NEWSLETTER 2-15-06

NICKEL-A-WORD WRITE-A-THON

The Giving Circle, Inc. is sponsoring a WRITE-A-THON to help build a mobile classroom, provide computers, software, and other supplies to Waveland Elementary School. The school, along with 95% of the homes in Waveland MS, was destroyed when Hurricane Katrina hit. Students from Connecticut to Florida to Montana and California have been asked to write letters to students in Waveland. They are being asked to tell about themselves, their school, their town! Their words of encouragement may be about anything they would like to share. All letters collected will be delivered to the students of Waveland Elementary School. Lake Ave Elementary School in Saratoga Springs, NY has signed on to the Nickel-A-Word Write-A-Thon to help rebuild Waveland Elementary, and has begun a drive to supply Waveland Elementary with forty-six "resting mats" for the kindergartners. Contact person Karyl Maenza karyl@thegivingcircle.org Detailed information is available on The Giving Circle web-site. www.thegivingcircle.org

OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS

Planning is well underway to recruit an "army" of volunteers, working through a direct service provider, to help in a mid-April SPRING CLEAN-UP: the cleanup of debris and preparation for building homes in Waveland, MS. Contact person, Sue Johnson sue@thegivingcircle.org

Phil Godwin owner of Care PLUMBING and other members of his church, Fort Gatlin Alliance in Winter Park, Fl, have been volunteering their services in Waveland working from the Needs Assessment forms generated by The Giving Circle. Phil and members of his church, Nina Siever, and Chris and Tricia Santo performed many tasks in the week that they were in Waveland, ranging from cooking meals to cleaning debris and specialty repairs. They plan to return in March and April to assist the community further and provide services.

Using these same forms, a group of retired attorneys through Katrina Relief in Northbrook/Glenview (KARING) have volunteered their LEGAL SERVICES to help Waveland residents work with insurance companies to obtain compensation for Waveland losses. KARING has identified the "sister city" of Waveland, MS for a long-term commitment.

Randy and Sunny LeBlanc of The Romantic Home in South Vienna, Ohio learned the story of an elderly couple, displaced from Katrina and now living in Ohio. The LeBlancs are working in their community to help FURNISH the couple's home.

Meanwhile, in Abbeville, LA, Operation: A Cajun Christmas continues. Girl Scout Troop 359 from South Glens Falls is adopting the Forked Island Elementary School in Abbeville. They are collecting donations of school supplies.

It is starting again. Operation: Waveland, MS is becoming an ever-expanding ripple of compassion expressed in the actions of many helping many!

Ron Maenza