know of any entertainers or celebraties who would like this publicity, please pass this on.
• Heifer International Study Tours  Travel to exotic parts of the world at very resonable prices while learning more about a good cause.

• Save the Children USA  Did you know 1 out of 5 children in the U.S. lives in poverty?  See what Save the Children is doing to protect, educate and care for children in our own backyard. 
• CalEarth’s Eco-Dome  See how houses and communities can be built out of nothing more than dirt, barbed wire, and bags that meet California building codes.
• The Ghetto Film School is a group of educators and students who share a love for storytelling and filmmaking.  Their mission is to educate, develop and celebrate the next generation of great American storytellers. 

September 2010

Upcoming

Events

• Counterpoint Dinner Party Tuesday, October 19 6:30 PM. 
  
  http://counterpointgroup.blogspot.com/2010/05/monthly-dinner-party-format.html  see link for details
• Saturday shopping trip to Ten Thousand Villages and dinner in Pasadena Saturday Nov 6.  Meet at Mona's at 2:00.
• Shoe box packing party for Operation Christmas Child (date TBD).  Must be delivered between Nov 16 and 26th.

Topics

• Sewnet will tell us about her current project with Wesnet Health Solutions aimed at proving healthcare to the needy in Ethiopia.
• Ideas about volunteering at your local animal shelter and stories from those who have done it (it doesn't have to be that bad!)
• I had a great time at the Power of Women event!  It was so inspiring to be in a room full of so much hope and passion.  I learned many things about different organizations and can't wait to share them with you.

Things You Can Do

• Save your shoe boxes for us to use for Operation Christmas Child.
• Join us at our shoe box packing party (to be scheduled) 
• Vote in November.  Pay close attention to local initiatives.
• Join us for a shopping day at Ten Thousand Villages (to be scheduled).  Get some Christmas shopping done, enjoy dinner with friends and support a good cause.  http://www.tenthousandvillages.com/

September Dinner Party Topics

• South Bay Parkland Conservancy is dedicated to the restoration, preservation and public use of coastal land resources in the South Bay region.  The current focus is the restoration of open space on the AES power plant property located on the Redondo Beach King Harbor waterfront, and possibly some adjacent parcels.  http://www.southbayparks.org/  Dave has been an active member since its inception in 2004.  Thank you for sharing this with us, Dave.
• Wesnet Health Solutions is a new organization dedicated to bringing medical care to those in need around the world.  The current focus is Ethiopia.  They do not have a website yet.  More to come soon.  Sewnet is the founder and is very passionate about healthcare.  Thank you for sharing this with us, Sewnet.
• Power of Women is an event presented by the Lifetime channel and Variety magazine to honor the impact that various women have made by their charitible work.  Sandi will to attend this star-studded and very inspiring event at the Crystal Ballroom in the Beverly Hills Hotel.  Get the scoop at the October Dinner.  http://www2.variety.com/Power-of-Women/pow.html?query=power+of+women  Thank you for sharing this with us, Sandi.
• Operation Christmas Child brings joy and hope to children in desperate situations worldwide through simple, gift-filled shoe boxes and evagelistic materials that tell the good news of God's love.  It is an effort of Samaritan's Purse, a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world. http://www.samaritanspurse.org/  Mona has been packing shoe boxes with her family for many years.  Thank you for sharing this with us, Mona.
• Charity Watchdogs - according to various articles in the Wall Street Journal, charity watchdogs provide little value and usually fall short in measuring how well they succeed in their mission.  Rating charitible organizations is complex and results can be misleading.  Thank you for sharing this with us, Michelle.

Updates

• George's long-time friend Steve Fowler passed away on August 18th after a long battle with ALS.  Check out the beautiful music he made in his short life on CDs such as Drifting on Intricate Currents (2000) and The Last Blue Sky (1999) available on Amazon.com or donate to his ALS foundation on http://www.als.net/.

Things You Can Do

• Browse the Kiva website for opportunities to make micro loans with as little as $25.  www.kiva.org
• Let us know if you find any charity watchdogs that will help us make informed decisions when we donate.
• If you receive a telemarketing call asking for a donation to a police or fire fund, ask them to take you off their list.  These calls are outsourced to a vendor who takes a significant cut of the donation.  If you would like to donate a police or fire fund, contact the police or fire department directly.

