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July 9, 2009 in News

Things keep moving along!
We have busy trying to get more exposure for DirectAbundance and create more
awareness of the needs in San Mateo and Belize. We started
a facebook group called directAbundance and we have been in contact with the local
paper here in Canada. They were very interested in what we are doing and were great enough to come and
interview me, and find out about Direct Abundance, our recent trip and our future plans. Thank you Brian for taking
the time to come and talk to me. It was a pleasure to see the article in The Alliston Herald yesterday. Heather was also able to get some donated advertising space in a local magazine.

Joanne has been very busy contacting people and organizing the “school in a box” program. We have contacted both the schools and the Poly Clinic to get their wish lists fulfilled. Today we took a tour of the organization, Green Solutions, that is giving us the supplies and equipment to help improve the quality and care in the schools and medical clinic in San Pedro. Now all we need is 9000.00 to get the containers down there. It will be an amazing day, when all those supplies get to the dock of San Pedro.

I met with a grant writer who is willing to help us generate funds for DirectAbundance. Tomorrow we have a meeting to formalize the details of the business.

A community member, and friend of mine has offered to do a book drive for the schools. We have a few fundraisers in the works, and Tamara, from San Pedro Sun, is trying to get a Lion’s Club International Challenge underway. This would be initiated by the San Pedro Lion’s to extend a challenge to other International Lion’s Clubs to raise money for our shipping.

We continue to be amazed at the support from people, organizations and communities both near and far. Our growth over the past three months has been unexpected and and a welcomed surprise. We continue to know that there is enough of everything for everybody, and we are dedicated to DIRECTING THIS ABUNDANCE!!!

A Very Meaningful Trip

June 24, 2009 in News

Donations at Maya Island AirWhat a trip! Thanks to all of your generous donations! We packed up our 9 hockey bags, totalling 450 pounds, of vitamins, teachers resources, toys for Christmas, back packs, pens, crayons, craft supplies, stuffed animals, paper, books, and pretty much anything you might find in a school that helps 516 children daily meet their educational and health needs. Holy Cross SchoolHoly Cross Anglican School. Tacogirl, my long time friend, had arranged our itinerary so we would meet everyone while we were there. The first person we met was Mrs. Carol Babb, Chief Executive Officer for the Minister of Education, Belize.direct-abundance-at-the-school We spoke about a partnership with Direct Abundance that will assist other schools, on both the island and the mainland. While we were in San Pedro we were lucky enough to take part in all of the festivities around blogfiesta and lobsterfest. We all met at Pedros and that was where Directabundance was interviewed by both of the local papers, the San Pedro Sun and Ambergris Today. We had fun that night, and met a great connection for the Lion’s Club. We were overwhelmed with the outpouring of support and donations given to us by people in Belize. We returned to Holy Cross the following day, to sort through the donations, and while we were there Direct Abundance had the pleasure of sponsoring a worthy graduating student into highschool. She plans on being a music producer, and we plan on making that dream come true!

Tacogirl had arranged for us to take part in some fundraising activities for Lobsterfest. Alexis, a student at Holy Cross, and personal friend of mine, assisted in selling Mardi Gras Bead for his school. He managed to sell 250.00 worth for donations. In addition to all of that, there was a Benefit breakfast Held by Changes In Latitude, which donated 50% of the proceeds to Holy Cross and raised an additional 115.00. Changes In Latitudes Benefit Breakfast We were treated to a fabulous relaxing day before returning home. First, we went snorkelling courtesy of Chel belle. We met with michelle, who brought a huge donation of vitamins. Our tour guide, Kenton, took us to two locations where we were able to unwind from our busy weekend and take in some of the natual beauty of San Pedro.Chel Belle After that we were treated to an exciting experience of parasailing by Extreme Adventures. Our instructor, Kevin, was lots of fun, and made a frightening experience exhilarating! Extreme Adventures We will be including these events in the future on Our Trips With Meaning. We would like to thank all of the wonderful people we met that have offered to assist us in helping not only Holy Cross but the areas in which the children live.

Here’s to the nights that turned into mornings, the friends that turned into family, the dreams that turned into reality and the likes that turned into love! Thank you San Pedro!

Getting Ready

June 14, 2009 in News

Thursday is fast approaching, and we are getting set for the trip to San Pedro. Cathy, Heather and I have our bags packed and donations in tow. We really are overwhelmed with the amount of support that we received. What started as a request for school supplies has grown into so much more. We received a large donation of stuffed animals, enough for more than 60 children, in addition to donations of back packs, medication, and school supplies, from friends, families, co-workers and agencies.

We are looking forward to our tour of San Mateo and the school on Thursday, and meeting Francis and Vernon Wilson. In addition to visiting the Holy Cross Anglican School, we will be meeting with the principal of San Pedro Roman Catholic School. Our goal is to set up more partnerships, and see how DirectAbundance can best help the community and the children.

There is so much work to do, and just enough time and resources to do it all. Thank you all for your support in making this trip a reality for us.