We couldn't have done it without you! Thank You!

Click on the picture below to read our year end thank you letter.

We are closing down the salsa factory

At our November Board meeting we voted to close down the salsa factory because we are losing money on the project. We were unable to compete with commercial producers, partly, we think because our process is more labor intensive.

We will continue to explore possibilities for job creation and revenue generation but will exercise far more restraint when we consider entering markets that do not fit directly with our mission of developing affordable housing.

News for December 2009

It’s December and we are thankful for resources that enable us to operate and push forward with our plans. We are grateful for the Gallup Journey that faithfully publishes this column every month. Thank you Nate and Heather.

Particularly, we are grateful for:
• Volunteers who faithfully come in and help us.
• For the support of churches like Holy Spirit Episcopal, Sacred Heart Cathedral, Bethany Christian Reformed, Rehoboth Christian Reformed, First United Methodist among others.
• The support we receive from the Board of Commissioners of McKinley County – Dave Dallago, Ernest Becenti, and Billy Moore and the staff particularly Tom Trujillo and Doug Decker.
• The City of Gallup, particularly Mayor Mendoza and Council Members Mike Enfield, Bryan Wall, Jay Azua, Allan Landavazo and city staff particularly, Gerry Herrera, Dave Pederson and Pete Kelly.
• For individuals (you) who give to us from the little that they have and earn.
• For the foundations that support us such as the Daniels Fund and many foundations who receive our grant requests.
• For our clients who strive to succeed despite the many challenges they face finding work and homes to put their lives together.
• For a Board of Directors who diligently give their time and money to help us succeed. And. They will be calling you to ask for a year end gift to support our work.

Thank you!

If you happen to meet them please thank them for their support for the work of CARE 66.

Drawings for the Liberty Hotel project which will provide transitional housing to homeless veterans and renovation plans for the Lexington have been completed. We will be submitting grant applications for gain the remaining funds we need to begin construction.

Until next month stay well and do good!

News for November 2009

November is here. This is the month we celebrate Thanksgiving. We are grateful that people help each other in times of trouble. CARE 66 is grateful for your generous and kind support over the years. We could not have done it without your help. With your help we have helped over a 1000 people in the last few years. Many of them have got jobs, found a home and become productive citizens.

We have developed housing for thirty families. And we are planning and designing our next projects. These include a rehab of the Lexington Hotel, a rehab of Carl’s TV and the development of another low-income housing project. To do these we will need your help.

This month our Board will be calling those of you who have given us money in the past as part of year end campaign. We want you to know that every little bit helps. If you would like to support our work and have not been able to in the past, you can do so by sending us a check or using our website (www.care66.org) to make a donation through PayPal.

Meanwhile our work continues of finding resources and leveraging them to increase their impact. This year we have not been as successful in the past with grant applications in national competitions. Hopefully, next year will be a better year for us. Thank you again for everything you do to help us.


Until next month stay well and do good!

News for October 2009

Well the good news is that end of the year is in sight. The recession has bottomed out, meaning that we soon be able to look back on this time with lessons learned.

At CARE 66 we have learned that non profits suffer early in a recession with declining donations because the people who support our work are most affected by the current recession.

In the next few weeks we hope to be able to announce that we completed negotiations with architects for the re-development of Carl’s TV and the development of the adjacent vacant lot.

We are also awaiting news of whether or not we will have a bulk purchaser of our Mother Road salsa. I was hoping to announce that we have found a funder to assist with the redevelopment of the Lexington Hotel, however, that news will have to wait until next month.

Out of the 46 people who have been through our transitional housing program 19 have moved into permanent housing. This year we have received 774 dinners for our clients from you. Thank you.

Until next month stay well and do good!

News for September 2009

This year’s Indian Ceremonial was again a big success for Gallup. CARE 66 assisted with setting up tents, the exhibition hall, the pow-wow area, painting the performers rooms and taking it all down at the end. More than 25 people worked hard every day. Buck Largo, headed up our efforts to provide labor. Buck helps people get jobs, gets them resume’s and helps them fill in job applications. Buck also oversees any work that our Handy Man services provide to the community. If you need any work done please give Buck a call.

Next month we hope to announce a new program that will provide rent and utility assistance to people facing eviction and to families who find themselves homeless. This program coordinated by the Gallup Housing Authority is the shape of homeless assistance programs to come.

This week we met with Albertson’s to see if they would distribute our Mother Road salsa in the region. Please continue to buy our salsa off the shelves Albertson’s.

I thank each and every one of you for providing us with the support and encouragement we need to do the work getting people into homes and providing the services necessary for people get into homes and keeping them there.

Until next month stay well and do good!

