Update #3

Tuesday April 1st - Update #3
In this Issue:
Executive Director, Mateo Garibaldi Leaves for Nicaragua
501 (c) (3) Status Update
Last board meeting
Fundraising and continued need
Call the E.D.

Executive Director leaves for Nicaragua: On April 1st, I took off to Nicaragua. It was a very emotional departure as friends and family accompanied me to the airport to see me off. Now that I am in Nicaragua, I am reconnecting with old contacts and finishing off the curriculum that I plan to use for the school. There is much work to be done, but bit by bit I am prioritizing and completing the things necessary to open the school.

As I remembered, but still hit me like a ton of bricks, it is HOT here. I am only reminded for a brief second that there is no hot water here when I hop in the shower and my body is completely shocked by the freezing water. At first a small gasp of surprise escapes, but then quickly turns to utter enjoyment. It’s terribly hard to leave those showers, which may explain why I like to shower multiple times a day. I would say it takes about 10 minutes after I leave the shower for me to start sweating again.

Rice and beans (“gallo pinto” as they call it here) has once again entered my life…I fear to stay. It is the main staple here and is eaten often times for both lunch and dinner. I am slowly starting to let go of the sadness of leaving behind everything that I know and love, and begin embracing what is here to be my new home. Although it’s a hard concept to even wrap my mind around, I need to begin pushing myself in that direction. I have traveled and lived for short periods of time around the world, but have never made a move like this. It certainly presents many new challenges, one of which is decorating my house for a more permanently stay. Ha ha. Decorating, I would say, has never been a strong suit of mine, so this will be particularly hard. Therefore, if any of you come to visit I don’t want to hear any grumblings about how I chose to decorate, but instead would appreciate and and all suggestions.

Non-Profit Status update: We are still working with WAACO to acquire our non-profit status but are eager to expedite the process.

Last Board Meeting: Our last board meeting was very productive as we discussed issues ranging from fundraising to curriculum to how board meetings would be held in the absence of the Executive Director. One thing that we are already thinking about is the November fundraiser, even though it’s still eight months away. If anyone would like to help out with the event or volunteer in some way, please contact any of the board members.

Fundraising and continual Adelante needs: In our last update we let you all know about the fundraiser that we had at Leny’s Place, a local bar in Greenlake. The pool tournament was a great way for people to meet board members, learn about the organization, as well as contribute to the cause. In all we raised just over $200 in our first experience hosting a pool tournament. We are interested in doing this again, therefore if there is anyone that would like to co-host this event with another board member, please contact one of the board members.

As always, if anyone would like to host any sort of fundraiser, please don’t hesitate to forward your ideas along to any board member. We would be happy to provide you with any support and/or promotional materials that you would require.

ITEM NEED: An item that we are currently looking into acquiring is a projector. If you know anyone or you yourself would like to aid Adelante in acquiring this item, please feel free to contact anyone on the board (mateo.g@adelantenow.org)

Want to call the Executive Director? Well here is his number: 011-505-480-4213

Next update, Thursday April 17th