New scholarships, new board member, new video and more!
We are excited to learn that four new girls will be starting
scholarships with us. Three will be starting secondary school, which is
the equivalent of 6th grade. One of them, Seydi, I have known since
she was three years old. She is the granddaughter of Ernestina, one of
the two women who formed the cooperative back in 1995. The
fourth, Cristina, will be starting university. Her family has managed
to support her education through preparatory but now she needs our
support. The new additions represent three different communities in
Chiapas. Our total for the 2012-2013 school year will be 19 young
women.
More good news! First, we welcome Steve Gilchrist to our Board. Steve is a long time supporter of Mujeres and he's the one who organized our Men with Guitars fundraiser. We look forward to his collaboration with us. He has the distinct honor of being the first male member of the Board!
More good news! First, we welcome Steve Gilchrist to our Board. Steve is a long time supporter of Mujeres and he's the one who organized our Men with Guitars fundraiser. We look forward to his collaboration with us. He has the distinct honor of being the first male member of the Board!
Second, our new video "Testimonials," is now available on our website homepage. (www.MujeresDeMaizOF.org) It can also be viewed on Youtube under the title "Mujeres de Maiz Opportunity Foundation Testimonials." Linda and I filmed this last summer and my son, Eric Rust, put it together into a video. Thank you, Eric, for all the time you spent on this project. The video showcases four of our scholarship recipients talking about their lives and how education is making a real difference.
Third, we have a new webmaster. Sandi Snow, another long time supporter. She has generously volunteered her Wordpress talents. Thank you, Sandi, and welcome to the Mujeres team.
Two thank-yous are in order. The first goes to Board Member Patsy Simpson who will be resigning her board position in June. She has served with us for two years and we will miss her. We are grateful for your service, Patsy, and we wish you all the best in future endeavors. We also owe a debt of gratitude to Niki Liu, our previous webmaster. Niki has worked with us on a volunteer basis for the past two years but now his college obligations and projects require all his time. Thank you, Niki, for all your fast and efficient website updates.