We have a new exciting matching gift opportunity -- and we need YOU to help us meet this challenge!


One family who knows how much Heifer’s projects in Honduras matter is Celso Pineda's. Since receiving their heifer, Celso's family has had plenty of milk to drink, which is rare in a remote part of the country where malnutrition is especially high.

In fact, the Pinedas family will soon Pass on the Gift, offering another family the opportunity to build a brighter future.

No one is more eager for this next step than Celso. "My dream is, just like the project gave us a cow, that we can give the calf away and help another family," he says.

Ignite this transformation today with your doubled gift and invest in the future of Honduras! It's a challenge with the best outcome possible -- helping families find hope.

Sincerely,


Ashley Michael
Heifer International

Tererai worked for Heifer for many years.  She gave presentations at Heifer University courses, spoke at events and at many venues.  We brought her here from Africa to speak at our African Children's Choir event in 2007. Some of us had the great pleasure of being with her at a Heifer U course at Hidden Villa a couple years ago, hearing her incredible stories, seeing her dance with a container of water on her head and hanging out with her during and after dinner, she's a lot of fun!   She did a lot of work with Heifer in evaluating our projects in the field, and now has her own business evaluating works other non-profits are doing in the world.  She appeared on Oprah some years ago and is now one of Oprah's favorite guests of the past 25 years of her programs.  Check out this segment of Terarai with Oprah.

Evie Trevethan - facilitator
Jacquie Eigen - Note taker
Present: Evie, Betty, Lenora, Ann, Linda Lucas, Mary, Dottie, Caroline, Linda McBee, Kathy, Jessie, Marlene, Jacquie, Nancy

Check In Comments on the event one comment per person - Evie 10 min

• Ann began, with 2 copies of budget report from Barn Dance, which were passed around. A great success! $4255.00 raised! She said she could have used more catalogs and could have sold more books!
• Lenora, a first time volunteer, who drove from Crockett, thought the event was classy, impressive and she will be getting involved more.
• Linda was happy with event and dance. She was pleased that the chili was hot, given the heating and stove issues.
• Mary had electrical issues with the coffee, wants to do event again and she enjoyed watching everyone have a good time.
• Dottie Lee thought caller was great and guest were gracious, especially around the food, all were patient and thankful and enjoying being there.
• Caroline mentioned it was a “fun” raiser.
• Kathy Mawer, was in Mexico and will be tabling at Napa Farmers’ Market.
• Linda McB loved the beehive of activity at the dance, a real sense of community, which is what Heifer is about. She never had been to a Barn Dance, enjoyed watching people having fun and wants to do it again next year. She would like a written report from every point person, so next year the event will flow even better.
• Jessie worked check in, it flowed easily and helped to have 3rd person as a greeter.
• Jacquie was not there, she had a wedding and is glad it was a success.
• Marlene was the salad person, enjoyed the sense of community, was thrilled and smiled going home.
• Nancy said the dance exceeded her expectations. She did the chili and said it flowed easily and that everyone she asked made chili, some more than 1 gallon.
• Evie, handled the Heifer info table, it went well and Isaak arrived in time to answer a challenging question. The dance was fun, the caller was exceptional and non-intimidating.
• Caller info: Celia Ramsey she owns Rasmussen Winery, lives in St. Helena, is a great teacher and might be willing to do it again next year.
• Betty enjoys the great group of people, women, community who can pull off an event like this.

Ann provided the Treasurer Report.

• We began with a balance of $103.09 and ended the period with $ 182.50, after donating an additional $150 to Heifer. See report for details.
• Caroline is pleased with low expense amount and the partial reason is because we go to stores and “beg”, they provide us with the item or a means to get the item and it makes the businesses aware of us, too.

 Linda McB addressed the changes in the Sonoma Napa group.

• Caroline is now an official volunteer “only”. Linda is now the Area Volunteer Coordinator. She wants to get a stronger group going in Sonoma and eventually to have monthly meetings in Napa AND Sonoma. She suggested Evie continue facilitating in Napa and Mary in Sonoma. She said it was “ridiculous” to think she could follow in Caroline’s shoes. We will continue alternating meeting places until Sonoma group gets as big as Napa group.
• Next Meeting: @ United Methodist Church in Sebastapol. It is always the second Saturday of the month. We may need to change meeting day to continue to get the room here in the Napa Methodist Church…which everyone likes.
• Ann said if the group changes, the checking account has to change. She and Linda McB will talk outside of the meeting.

