We brainstormed what events would be best one to enlist the help of a couple of Sac State Event Planning students. The event would take place next spring, at the end of the students' spring semester. Frank Losco, former communications expert with the state, contributed good insights to the discussion. John Brewer sent a followup email to the Sac State instructor, Beth Erickson, indicating our interest, and asking for next steps. Ideas included:
· Hiking event – This is much like a fun run,
where participants get sponsorships for completing some or a whole hike.
·
Walk/Run event on the American River Parkway –
Possibly join an existing walk/run event and create a group of the participants
dedicated to donating to Heifer.
·
Beggars Banquet – This would be similar to our
Food Table activity, which helps people experience the disparities that exist
worldwide between the fed and the hungry.
·
Pig Roast – This can be an element combined with
any one of the three event ideas above.
·
Yogathon – This event would offer different
styles of yoga instruction every hour for a set duration. Participants would get
sponsorships to complete a set number of hours of yoga.
·
Evening of Drumming – Musically talented friends
of Heifer would offer an evening of drumming with proceeds going to Heifer. A
local coffeehouse has offered free space in exchange for purchased of food and
drink for Heifer events.
RECENT EVENTS
We attended 22 charitable campaign events including the
kickoffs for Sac County Employess and Calif State Employees Charitable Campaign
and the federal workers’ Combined Federal Campaign. Some were tiny; some were
huge. We will look forward hopefully to tracking results. The gracious folks at Calif Department of
Managed Health Care sent a contribution check through the mail to Jill
Kilty-Newburn.
John Brewer and Linda Eisenmann presented at a Kiwanis
meeting and remarked on the alignment in goals between Kiwanis and Heifer.
Judy Grimshaw, Suzanne Awalt, and Pat Sayer-Handley did the
complete worship service and Sunday School at Fair Oaks United Methodist
Church, an enthusiastic and warm group of folks.JoAnn Peter and Sue Bennett assisted with the annual Alternative Gift Fair at Carmichael Presbyterian Church; reported $1200 in contributions plus $200 additional via sales of Nifty Knitter items.
DAVIS FARMERS MARKET,
TABLING AT
Susan Rumberg presented a complete wrap-up of the results of
tabling at the Davis Farmers Market seven times between February and October of
this year. The stated goal of this trial was to generate speaker requests for
our group. After expending a total of 95 hours of volunteer time for the seven
months, the tabling generated one request that was carried to fruition. The
Davis Farmer’s Market is one of few markets in the region that permit tabling
and allow organizations to staff their own tables. Susan found that the
majority of visitors who stopped at the table were already familiar with Heifer.
Considering the investment of time and energy, Susan recommended, and the group
agreed, that we do not continue tabling at the Davis Farmer’s Market in 2013.
FUTURE EVENTS
Alternative Gift Fairs are on the horizon for November at
Davis Community Church (Sue Bennett) and Spiritual Life Center (Judy and Pat).
Pat Sayer-Handley needs a couple of helpers for a booth and
sale of materials at an Alternative Gift Fair on December 2 at Sac City College
Cafe at 11 am to 1 PM. The theme: Learn about gifts that don't hurt the
environment. We will be there with Heifer Information and Nifty Knitters.
CERAMIC
BOXES: NIFTY GIFTS
With the holiday market season well underway, Teresa Fung
shares information about some ceramic boxes donated by a local artist for use
to generate donations to Heifer.
A local artist, Jeff Drullard, donated ceramic boxes
he made for use to generate donations for Heifer. The 25 ceramic boxes are all
about the same size, but all look different. They are simply made and earthy
looking, artful, and clever. Sue Bennette and Jo Ann Peter took some to an
alternative market and came up with some ideas of what they might be used for
(fireplace matches, nick nacks). They sold one for $10, which is our suggested
starting price. Please feel free to share other potential uses for the boxes.
The inside dimensions are about the size of a recipe box.
I still have a total of 18 boxes available (Jo Ann/Sue
have 4). If you are planning to attend a holiday craft fair or any other
opportunity to generate some funds for Heifer and can use the boxes, please
contact me. Thanks!!
DONOR LISTS AND LIST
OF 40 DONOR CHURCHES
Instead than sending just a thank you note to these
sustained donor churches, the group decided to order and send the World
booklet, a new Heifer publication as a thank you, along with a thank-you
certificate. This will to be done in January. John Brewer will draft a letter.
STUDY TOURS
Suzanne Awalt reported on the progress in bringing a Heifer
Study Tour into reality for our volunteers in the West. Jill Kilty-Newburn, Heifer's Area Engagement
Manager based at Hidden Villa in Los Altos Hills, CA, has been advocating for
us with Heifer's headquarters staff. We
have good news to report. Here is the
recent email from Jill.
We propose a trip to Ecuador in late August/early
September of 2013. (I am pushing for August, as I assume this makes it easier
for some folks to travel. Let me know if this is not so true with our
interested folks. This is also the end of the dry season, so getting there
before the heavy rainy season would be good.) This would be for a group of 9
people, and I would be the trip leader. Deposits to reserve a space will not be
required until after the first of the year; information on itinerary, costs,
travel arrangements etc. would all need to come first, of course. I wish I
could make a statement about costs, but I just don't have that much information
yet. As I took a quick look at flights, on Expedia, costs for flights from
Sacramento through Miami were just over $1,000.
So, you see, we are moving forward. Hopefully, there is some flexibility on the
size of the group, but it will be small in number. We do not know an exact maximum yet.
TEAM HEIFER
One of us wondered whether we can credit Christmas gift
donations to our Team Heifer account. This looks promising, if the
recently-promised upgrades work out.
Meanwhile, The Team Heifer section of heifer.org reads as
follows:
New Team Heifer is coming soon!
We have listened to your requests for better
functionality, and are excited to announce that in mid-November, we will debut
a new, improved Team Heifer experience.
In the meantime, the ability to start or join teams,
or make donations has been paused. Your continued patience is appreciated as we
complete the new Team Heifer. We think it will be worth the wait!
NEW VOLUNTEERS
Suzanne Awalt met with longtime Heifer volunteer Emily
Shiflett, who is now a student at UC Davis and is enthusiastically looking for
ways to bring knowledge of and support for Heifer to her fellow students.
Suzanne assured her of the group’s support as she decides what tack to take.
MATERIALS
According to Susan Sundell, the 2011 Annual Report is not available
yet. She will call headquarters later
this month to see if it is completed.
According to Jill, Holiday Issue of the World Ark is now
available. There are great articles on Bangladesh and Malawi. And of course,
the Holiday Gift catalogue is in the middle. This is a great issue to share with
friends, family, your doctor’s office, local library and more.
IN THE NEWS
World Food
Day 2012 (October 16) – It’s theme: Ag cooperatives leading the way to feed the
world.
A recent article talks about International Women’s Coffee Alliance,
NEXT MEETING
Monday,
January 7, 2013
No meeting
in December
0 Response to "November Meeting Notes"