Day 63: Cheerios books, book donations, and fundraising events!

This past week was full of wonderful activity.  One of the most exciting things was a large donation of books from Half Price Books in Madison.  Most of these are children's books that are in English, but they will still work well for English language teaching down in Ecuador, as well as overall literacy initiatives.


Then, we also received a few books donated from a community member here in Madison that had been collecting bilingual Spanish/English children's books free in boxes of Cheerios.  Apparently there are free books available in boxes of Cheerios roughly through the end of April.  Check it out and please consider saving and donating the books to the Camarones Community Coalition!


This coming week is a fundraising event at Woodstock's Pizza in Davis, California. If you live in the Davis, CA area, please consider going out to eat for some Pizza on Tuesday, April 24, 6-9 p.m. at Woodstock's Pizza, 219 G St., Davis, CA 95616.  Print out this flyer and bring it with you when you order from the bar or the front counter and 20-25% of the purchases will go toward the fundraising for the community center in Ecuador!  How cool is that!!  Check out the history of Woodstock's Pizza, which is pretty amazing story.  Not only do they have gluten free crusts, they also pride themselves on being green and recycling whenever possible.  So, check them out, and help support a local restaurant, as well as the mission of the Camarones Community down in Ecuador!!


And, I am going to be giving a presentation at the Meadowood Neighborhood Center on Thursday, May 3rd about work here and in Ecuador.  So, if you live in the Madison, WI area, please consider joining me for a fun discussion.  Here are the details being sent out:


Building a Sister Neighborhood Center in Rural Ecuador

Thursday, May 3, 2012 at 6:30 p.m.

Meadowood Neighborhood Center, 5734 Raymond Road

Curious about the developing relationship between MNC and a rural coastal city in Ecuador?  Come learn about some of the initiatives former MNC staff member Emily Kalnicky has been working on with her small, Wisconsin-based non-profit, Camarones Community Coalition.  Emily will share some future goals and ideas, and ways you might be able to get involved with literacy initiatives, educational programming, cultural exchanges, potable water, or other projects linking the two communities.  Emily will present a brief presentation, followed by a question and answer/discussion with the audience.  She is curious to hear your ideas and answer your questions before she heads down again on May 8 to Ecuador for 4 months of on-the-ground strategic discussions leading to the construction of a sister community center to MNC. 

Thanks again for all the continued support, enthusiasm, and ideas.  Per usual, feel free to email me with any ideas, questions, or comments you have.  And, as always, please check out other ways you can help out!  

I will be heading back down to Ecuador on May 8th and am trying to coordinate a "pack for a purpose" small initiative to help transport as many of the donated books and supplies for Camarones.  Stay tuned for more details, or contact me to see how you can help!