August Dinner Party Topics 2010

• Big Brothers Big Sisters helps children realize their potential and build their futures, and nurture children and strengthen communities. Michelle shared her experience as a Big Sister.  Over the past 14 years she has shared her live with 3 little sisters.  http://www.bbbs.org/  Thank you for sharing this with us, Michelle.
• Solving Haiti’s Housing Problems with Old Tires, Bottles was an article in the Wall Street Journal about an Architect Michael Reynolds who is working with local Haitians in Port-au-Prince to construct housing out of used tires and bottles salvaged from the area. http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2010/07/20/solving-haitis-housing-problem-with-old-tires-bottles  It was very inspiring to see the resiliance of these people and how much of a difference can be made with little creativity and resourcefulness.  Thank you for sharing this with us, Michelle.
• Catalina Island Conservancy protects, helps promote Understanding, renews the land and makes possible its use for personal renewal, and provides an infrastructure for exploration in Catalina’s wild nature. http://www.catalinaconservancy.org/  Having grown up on the island, Valerie shared her perspective and mixed feelings about the conservancy and the work they've done over the years with mixed results.  She also had interesting insights on lessons learned in the early years of wildlife and forest management at Yellowstone.  Thank you for sharing this with us, Valerie.
• ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI) works to develop effective therapeutics that stop ALS as soon as possible.  http://www.als.net/  ALS (aka "Lou Gehrig's Disease"), a disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord and impairs voluntary muscle action.  Impairment is progressive and the patient may become totally paralyzed.  George talked about a friend of ours, Steve Fowler who was diagnosed with it 13 years ago, lost all ability to move and communicate a few years ago, and passed away on 8/19/10.  Steve started his own foundation several years ago to raise funds for research in the treatment and cure of ALS and has raised over $106,000.  Thank you for sharing this with us, George.
• Kiva works to connect people, through lending, for the sake of alleviating poverty.  Kiva empowers individuals to lend to an entrepreneur across the globe. By combining microfinance with the internet, Kiva is creating a global community of people connected through lending.  http://www.kiva.org/  We discussed ideas for loans including a women in Peru who prepares potatoes for distribution and a taxi driver in Peru who needs money to repair his van to stay in business.  Thank you for sharing this with us, Sandi.
• Charity Watchdogs rate charities based on financial performance, tax-deductibility status and how efficiently it is spending your dollars.  The most reputable (American Institute of Philanthropy) cost money to join.  We will do further research and bring updates to next month’s dinner.  Thank you for sharing this with us, Kathy.

Updates

• Robin’s son Ben completed his Eagle Scout service project is to build a small library for a battered women and children’s shelter.  In addition to contributions from many friends, Cathy worked with a new bookstore called Pages in Manhattan Beach (www.pagesabookstore.com) where she performed a reading of her book.  Pages put out a basket asking patrons to donate old books and also generously contributed many from the store.  Ben’s library consisted of 4 sets of bookshelves and over 500 books.
• Sandi's $25 Kiva loan to a Nigerian farmer is now 25% paid off. www.kiva.org/lend/186625

Things You Can Do

• Sign-up for the free Yosemite Conservancy e-newsletter.  Receive special invitations to exclusive in-park events, retail discounts, while making a difference.
• Purchase a Yosemite License Plate www.dmv.ca.gov/online/elp/elp.htm
• Watch the video at www.fallingwhistles.com or purchase a whistle from Falling Whistles and help spread the word.
• Browse the Iona Community bookstore http://www.ionabooks.com/

July Dinner Party Topics 2010

• Yosemite Conservancy is achieving great things in Yosemite National Park and having positive impact in areas like trail repair and wildlife preservation. http://www.yosemiteconservancy.org/ Mona is a passionate appreciator of the park and has been taking her family there for many years.
• Falling Whistles is a campaign to make their weapon your voice and be a whistleblower for peace in Congo and to rehabilitate and advocate for war-affected children. http://www.fallingwhistles.com/  Theirs is a very moving story.
• The Iona Community is a dispersed Christian ecumenical community working for peace and social justice, rebuilding of community and the renewal of worship. www.iona.org.uk Valerie and Sandi recently visited this most amazing and beautiful island in Scotland and shared our photos.  Visit Sandi's photo gallery at http://indyjo.smugmug.com/Travel/Isle-of-Iona-Scotland/12874892_NhsNg#929450712_Ur5tv

