August 2011 Casita LInda Newsetter

CONSTRUCTION TEAM ON PACE TO RECORD HIGH IN HOME COMPLETIONS
To borrow a phrase, “with the wind at their
backs,” the Casita Linda construction team, is on
pace to complete a record nine Casita Linda’s in
2011. As we were putting the final touches on
this newsletter our crew was putting the final
touches on the Jimenez Hernandez (#41) home,
which is the fifth to be built since the first of this
year.
With the completion of the Jimenez Hernandez
Casita Linda, which is located in Ejido Tirado, a
total of 38 individuals, one as young as four
months of age, will have been placed in small,
safe and secure Casita Linda homes thus far in
2011.
We are very proud of this achievement and of
our Mexican construction team, our volunteer coordinators, and our outside volunteers, but would be remiss in not
making special note of the fact that there would be little to celebrate were it not for the incredible donor support we
continue to receive.
As many of our readers know, Casita Linda is totally supported by private donations without which, none of our
work would be possible. We urge you to visit our new website at: www.casitalinda.org and to please take advantage
of the convenient new electronic Donor choices we offer. There is no such thing as a “too small” donation.
We are pleased to announce that our new, bi-lingual web site –
www.casitalinda.org – is up and running. Please take a few
moments to look it over. It includes both current and historical
information about Casita Linda together with links to several of
the most recent news stories about our work. We particularly
call your attention to our Accomplishments page, where you
may view a Google map of all our homes and, with a click of
your mouse, view photos of our Casita Linda families. Please
also take a minute to check out our new electronic donor page.
The following photos by Casita LInda Board member Roz Colley offer a wonderful snap shot of Casita
Linda’s ability to transform living conditions and lives with the involvement and assistance of the recipient
families.
From the “littlest helper,” 3-year old Ximena Guadalupe Hernandez, to past Casita Linda home recipient
Enrique Landaverde Aguado (please see feature story about Enrique elsewhere in this newsletter) together
with our ever-present Mexican construction crew and a small army of volunteers these photographs speak
most eloquently of hope and accomplishment.
PAGE 2
August 2011
Casita Linda
www.casitalinda.org
SAUL WHYNMAN ELECTED PRESIDENT
Long-time Casita Linda volunteer and board member Saul
Whynman has been elected president of the organization,
effective January 1.
Saul, together with his wife Linda, first came to San
Miguel in the spring of 2004, immediately fell victim to its
wonderful colonial charm, and moved here permanently in
December of 2004.
Allowing little time for acclimation to his new
surroundings, the veteran stateside university academician
– Saul spent almost 40 years as a professor and/or
administrator at New York State colleges and universities,
the majority at State University of New York institutions quickly became a part of the fabric of the San Miguel
community, initially as a board member of La Biblioteca
de San Miguel de Allende. Saul later served a two-year
term on the board of San Miguel’s Audubon Society before turning his considerable talents and energies to
Casita Linda in 2005.
Initially becoming involved with Casita Linda as a construction volunteer Saul was named to the board of
directors in 2008. Saul plans to continue an active role in the construction area in addition to his new
administrative responsibilities.
Discussing Saul’s election and the great satisfaction he has derived from his association with Casita Linda,
Linda Whynman, herself a member of the Audubon Society Board, had the following comment, “If Saul is
going to have a lover, Casita Linda is the perfect choice, and one that I wholeheartedly support.”
“Casita Linda is a most unique little organization and I hope, during my term of office, to encourage many more
of our friends and neighbors to become involved both as volunteers and donors,” Saul said. .
For those unfamiliar with Casita Linda, it is a Mexican non-profit organization that builds small brick homes
here in San Miguel for families who are among the poorest of the poor in our community. Its mission is to
create a dignified, safe and empowering environment that will provide a foundation of hope for families living
in extreme poverty.
PAGE 3
August 2011
Casita Linda
www.casitalinda.org
CASITA LINDA HONORS ITS ROOTS
Casita Linda President Saul Whynman (center) presented organization
founder Jeffrey Brown (left) and long-time president, Irma Rosado Soto
with plaques recognizing their long and generous service to Casita Linda
and its recipient families at a recent volunteer/donor celebration attended by
almost 100 supporters and volunteers.
PAGE 4
August 2011
Casita Linda
www.casitalinda.org
THE SAN MIGUEL COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: TRULY MAKING A DIFFERENCE
To quote a portion of its Mission Statement: “The foundation’s grants are awarded to charities where a
meaningful difference can be made . . .”