August 2009

Mother Road Salsa is available in Albertsons, La Montanita Coop, and at the Makeshift Gallery downtown. This salsa made by our clients under the supervision of a former client who is certified by USDA. Please be sure to buy our salsa from these places.

I am sure that you have heard about the economy. It’s bad. Individual donations are down about 25% compared to last year. This is a huge loss of revenue for us.

Meanwhile, despite the doom and gloom of the economy, we are persisting with our efforts to develop Carl’s TV and the adjoining lot and seeking funds to rehab the Lexington Hotel. We hope to be well positioned to take advantage of any opportunities that should arise in the future.

The latest report about homelessness is out. According to this report there are 3015 homeless people on any given night in New Mexico. Of this number 58% are in rural areas like Gallup.

Several non profits came together under the leadership of Danny Garcia, Executive Director of Gallup Housing Authority, to apply for a grant to provide assistance to people facing homelessness because of eviction. The collaborative, which includes non profits from both McKinley and Cibola County, was given an award. The grant will pay for financial literacy, case management, rental and utility assistance. Stay tuned for further details.

Until next month stay well and do good!

The column above appears in the Gallup Journey (http://www.gallupjourney.com/)every month.

July 2009

I stand corrected. My statement last month about stimulus monies was wrong because I spoke to soon. Apparently some is coming to Gallup. We will find out what it is when it arrive.

We have begun putting together grant proposals so that we can renovate the Lexington. Tim Kelley is leaving us, which will be a great loss to us. Please thank him for his many years of service to CARE 66. He was one of the first people to join the staff of CARE 66. We wish him well on his future journey and hope that our paths cross again.

Work is progressing on Carl’s TV. We are still waiting to see how we finance it. We have been denied grants by at least three foundations in the last month, all of whom have laid off staff and closed offices.

We are waiting to hear about whether or not Albertsons will carry our salsa in the region. They carry it in the store at Gallup. Please look for Mother Road Salsa over there and buy it.

Until next month stay well and do good!

The column above appears in the Gallup Journey (http://www.gallupjourney.com/)every month.

June 2009

I have spent the last six months looking for Stimulus monies, American Reinvestment monies and seem to come up with nothing. I can’t find any stimulus. And so as usual we are left to our own devices – to sink or swim. As we always have been, it seems.

CARE 66 is in the process of negotiating with architects to breathe life into the former Liberty Hotel aka Carl’s TV. A second phase of this project will be to build affordable housing on the empty lot just west of it. We are waiting to find out if the Veterans Administration will be willing to fund a portion of this project.

This is going to be a big project. And its our first big project. The beginning of many more, hopefully. Like all beginnings it comes after having been working on housing and related issues for the last four years.

This week we received a grant to help with the renovation of the Lexington from BNSF. It came at just the right time. We will be able to put in new kitchen appliances upstairs and fix some leaking plumbing. Thank you Burlington Northern Santa Fe!

The number of people needing affordable, decent and safe homes continues to grow regardless of the mortgage crisis. Did you know that more people work in Gallup than live here. In other cities the number of people working is generally closer to half the population of the city.

Until next month stay well and do good!

The column above appears in the Gallup Journey (http://www.gallupjourney.com/)every month.

CARE 66 Salsa in Albertsons

As of March 31, 2009, Albertsons in Gallup will be carrying our Mother Road Salsa. Please make sure to go and buy it there.

Mother Road Salsa is also available from the Makeshift Gallery and La Montanita Coop on Coal Street in downtown Gallup.

CARE 66 Purchases the Liberty Hotel

Safe haven for vets
Old Carl’s TV building in downtown Gallup sold to CARE 66

Tim Kelly of Care 66 locks the front door to the old Carl's TV building on Monday. Care 66 recently purchased the building and is planning to turn it into a veterans transitional housing facility. — © 2009 Gallup Independent / Brian Leddy

Copyright © 2009
Gallup Independent
By Gaye Brown de Alvarez
Staff writer

GALLUP — It is a classic building, built by a Gallup builder around 1928, using Gallup bricks.

But like many old buildings, it has seen better days. It was originally constructed as the Liberty Hotel, then it was Carl’s TV.

Now it has been purchased by CARE 66, to be used for homeless veterans’ transitional housing.

“We bought it for less than the appraised value,” CARE 66 Executive Director Sanjay Choudhrie said in an interview Monday, and he explained the money came from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The renovation money will mostly come from the Department of Veteran’s Affairs, he said, and imagines the renovation costs to be somewhere between $2 million and $2.5 million to house about 15 vets.

The decaying structure will be fully rehabilitated for the purpose of providing supportive housing to area homeless veterans, male or female.

