Day 66: Pizza Fundraiser in Davis, California

If you happen to be out in the Davis, California area, check out the fundraiser happening today, April 24, between 6 and 9 p.m. at Woodstock's Pizza in Davis, California, 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, in case you are curious, I added a new Frequently Asked Questions page, so please check it out!  Let me know if I missed anything, or if you have other questions or comments, by posting below, or emailing me- thanks!

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!

Day 54: New fundraising event: Bowling on May 4!!

Thanks to the awesome work of one of my friends (who is a graduate student out at Berkeley), we have another fundraising event coming up in May.

Check it out:


Bay Area Bowling Night!
Friday, May 4, 2012,  8 - 10 pm
AMF Southshore Lanes
300 Park St., Alameda, CA 94502

Suggested donation: $20/students $25/non-students
Includes 2 hours of bowling, shoe rental, and popcorn!

Check out the Razoo fundraising page she put together for more information!

This looks to be a really fun event!!

Thanks for all of the continued enthusiasm, interest, and ideas!  If you are interested in helping set up a fundraising event, or even just your own fundraising page to help in these efforts, check out the Camarones page on Razoo.com or go here to see how to start your own fundraiser for CCC and see how simple it is to put together your own page.  Or, please feel free to leave a post below, or email me, thanks!!

Day 48: Check out new fundraising tool!

Check out a new way to make donations, and please consider helping out by donating or even constructing your own fundraising page linked to the Camarones Community Coalition (it's free, quick, and a super easy way to help out in fundraising efforts!)

Donate online to Construction of a Community Center at Razoo

Here's the QR code that can also be scanned on a smartphone and linked to this fundraiser, how cool!

Update from Madison, WI community center discussion on 4-2-12:

There were about 30 people in attendance and there was a wealth of ideas on things people want/need from a neighborhood center.  A few of the main points in response to the question "What are 3 things that you and your family need/want from a neighborhood center?":

• Free meeting space
• Quality after school programming
• Close to the populations being served
• Help with housing/employment and other training services
• Safe place
• Access to food
• Open on weekends, evenings, vacation periods
• Self-governed
• Open access/ more activities for all ages
• Cooking/kitchen space
• Conflict resolution training
• Parenting support/child care
• Cross-cultural events
• Access to community garden 
• Green space / open area for youth and adults to use
• Source of information on various services and programming for all ages

Overall, this meeting re-energized me about all of the similar discussions that will be continued down in Ecuador for construction of the community center and planning for future programming in the area.  The idea of "self-governance" that came up at this meeting really hit home, as I think that is one of the things that can really make or break the success of these initiatives, and one of the things I think is so important.  I am happy I was able to go to this meeting to see how many of the ideas were the same to the ones at the other meeting I attended on the west-side of Madison, but also how there were minor differences unique to the community needs on the south-west side of Madison.  Again, hitting home the importance of talking to and actually working with the population being served.

As always, feel free to comment below, or email me with questions, comments, or ideas!

Day 44: $4825 and Community Center Discussion TONIGHT

Some exciting news!  Thanks to a generous donation received in the mail today, and the money raised from the Applebee's Fundraiser ($125 total!), we are now very close to having raised $5000 total for the construction of the community center in Ecuador.  Please consider attending the Woodstock's Pizza Fundraiser (in Davis, CA), happening April 24, or check out how else to help! 


And, if you live near the Southwest side of Madison, please consider attending the additional Community Conversation on Neighborhood Centers happening TONIGHT:

Monday, April 2, 2012, 6:30-7:30pm at the Wisconsin Youth Company, 1201 Mckenna Blvd (across from Elver Park).  

This meeting is to discuss 3 questions (Same as what I posted after the meeting on March 22 at the Alicia Ashman Library):   

What three things you or your family need from a neighborhood center?  What difference does a neighborhood center make in a neighborhood?  Does it matter where a center is located?

I'm thinking of attending again to see the ideas that are generated from this side of town, since this is where the Meadowood Neighborhood Center is located.  Maybe I'll see you there?


Questions, thoughts, comments?  Please comment below or email me.