Using our own interests and values to plan future Heifer activities

• Linda McB handed out worksheets re: possible Heifer Activities and Tasks. Evie asked us to take some time and thought, and if we are willing to fill them out, bring to the next meeting. The purpose of the worksheets is to build a viable and sustainable group with no burn out. If we are to be effective, we have to spend more time doing the things we want to do rather than gritting our teeth and becoming resentful. These forms will help us to assess how each of us want to invest our time into Heifer.
• Recent examples: Nancy and Marlene did a presentation at an AAUW meeting.
• Kathy organized tabling for Earth Day. Linda L will be leaving for a Heifer study tour to Lithuania in June. We can present to colleges, PUC, community centers. We can become advocates of sustainability, hunger, empowerment of women. The only way we can do such a variety of activities to support Heifer is if there is interest and individual members put time into the activities that address their interests.
• Through the years, members have spoken at several churches, visited Heifer projects in Honduras. Nancy and Jacquie went to Nepal. We need to focus on what we can do as a group and as individuals.
• Less exciting but necessary for maintaining our own group (see sheet): distribute World Ark in offices, etc.; preparation for meetings; agenda writing, coffee set up, etc.
• A great beginning in Napa was when Caroline and Linda McB cooked a meal at Carole and Keni’s house which started the ball rolling to do the 12 Stones screening event at the church, which led to the fall Harvest Dinner and then the Barn Dance.
• Re: asking for money. The more comfortable people become with asking for money, the more money we raise. Many people do not like to ask for money. It is important to become comfortable with making pitches for Heifer. We can practice at meetings, to become more comfortable.
• Caroline mentioned that for Heifer, monthly donations are best, for budgeting purposes. More money comes in at the holidays. Heifer needs a cash flow year round.
• For our group, when people send in money, put on the bottom of the check the Sonoma Napa chapter. This will insure credit for our area.

 Napa’s Farmer’s Market

• Kathy organizes tabling at Napa’s Farmer’s Market. We have 9 days this year. It is a Peace Table which is sponsored by the Quakers, Heifer and the Unitarian Universalists. She passed around a schedule to sign up for 2 hour shifts: 8-4 10am and 10am-12noon, Tuesdays and Saturdays. They hand out brochures and pencils, which were a big hit!

Presentation on Heifer Caroline

• As we were getting ready for Caroline’s presentation, she mentioned re: the dance: almost zero waste. Mary said the Costco plates were from sugarcane waste. Evie said the charting paper we use is also from sugar cane. (hooray for us!)
• Next meeting: Evie will present “Cultivating Peace” from a workshop she took this month. In September, 2011, Heifer U will be at Hidden Villa that all are invited to. More details to come.
• Caroline started her presentation and we viewed it on Linda McB’s small laptop screen. The presentation was impressive. All the images she used are available to use in our own presentations.
• Highlights: We begin with Dan West, “not a cup but a cow” and move into more than just a cow: community development in many countries where Heifer is now involved. (Marlene mentioned one of the brochures lists the countries where Heifer has and is supporting projects.) Passing on the Gift. Cornerstones of Success.
• Images from different countries: Cows for guns in Albania, Nepal women’s groups, Honduras women’s group, the “calendar lady” displaying her photo from a Heifer calendar showing her and the cow she received through Heifer, before and after photos of project members’ houses, a bee project, a coffee nursery, the use of hog waste to provide methane to power stoves and lights in project members’ homes.
• Caroline mentioned that Heifer’s overhead is higher than some non-profits because they provide extensive training prior to presenting animals to a community. Also Heifer receives no government grants.
• Betty suggested putting the presentation on local public access stations.

Linda McB acknowledged Caroline for her 10 years of service as Area Volunteer Coordinator. She presented Caroline with a Heifer cup and reviewed highlights of events she spear headed in the last 10 years for Heifer. Very fun to see what we have done with Caroline as chief spark plug !! A big thank you to Caroline.


Study on Voluntary Simplicity.
Mary suggested we postpone until nest meeting the discussion of Chapter 4 of the study on Voluntary Simplicity.

We plugged our blog address as a good source of current info as well as the place our minutes and agendas are posted and then adjourned. The blog address is sonomanapa.heiferblog.org.

1. Check In  Comments on the event (going around the table)  one comment per person  Evie 10 min
2. Treasurers Report  Ann  5 min
3. Changes in how Sonoma and Napa will work together  Linda McB  5 min
4. Using our own interests and values to plan future Heifer activities  Evie  10 min
5. Presentation on Heifer  Caroline  20 min
6. Tabling at Napa's Farmers' Market  Kathy 10 min
7. Study Discussion Simplicity  Mary  60 min

The church is at 625 Randolph Street in Napa.  The parking lot is on Randolph Street.  Park in or adjacent to the lot and enter the door with the Heifer sign.  Follow Heifer signs to the Kagawa Room ( a new room for us). (check calendar to the right of the page and see the map)