“That’s awesome,” said Vietnam vet Dave Cuellar. “President Obama was just talking last night about how homeless veterans are a national problem. I know most of these homeless people around here are veterans. I see them walk around and I just know there are vets and many of them are Natives. Our group that meets every other Friday at Don Diego’s used to take up a collection to help the down and out vets. It wasn’t that we wanted to do because it’s out of our pocket but somebody has to help them. This is great.”

Cassandra Morgan, a former Marine, and vice president of the Collegiate Veterans Association at UNM-Gallup said it was good people were thinking about women vets also. “But a lot of these women vets have dependents. They’re single moms. Would dependents be allowed to stay there? A lot of these ladies won’t utilize this because dependents won’t be included. But it is great.”

CARE 66 just closed on the building with former owner Steve Garcia and also just closed on the deal in buying the downtown Lexington Hotel at 408 West Highway 66. In addition, the organization houses about 16 people in the Frances House on Boyd Avenue in Gallup.

The old Carl’s TV building at 108 S. Strong needs some serious renovation. It is a two-story building, and the second story caught fire about 10 years ago, charring many of the main roof supports. The floor and walls have some fire damage, but the building looks sound. Because it is an old building, the group must consult with the state Historic Preservation Office and make sure the facade and windows help preserve the historic architecture.

“Historical preservation puts a lot of regulatory burden attached to grants,” Tim Kelley, Chief Operating Officer of CARE 66 said. “I’m not complaining. It’s challenging.”

The plans include renovation of the 13 rooms upstairs, a kitchenette, lounge area, common bathrooms, a lounge in the front. The organization is in the process of selecting an architect for the project and is scheduling construction to begin in September-October of this year.

“We will get contractors who do this work and ask them to give our clients a shot. If they don’t work out, that’s OK,” Choudhrie said. “But we haven’t gotten to that stage yet.”

Closing on the Lexington

John and Pat Rosendall the former owners of the Lexington Hotel watch as documents are signed. John and Pat renovated the Lexington, which was a dump, when they first acquired it. It has been a labor of love for them and we hope to continue their good work. We thank them for investing their sweat, blood and tears. Thank you Pat and John.

Joseph Esparza and Jane Ann Polich sign closing documents on the Lexington Hotel on March 13 with Veronica Williams. CARE 66 now has the capacity to provide low income housing to 27 individuals. After renovations, estimated at $635,000 we will be able to provide transitional housing to homeless men and women including veterans. Renovations will increase capacity by about 25.

CARE 66 is Requesting Qualifications from Architects

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ)

The Liberty project Phases 1 and 2 (the “Project”)

Date Advertised: February 25, 2009

http://www.care66.org/ArchitectRFQ.asp

(You can download a printable pdf file by following the link above)

Community Area Resource Enterprise, Inc. (CARE 66), as developer, owner, and property manager are pursuing projects on parcels located at 108Strong Drive and the Northeast corner of Puerco Drive and Coal Avenue in Gallup, New Mexico for a two-phase development project. The first phase is the rehabilitation of an abandoned hotel into Dorm and SRO rental housing to serve formerly homeless veterans. The second phase is the development of new construction of multifamily housing to serve low income individuals and families that will include ground floor commercial office space. CARE 66 is requesting Statements of Qualifications from qualified Architects to provide full architectural services for the Project. For the purposes of this RFQ assume the following time frames.

Phase I: Design and Construction period of 12 months

Phase 2: Design and Construction period of 24 months

CARE 66 Gala Event in the News

GALLUP — Nationally known comedian Jeffrey Jena will be the featured entertainer for CARE 66’s annual Gala Event in March.

CARE 66 — Community Area Resource Enterprise, Inc. — Gallup’s nonprofit organization that offers transitional housing and services to local homeless people, is hosting the 2009 Gala Event from 6 p.m. to midnight on March 7, at the Red Rock Park Banquet Hall. The evening will feature dinner, dancing, and comedy by Jena. Tickets are $75 per person, and corporate sponsorship of tables is available.

CARE 66 Gala Event

CARE 66 will host is annual celebration on March 7, 2009 at Red Rock State Park. The Event will begin at 6pm and go till midnight.

There will be comedy, dinner and dancing.

Click on the header for more information.

Please join us!

Care 66 hopes for increased awareness

GALLUP — Last year brought a number of good things to CARE 66, but perhaps one of the best was increased public awareness of CARE 66’s existence.

Although CARE 66 was established several years ago, many community members haven’t apparently gotten the message that it exists, CARE 66 volunteer coordinator Geri Moore said. The nonprofit organization — officially Community Area Resource Enterprise Inc. — offers Gallup’s homeless men the chance to get off the street and turn their lives around.