Calling all Saratoga area friends!! Please consider joining us with OUR SPRING YARD CLEAN UP FOR SENIOR CITIZENS. We’re partnering with the Senior Citizens Center of Saratoga to help our senior neighbors get their yards ready for Spring. And we’ll be doing much more for them, with smiles and warm feelings, by showing them that somebody still cares. So:
* Sunday May 5 at 9:00 am, meet up in the parking lot of the Saratoga Senior Citizens Center
* Bring your rake, gloves, garden shears, and your big kind heart.
For more info or to sign up contact us at koikoihouse@gmail .com or reach out to Ron Deutsch through his Facebook page or at rdeutschnyff@gmail.com

Return of Thursday Dinners

The Giving Circle Outreach Team is starting dinners again this Thursday night. We could use men’s jeans, hoodies, graphic Ts, and backpacks. Let me know and will gladly come pick up. Thanks!!

VERY proud of my brother, Ron Deutsch as he was honored Monday, April 8, by the Hunger Action Network of New York State for his many, many years of fighting hunger. In addition to being an effective advocate, Ron served as President of TGC for a long time.
Also honored that evening was Steve “Sully” Sullivan, the very generous owner of Longfellows and The Old Bryan Inn. In his endless kindness he’s fed countless of Saratoga’s hungry and has always been there for any charity fundraiser, including some held for The Giving Circle.
The event was hosted by two of Saratoga’s most generous folks, Ed and Lisa Mitzen. And of course it was organized by Bo Sig, with her usual grace and endless energy. Catering was the work of the ever-wonderful Kim Klopstock .
All told, it was a terrific event.

Liam Rice is our brother and TGC board member. He’s been doing great things with his clothing business and helping The Giving Circle at the same time. All this and he’s just 21! And he’s got coverage in our local paper, The Saratogian.

From The Saratogian, April 9, 2019 Edition:
“SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Local business Summit Clothing Company is reaching new heights with the opening of its first retail store.
The Summit Clothing Company shop is expected to open soon in the lower level of the Saratoga Marketplace, located at 454 Broadway in downtown Saratoga Springs.
A grand opening celebration is planned for Saturday, April 20, when all are invited to check out the new store and its unique mix of outdoor apparel and streetwear. New products will be released on this day and some styles will be discounted.
Before this big downtown debut, Summit Clothing Company was founded in 2016 as an e-commerce business with a charitable giving aspect.
Saratoga Central Catholic School alum Liam Rice started Summit Clothing Company as a sophomore at Siena College. He was inspired to start his own social enterprise clothing business after learning about the large profit margins in the industry.
“There’s so much room to do good work,” Rice said, recognizing the opportunity to help others.
Summit Clothing Company’s partnership with local non-profit organization The Giving Circle helps communities both locally and around the world, while serving as a meaningful element that sets the brand apart from the rest The company donates 10 percent of every sale, and a portion of monthly profits as well to the nonprofit, which identifies people and communities in need, near and far away, and connects them with those who are able to help.
Rice was first introduced to The Giving Circle as a high school student, and now serves on the organization’s board of directors. He travels with The Giving Circle’s founder Mark Bertrand every six months to Africa, where they’ve helped to build schools, medical facilities and other resources, partly with the funds raised through Summit Clothing Company.
Since the first batch of about a dozen hoodies sold to family and friends, to setting up regularly and gaining exposure at the Spa City Farmers Market, to the new brick and mortar shop on Broadway – Summit Clothing Company has grown organically, and Rice’s goal is to continue that steady growth.
As the 22-year-old prepares to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in business management this spring, the Saratoga Springs resident already has a successful company and a brand new storefront.
But rather than viewing these achievements as a summit, Rice believes it’s just the beginning.
“This is a starting point,” he said.
Thinking ahead to the future, “I want this to be a household name brand,” Rice said. “I want it to be recognizable and I’m not going to rest until it is.”
More information about Summit Clothing Company is available online at summitclothingcompany.com, facebook.com/Summitclothingcompany and on Instagram @summitclothingcompany.”

The average teacher in Uganda is among the lowest paid of professions. In the main city of Kampala where there are better-funded schools, teachers can make $127 per month or $1,533 per year. In most of the country and outside of the main city, including our 2 schools, where teachers can make as little $41 per month or $500 per year.

We do our best to pay our teachers more but they still receive $500-$700 per year.

Please help us to give our teachers a raise by “sponsoring of a teacher” at just $26 per month. This will give our teachers a raise of over one million shillings or about $300 per year. This is life-changing money helping us also to keep our increasingly improving teaching staff at both our Busoga and Kagoma Gate schools.

We have just 34 teachers to sponsor!

The Giving Circle is blessed by the many women, from all over the world, who share hearts, minds, and energy to advance our many projects. So, by way of acknowledging that, let’s all celebrate International Women’s Day. And, in a shameless theft from the 1970s, we’ll quote Helen Reddy’s song, I Am Woman:

And let’s share some images

On a lighter note, we have pictures of many of our beautiful Busoga children. The footage shows our kids drumming and singing with joy. The happiness extends into a deaf class. As you can see, so many of our deaf and disabled children are now in hearing class and performing very well. What could be better news?

Leo & Kelly attended the Sankofa Africa Organization Gala at SUNY Albany. They’ve chosen this year to include The Giving Circle as one the charities to which they donate!!