To Casita Linda, SMCF, as it is familiarly known in San Miguel de Allende, that difference since 2008
through the spring of this year (2011) has meant the actual construction of nine safe and secure homes for the
impoverished families of San Miguel whose lives Casita Linda seeks to improve.
Again quoting SMCF, “Almost as soon as Americans, Canadians and other “foreigners” began coming to San
Miguel de Allende in the central mountains of Mexico, they brought with them dynamic change. Some who
came as students in the 40s and 50s stayed or returned later to become part of the still-growing expatriate
community. As retirees and vacationers swelled into greater numbers, many of these foreigners saw
opportunities to make altruistic contributions. Benefactors of various backgrounds founded organizations to
address the civic and personal needs they saw.”
Founded more than 30 years ago to offer donors to these then fledgling organizations a channel for U.S. taxdeductible contributions, the foundation today is very much more than a mere US tax deduction conduit.
Thanks to a generous bequest in 2003, the foundation currently has the resources to make modest grants
available to San Miguel non-profit organizations in need of additional financial support as well as continuing
to provide its most valuable “pass-through” service to those wishing to make a US tax-deductible donation to
their favorite San Miguel charity.
Grants are made twice each year under matching gift terms. Casita Linda has received a total of $35,000US
since 2008 and, in accordance with the matching grant proviso, has been fortunate to raise matching dollars
for each SMCF grant thereby providing funding for nine Casita Linda’s. In total SMCF has made in excess
of $200,000US in grants to deserving San Miguel organizations from its endowment in just the last two
years.
SMCF is directed by a volunteer Board of Directors comprised equally of Mexicans and non-Mexicans who
are active in the community, know its needs and, collectively, represent more than 50 years of living in San
Miguel de Allende. Donna Wilson Foudray is SMCF’s president and Araceli de los R. Cerritos C. is the
organization’s bi-lingual administrator.
PAGE 5
August 2011
Casita Linda
www.casitalinda.org
CASITA LINDA RECEIVES FIRST MAJOR BEQUEST
We are both proud and humbled to announce the receipt of a major bequest, Casita Linda’s first, from the estate
of the late Delilah Henry.
Ms. Henry, a native of Hastings, Nebraska, who moved to San Miguel in 2005, following a long and successful
professional career in New York, passed away in San Miguel in February of this year.
Though not directly involved with any San Miguel non-profit organizations during her life here, her will speaks
eloquently of her desire to give something back to the community she dearly loved. In addition to Casita Linda,
four additional SMA ngo’s were also named in Ms. Henry’s will.
As briefly described by friends, “Delilah loved living in Mexico; she especially loved San Miguel – the cultural
events, evenings and music in the Jardin, our city’s vivid colors, and the magnificence of the colonial
architecture.”
Ms. Henry’s will, which also leaves 10% of the proceeds from the sale of her lovely home in Guadalupe to
Casita Linda, bequeathed just over $20,000US in cash to us. For those who would like further information
about her magnificently decorated home (all furnishings are included in the sale price) are asked to email:
Evaristo Garcia <evaristogj@yahoo.com.mx>
Ms. Henry, who spent some 20 years in the interior design business in New York prior to her arrival in San
Miguel, was a model in her youth and continued her association with the fashion world as a location scout for
high fashion advertising photo shoots following her modeling career.
Casita Linda supporters wishing to learn more about how they may include Casita Linda in their Estate Planning
are urged to contact us at info@casitalinda.org.
PAGE 6
August 2011
Casita Linda
www.casitalinda.org
THE APPRENTICE AND THE BIKE: A CASITA LINDA STORY
By Alexis White - Photographs by Roslyn Colley
A set of wheels to call his own was not on
the mind of Enrique Landaverde Aguado
when the Casita Linda construction crew
arrived to begin building his family’s first
real house. Enrique was focused on the
equipment, tools and materials that
foreman Lencho Cazares and his team
brought to Colonia Santa Cruz de la Paz.
This is where Enrique, who is 12, lives
with his family. They include his mother,
Rosa Maria, grandmother Carolina, twin
sisters Juana Guadalupe and Maria de la
Paz (age 7), sister Mayra Carolina (age
11), and brother Jesus Orlando (age 14).
“Most children are curious but they are
shy,” Cazares said. “They come to look
at our supplies. Sometimes they watch
what we are doing. But Enrique was
different. He wanted to help build the
house.”
