Christmas 2008
Dear Friends,
Tom Paine said about the beginnings of the American Revolution, "These are the times that try men's souls." And like him we could say the same about the beginnings of CARE 66. I am writing to you to celebrate our achievements of this past year and to look forward to some of the challenges we will face in the coming years.
All is not doom and gloom. This year we have helped 293 people. Our clients have worked 12521 paid hours in this community. Thirty one veterans have lived with us in transitional housing. And ten formerly homeless families live in Chuska Apartments.
These times are trying for us because resources are scarce and perceptions of economic conditions and wellbeing are suffering overall. These are times for bold measures to create opportunities and to lay the foundation for success. What tries our souls is the need to meet the challenges of today while preparing for a future in which we thrive together.
The challenges of today are meeting our obligations, housing people, getting jobs and providing or connecting our people with the services they need. Our primary costs are for services. Included in the challenges for today is the need to make our salsa factory profitable.
Our challenges for the future including planning and raising money for our next housing development - which will focus on providing transitional housing to veterans - purchasing and rehabbing the Lexington Hotel, and working towards developing our next low income housing project so that we can help people have homes.
I want to celebrate with you a few of the people who make this possible. People without whom we would not be able to achieve the impossible! You might know some of these people, and if you happen to meet them, please thank them for their dedication, commitment, persistence and wisdom.
Miranda Yazzie manages our housing programs. She ensures that CARE 66 provides the necessary support services our client's need, schedules staff, fills in when no one is available, compiles reports for our many funding sources and maintains our client's services data.
Dorson Mahooty is responsible for the development of our housing projects. And even though he is an engineer by training, he is the person we seek counsel from when we have questions about how to comply with the myriad rules and regulations that different funding sources require of us. He is working on plans for both the Lexington and our veteran's transitional housing development.
Tim Kelley has been with us from the first day we opened Frances 1 Opportunity Center. Tim is the Chief Operating Officer, which means that he does and oversees everything that is service related. Tim makes things happen. And he achieves the impossible on a daily basis. Miracles take him a couple of extra days. Tim is a key factor in our client's success.
Mickey Chapman is our volunteer extraordinaire. She was Volunteer of the Year in 2007. Despite her training as a nurse she functions as our Chief Financial officer, bookkeeper, and yard sale expert. Mickey puts in many many hours to make sure that our books are in order. Sadly, Mickey will be leaving us early next year to work in another impoverished part of the country.
Buck Largo oversees our job placement and Handy Man Services. He put our clients to work after finding jobs for them. He put our clients to work during the Indian Ceremonial in Gallup and is very good at finding work for our clients.
Geri Moore: is our Volunteer Coordinator who was responsible for the series of stories in the Independent last month (you can find these stories online at our blog http://care66.blogspot.com/). She is extremely energetic and good at bringing volunteer opportunities to your attention. If you want to volunteer please do give her call. She will find something for you to do.
There is not enough space for me to describe the other wonderful people who make our work possible. The following is a list of people who work at CARE 66: Casey Arviso, Melissa Ashley, Ritanna Benally, Charlotte Billy, Myrrh Bright, Mickey Chapman, Ben Frederiksen, Tim Kelley, Pete Kelly, James 'Buck' Largo, Louise Livingstone, Dorson Mahooty, Arnold Mitchell, Geri Moore, Roxanne Muskett, Surphina Oyebi, Caroline Shay, and Miranda Yazzie. We are also blessed with regular volunteers from First United Methodist who faithfully come in two days a week to staff an office.
Central to our success is the support we receive from you. Your donation of time, money and goodwill keep us going. Our Board of Directors volunteers countless hours setting direction, asking for money, and overseeing our work. We are truly blessed. You are our lifeblood and give us the hope we need to succeed.
We have been blessed with a good relationship with our Mayor and the City Council, the City Attorney Dave Pederson, the County Commission - particularly Dave Dallago and County Manager Tom Trujillo. We have also been blessed by dedicated support in form of volunteers, money and prayers from our local churches including First United Methodist Church, Sacred Heart Cathedral, Bethany Christian Reformed Church, Rehoboth Christian Reformed Church and Joshua Generation for Jesus among others.
On March 7, 2009, we will hold our annual Gala Event at Red Rock State Park. Please plan to attend. This is an opportunity for you to come and celebrate our successes. Winston Churchill once said that, "success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." And so despite these trying times we continue to move forward with enthusiasm despite the failures and challenges that come our way.
As we end this year and begin a new year I encourage you to give us what you can. No donation is too small to help. We have a monthly giving program you can sign up for. Your support enables us to provide services, create jobs and bring housing to this community. Your support is invaluable to us.
We thank you again for everything that you have done to support encourage and keep us going. We are truly grateful. Together with you we look forward to a new year full of challenge, hope, and success.
Sincerely,
Sanjay Choudhrie
Board of Directors: Carol Bremer-Bennett, Richard 'Dickie' Chavez, Sr. Rose Marie Cecchini, Joseph Esparza, Lawrence John, Patrick Keptner, Don Peterson, Jane Ann Polich, Lanalle Smith, Peter Tempest and Randy Whitsitt.
Foundations & Funding: This year CARE 66 has received grants from the William Knox Holt Foundation, the South West Indian Foundation, the McCune Foundation, and the Daniels Fund. We have also received grants from the NM Mortgage Finance Authority, the Navajo Housing Authority, US Department of Housing and Urban Development, the New Mexico Legislature and the Veterans Administration.
And we are grateful for every single cent you have given us. We have been blessed by your generosity. Thank you!
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