Updates

• Robin's friends completed the Relay for Life and met their goal of raising money for cancer.  Robin was there to cheer them on Saturday morning.
• Robin’s son Ben is a candidate for Eagle Scout.  His service project is to build a small library for a battered women and children’s shelter in East LA called the House of Ruth.  If anyone can donate new or gently used children’s books for age 0-10 in English or Spanish, please let me know and I will come pick them up from you.

Things You Can Do

• Save your gently used books for Ben's project with the House of Ruth.
• Spread the word about Falling Whistles http://www.fallingwhistles.com/
• Buy gifts from Save the Children  www.savethechildren.org/gifts or Bead for Life http://www.beadforlife.org/

June Dinner Party 2010

On Wednesday 6/23, Valerie, Kathy, Mona and myself had a great evening at Mona’s house filled with good food, good conversation and good company.  We finalized the format going forward for the group.    

• Falling Whistles is having a fund-raising event on Friday 6/25 to raise money for their campaign for peace in the Congo that advocates for war-affected children. www.fallingwhistles.com  The event will be held in Santa Monica and featured a DJ and refreshments. Thank you for sharing this with us, Mona. 
• Save the Children’s extensive gift catalog where you can purchase “virtual” gifts on behalf of friends and family that provided real medicine, nutrition, animals and other materials for needy families all over the world.  A token of the “virtual” gifts is then to your receiver.  These make wonderful Christmas gifts, especially for those who “have everything”.  http://www.savethechildren.org/gifts/?WT.mc_id=1109_hp_gifts_index  Thank you for sharing this with us, Sandi.
• Beads for Life eradicates extreme poverty by creating bridges of understanding between impoverished Africans and concerned world citizens. Ugandan women turn colorful recycled paper into beautiful beads, and people who care open their hearts, homes and communities to buy and sell the beads.  Valerie saw some of these pieces of jewelry on her vacation and was very impressed with how beautiful they were.  www.beadforlife.org  Thank you for sharing this with us, Valerie.
• Natural Resources Defense Council is “the nation's most effective environmental action group”.  www.nrdc.org  Thank you for sharing this with us, Kathy. 
• Vital Voices Global Partnership is “the preeminent non-governmental organization (NGO) that identifies, trains, and empowers emerging women leaders and social entrepreneurs around the globe, enabling them to create a better world for us all”.  www.vitalvoices.org Thank you for sharing this with us, Kathy. 

Monthly Dinner Party Format

There will be a Counterpoint Dinner Party every 3rd Tuesday of the month at 6:30 PM.

• They will be held at Mona's house (contact Sandi or Mona for information).
• We will start discussions at 6:30 and eat dinner at 7:00pm.
• Chicken, rice (or potato), salad and wine will be provided.  Guests are welcome to bring a dish to pass (optional).
• Guests are welcome to share ideas about a charity or service organization.  It may be something you have been involved in in the past, or something you are interested in knowing more about.  No need to prepare anything formal.  If have material such as photos, flyers, T-shirts, gift items, DVDs or CDs, you are welcome to bring them to show.  If not, simply print out the home page of the website, or just talk about it from what you know.  A laptop will be available if you would like to show us something on the web.
• An RSVP helps us make sure there is enough food for everyone but it is not required.
• Feel free to bring a friend if you have someone you think would be interested.

In addition to the monthly Dinners, people will share about other events and activities that you may want to participate in (but you will not be required to). 
We will not collect dues.

May Dinner Party 2010
Our kick-off dinner was held on 5/19/10.  We enjoyed good food, good company and good conversation about all kinds of wonderful organizations such as

• Kiva http://www.kiva.org/
• Heifer International http://www.heifer.org/
• Save the Children http://www.savethechildren.org/
• Ten Thousand Villages http://www.tenthousandvillages.com/
• National Wildlife Federation www.nwf.org
• Peace Corps www.peacecorps.gov
• American Red Cross www.redcrossla.org