Casita Linda, which means "pretty little
house,” is a Mexican nonprofit
organization founded in 2001. It builds
small brick homes for families who are
among the poorest of the poor in the
municipality of San Miguel de Allende.
Many families live in structures rigged from rocks, wood, sticks and tarps. A Casita Linda house provides safety,
security, protection from cold and other elements, and a foundation of hope to face the future with dignity.
“I have never experienced a 12-year-old child quite like Enrique,” said Sid Martin, Casita Linda board member and the
organization’s construction supervisor. “He is not bashful and shows great maturity for his age. On our very first day,”
Martin recalled, “he stepped forward to introduce himself and shake hands with each of us. After that, he would be
waiting at the site so he could be the first greeter when we arrived in the morning.”
“Enrique observed everything we did and always had questions,” Cazares said. “He wanted to know what we were
doing in detail. He wanted to know why we took certain steps. After three days, we invited him to become Casita
Linda’s very first apprentice. It was very heartfelt for all of us that this young boy wanted to learn and become
engaged in the building of his family’s house. I took him under my wing. He ate lunch with the crew and then worked
until it was time to fix his hair, grab his sweater and get to the bus stop so he could attend school.”
The Casita Linda crew found themselves a mighty big little assistant. “He asked to help work on the roof, and we
gave him a small bucket so he could carry the concrete mix for ferrous cement up to the men,” Cazares said. “Enrique
wanted to learn to handle everything, especially motorized equipment. That fascinated him. We taught him to lay
bricks, plaster walls, and mix mortar to our exact specifications. He learned how to operate machinery such as starting
the cement mixer. He learned the proper way to use tools, like a metal chop saw, and how to work safely. He always
was careful and responsible.”
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August 2011
Casita Linda
www.casitalinda.org
Besides helping to construct the house, Enrique showed great care and responsibility in other ways that affected
his family’s life. When his grandmother became ill and could not help Enrique’s mom start the daily fire
needed for the family’s tortilla-making enterprise, he would arise and be ready at 5 AM to help, according to
Martin, who also found Enrique influencing his work and spirits. “If I encountered a problem that was
frustrating and perhaps a bit overwhelming, Enrique wanted to know if he could help me. When a kid of his
determination pops the question ‘¿Puedo ayudarle,?’ it is not only encouraging, but inspiring, He has such a
can-do personality, and it was infectious, ” Martin said.
Enrique’s motivation and enthusiasm touched everyone and poured into everything he did. “Nothing escaped
his attention,” Martin observed. “Enrique made mental notes of where things were located. If someone forgot
where he last placed a tool, he would locate and bring it over. If we were running short of nails, he would bring
more from our supplies. He always anticipated our needs.”
When Enrique’s new Casita Linda house was completed, the construction crew moved to San Miguel Viejo to
start another project. Cazares took Enrique to see the new site, but its walking distance from the boy’s home
coupled with school prevented the apprentice from working with the team. It was a real letdown on both sides
until Martin spotted a wall poster advertising a sturdy bike for sale.
In no time, Martin had the funds needed to buy the bike, replacement parts, a safety helmet, repair kit, and
security lock and chain. The money came from Casita Linda construction volunteers and Board members.
Board members Kathy Patterson and Roslyn Colley applied elbow grease and made it shine like new. On the
day of the Casita Linda ribbon cutting for Enrique’s new home, the bicycle was standing by. “All the kids saw
and wondered about it,” Martin said, “but Enrique was truly shocked when the bike was presented to him.”
“We were touched by Enrique’s work ethic and how sad he was over not being able to help build the newest
house,” Patterson noted, “but purchasing the bike had other implications. “We were very concerned about
schooling and his dedication to studying,” Colley said, “so we told Enrique that getting good grades would be
part of his obligation as the bike’s owner.”
Patterson and Colley are monitoring Enrique’s academic progress and it is excellent. On Saturdays when there
is no school session, Casita Linda’s apprentice pedals he way to the new job site.
PAGE 8
August 2011
Casita Linda
www.casitalinda.org
AUTOGRAPHED SOCCER JERSEY
RAFFLE A HUGE SUCCESS
The just concluded (July 29) raffle of a signed
Javier “El Chicharito” Hernandez soccer jersey,
donated by Casita Linda supporters Guillermo and
Carol Ochoa, was a huge success. All 1,000
tickets were sold thereby contributing some
$50,000 pesos to Casita Linda’s coffers.
Winner of the grand prize (pictured here with his
El Chicharito’s jersey and Senora Ortiz in the
couples Valle del Maiz store) was Sr. Antonio
Ortiz.
“Chicharito,” a native of Monterey, is the star
striker of the Mexican national team that defeated
the United States for the Concacaf Gold Cup
before some 95,000 fans in California’s famed
Rose Bowl this past June. On the international
stage he is the first Mexican to play for world
renown Manchester United in the English Premier
League.
Additional prize winners included Mark Rosen,
Miguel Angel Cruz, Claudio Marcelo, Carlos
Garcia, Alison Hall, Liga Municipal de Futbol of
San Miguel, and Hotel Real de Minas.
Secondary prizes were contributed by la tienda
Camino Silvestre, Ferreteria Don Pedro, and the following San Miguel restaurants: Los Milagros, El Pegaso,
Ole Ole, Las Enchiladas, and Café Colon.
Casita Linda also wishes to acknowledge the terrific publicity support the event received from Atencion,
Radio XESQ, and El Sol del Bajío.
PAGE 9
August 2011
Casita Linda
www.casitalinda.org
CHARITY BEGINS WITH A CUP OF ATOLE
Is the ultimate act of charity defined as giving from one’s
needs rather than excesses? Sid Martin believes so. A
member of the Casita Linda board and the volunteer
supervisor of the organization’s construction crew, Sid
recently shared this story.
Doña Teresa and her husband live next door to Casita
Linda’s 39th house, which was, at the time of this story, then
under construction in Colonia Francisco Villa. They share
their home with two grown daughters and several
grandchildren. Doña Teresa, who is in her 70s, earns money
for her family by selling tortillas and atole from her door;
such enterprises are very common in San Miguel and
throughout Mexico.
One morning, as the Casita Linda’s construction foreman,
Lencho Cazares , and his crew came to work, Doña Teresa
handed each of them a cup of atole, a traditional Mexican hot
drink made from corn hominy dough, (masa de maiz), water,
unrefined cane sugar, (piloncillo), and cinnamon. Doña
Teresa refused to accept their money, explaining to Sid and
the others that she always gave refreshments to albañiles (bricklayers) when they were working nearby. This act of
kindness continued day after day, until one day, Doña Teresa greeted them with lunch, cooked the way she cooked
all her family’s meals -- on her dirt floor, using an open fire fed by found pieces of carton and wood.
Once again, Doña Teresa refused to accept money, but Lencho insisted that they had to reciprocate. Using
leftover materials, several modest financial donations and their personal time, the crew built Doña Teresa a Patsari
Stove. Casita Linda includes these simple and easily built stoves in its new homes and often gives community
demonstrations when they are constructing one at a site. Patsari stoves are known to reduce respiratory ailments by
as much as 30%, decrease eye infections by 50%, use half the amount of wood needed for open fire cooking, and
significantly lower the number of young children who are severely burned each year when they stumble or fall into
the family’s fire pit.
The reciprocity did not end there, however. Lencho and his men came to Sid on pay day. They had given Doña
Teresa a stove and now, Lencho explained, it was time to make her life a little easier and more comfortable by
constructing a real roof over her home and a cement floor to replace the dirt one. They were volunteering to build
it on their own time and they knew what it would cost. Lencho handed Sid the entire amount, contributed from
their paychecks, to cover the material costs.
PAGE 10
August 2011
Casita Linda
www.casitalinda.org
2010 Giving: – Support Remains
Strong
We are so very pleased and ever so grateful to be
able to again announce that our Casita Linda donor
base remained strong throughout 2010, thereby
providing us with the opportunity to “alter the
destiny of poverty” for eight additional families this
past year. In spite of the continuing difficult
economic times the number of individual Casita
Linda donors again increased year over year through
December 31, 2010, as did our average donation.
We obviously owe a great debt of gratitude to the
several foundations, organizations and individuals
whose overwhelming generosity provide Casita
Linda with its underpinnings, but we are truly
humbled by the significant growth in the number of
more modest donors.
Rachel Flum, Shirley Gerow, Dan Goodman, Joe &
Jane Griffin, Keli & Erik Johnson, Tim Johnson &
Tom King, Gloria & Jim Mitchell & K.L. Irwin,
Patricia Mooers, David J. Palmer, Maite Pavamo
Rios, Mariana & David Perazer, Peter Pesoli,
Michael & Betty Rauch, Beverly Redgate, Roderick
Reinhart, Lisa Tyson Sandefer & Laurie Sandefer,
Elisa & Mark Shotwell, William & Mara Stark,
Shauna Stokes, Charles Thomas & Rodrigo Garibay,
Mary Katherine Wainwright, M.A. Walkush & M.J.
Tisadle, Steve Weisberg & Zaporrah Glass
All donors with the exception of those who have
asked to remain anonymous are listed below. Casita
Linda thanks you one and all. We look forward to
being able to bring you yet another wonderful report
next year.
Please note that donations received and/or recorded
after close of business on December 31, 2010 will
appear on our 2011 donor honor roll.
Under $100
Anonymous
(6),
Michelle Ballon, Maida Barron, Bill
Beck, Robin Berkhardt, Betty A. Carson, Joan D.
Columbus, Bob Conrow & Jamie Long, Geri
Crescioni, Suzanne David, Jill De La Sierra, Bob &
Marcie Desjardin, Elena Fernandez, Alan Field,
PAGE 11
August 2011
$100 - $249
Elena & Michael Amici, Julie Bennett, Mark Bilker
& Alexis White, Barbara Bladden, Terry & Polly
Blank, Gerie Bledsoe, Cathleen Collins, Community
Affordable Housing, Bob & Susan Cumming,
Kathleen & Jerry Cummings, Benjamin Dillingham,
Donna Elrod, Janice Farmer, Marshall Gavre,
Gilliam Associates, Gary Gilson, Wesley Gleason,
Michael Grais, Bill Greenfield & Joan Strouse, Scott
Casita Linda
www.casitalinda.org
& Miriam Grice, Alan Gross, Michael Hagar,
Richard & Mona Hartzler, Howard Haynes, Kenneth
Hebert, Thomas & Mary Heslin, Gloria & Jim Irwin,
Carol Jackson & Art Bone, Deborah Jacobs, Kitty La
Pierriere & Larry Ellman, Betty Londergan, L.J.
Mann, Jane. E. McCarthy, Linda McLaughlin,
Miriam & Norman Meyer, Barbara Miller-Murphy,
Linda M. Moss & Jerome Sharman, John Mudd,
Cathleen (Kate) Murray, Richard Neulist, Susan
Page, Angela Peterman, Christina Pesoli, Bill Price,
Ronald Riley, Richard & Lynn Rognstad, Michael
Sudheer, Keith Thompson, Jannat Thompson, Yoly
Walsh, Carol Wilson.
$250 - $499
Barbara Claire Bladden, Laurie Cousart, Paula
Doherty, Edward & Barbara Fouhy, Jerry Kaye, Jack
McMahon, Donna & Bud Phillips, Kousalya
Ramkumar, J. Claire Razzolini, Kenneth & Doreen
Ruska, Stephanie Rutrowski, Lynne Slattery,
Katherine Sulkes, Dr. Gail Tobey, Joan Walters,
Kimberly Zimmerman, MD
$500 - $999
Anonymous (1), Margherita Branciforte, Hans &
Angie Brouwers, Marsha Cantrell, Rebecca Carney,
Leslie K. Cohen, Michael Cole, Laurie Cousart,
Peggy Percell/Dowling, Graeme & Joanne Howard,
Frederick & Mary McBrier, Debe & Jay Moskowitz,
Pervez & Jeroo Patel, Rancho del Sol Dorado, Select
Real Estate, Karla Talavera, Judith Zivko
PAGE 12
August 2011
$1,000 - $4,999
The Community Foundation (Atlanta, GA.), Caren
Cross, John Doherty, Gordon & Elizabeth Fulton,
Martha Rowan Hyder, James & Claire Kirkman,
Alfred Moniot & Louise Gilliam, Kevin & Karen
Murphy, Guillermo & Carol Ochoa, Christine Wade,
The Wein Foundation
$5,000 and Above
Roslyn Colley
Alesandra Connell
First Presbyterian Church (Fargo, ND)
Golden Rule Foundation
Pamela Mosco & Jan Friedman
Microsoft Corp. Matching Gifts
Parker Street Foundation
San Miguel Community Foundation
Bill & Sandra Scott
Casita Linda also wishes to acknowledge its many
in-kind donors whose generous contributions add
so much to the effectiveness of our organization:
Gregg & Karen Blackburn, Border Crossings, Randy
Broman, Pepe Castro, Joseph Kent, Steve Korner
(Flying Concrete), La Conexion, Nelly Lorenzo, St.
Paul’s Episcopal Church, Lynn Staake, Michael
Sudheer, Tim Sullivan, Saul & Linda Whynman.
Casita Linda
www.casitalinda.org