Buenos Vecinos de Boquete Newsletter December 2017
It's Almost Here! Casino Night Sponsored by Boquete Has Heart
The excitement is building! We are less than a month away from a fun evening sponsored by Boquete Has Heart. Casino Night featuring casino games and auctions will be held at the Amigos de Animales Event Center in Alto Boquete 5-8 pm on Saturday January 13th. Besides $500 in "funny money," attendees will receive appetizers, one complimentary drink and an opportunity to bid on silent and live auction items. Exotic getaways, delicious restaurant fare, valuable gift baskets and services are being auctioned off to benefit Buenos Vecinos de Boquete and Amigos de Animales. Additional and exciting donations are still coming in; there'll be something for everyone!
One of the most desirable donations is a two-night bed and breakfast stay for two at Hotel Bocas del Mar in Boca Chica. The stay includes a full breakfast and a sumptuous dinner package for both days. The total package is valued at $520. Hotel Bocas del Mar was voted 2017 Top Small Hotel in Panama and has won the prestigious Trip Advisor's Travelers' Choice Award. This boutique hotel features luxurious bungalows with floor to ceiling windows and private terraces that look out into manicured tropical gardens and the islands of the Gulf of Chiriqui Marine National Park. Enjoy a dip in one of the hotel's two infinity pools, or a marine discovery adventure from their dock in their excursion boat. These are just a few of the fun activities available. See more at www.bocasdelmar.com
Buy your $10 tickets for Casino Night at BCP Tuesday Market, Mailboxes, Etc. or shestrunk@gmail.com.
Penny Gives BVB a Much-Needed Boost
A long-time friend and supporter of BVB, Penny Barrett, came to our rescue last month when we shared with her our serious financial circumstances. Simply put, for many months our donations have not been keeping up with our food expenses. Besides her regular personal support of BVB, Penny used her community blog, News Boquete, to advise the community of our plight. In response to that announcement, we received from far and near enough donations to help us buy food for all of our clients for one and a half months. Thanks, Penny!!
Farewell to a Key BVB Member
We have seen some cherished members of our organization leave to make their homes elsewhere in the world. Today we say a bittersweet goodbye to another dear friend and a prime mover in our BVB organization, Gail Cody. As co-chairman of BVB she has been a pivotal person , providing administrative leadership, organizing and executing fund-raising activities and our all-important monthly food packs and deliveries to our clients. She has worn other hats in the Boquete community as well. Boquete Hospice and Health, Fundacion Pro Integracion (The Handicap Foundation), Bid4Boquete, Boquete Jazz and Blues Festival, and a large number of friends and neighbors have been recipients of her wise and energetic assistance.
Gail lost her beloved husband and soul-mate Denis when his heart failed a year and a half ago. They were a great and generous team giving their time and talents to anyone who asked. Maintaining their large home high above El Banco by herself has been a heavy and lonely burden. So now she closes this chapter on her life in Panama and opens a new one as she reunites with her dad, son, granddaughter, sister and niece near Daytona Beach FL. We send with her our profound gratitude, love, prayers and good wishes for a new life, full of fun and purpose. Adios, Gail
Family of the Month- Thanks to the Bag Ladies and to Tom McCormack
It's hard to imagine the living conditions of many of our BVB clients until you've seen it yourself. They live in constructs of zinc, tarps, bamboo and scrap wood, with dirt floors and neither indoor running water nor electricity. The kitchen is generally a lean-to with an open fire and a large pot for cooking beans and rice. Often six to eight people are sharing a small room without windows. It is life at its most basic, so little things mean a lot.
Just a few weeks ago, BVB received a valuable shipment from a dedicated group of handicrafters in the US called the Bag Ladies. They turn ordinary grocery bags into three by five waterproof sleeping mats/blankets. These mats create a barrier between a cold dirt floor and a sleeping or sitting child or adult. They can even be used like a thermal blanket to hold heat in for those chilly nights during rainy season. Our clients were so happy to see these and to know these mats would provide some comfort to their families!
We also want to say a special thank you to local Tom McCormack, the tireless benefactor who oversees the shipment of containers from the US to David. These containers are filled with prosthetic devices and hospital equipment and supplies for people in the Chiriqui Province and, this month, these plastic mats for our BVB families!
Thank you Bag Ladies and Tom for your generous gifts! You've made it a merrier Christmas for our BVB families.
Our Sincere Appreciation to our Coconut Foundation Members
"Thank You" is not enough to express our gratitude to all of you! Without you, BVB could not exist. Our members in 2017 include the following.
COCONUT FOUNDATION MEMBERS
Olga Alexander
Fundacion Dos Mariposas Azules
Tamera Balkenhol
Penny Barrett
Peter and Janice Barry
Paquita Bath
Boquete Bridge Club
Luis and Carmen Botero
Robert Brauns
Alison and Bill Brundage
George and Vickie Castillo
Brian and Trish Christofferson
Laurie and Kelly Collier
Denis and Muriel Couroux
Anne and Joe Costanzo
Megan Dameron
Laura and Lamar Daniel
Jennifer Daniels
Ed and Sue Davis
Sylvette Day
Dennis DeCorte
Mary Dreblow
Elena de Saint Malo de Virzi
Bruce and Patrice Ebel
John and Judy Ginnity
Harry and Nancy Halbert
Jan Herzog
Karen Hill
Julie Hilliard
Sara and Steve Hudson
Lindsay and Mary Hunter
Lynne Johnson
Jim Kavney
Stephen Kingshott
Tommy and Sharon Kline
Tina La Porte
Donald Lash in memory of Denis Cody
Hans Lebuser and Barbara Lapid
Jere McCormick
Bernie Moscovitz & Clare Taylor
N&N Catering
Patricia O'Connell
Susan Peterson
Richard and Leah Polack
Consuela Reeder
Penny Ripple
Dave and Erin Ross
Cliff Silverstein
Tom and Beverly Stearns
Simone Stephens
Germaine and Richard Sturtz
Glenn Warnes and Carol Slater
Robert and Dale Sylva
Sheila Tatum
Dottie and Larry Thompson
Mike and Molly Traynor
Mary Ellen Watts
In Memory of Stephen Plowden-Wardlaw
In Memory of Vernetta Worthington
If you would like to help our clients and the efforts of Buenos Vecinos de Boquete, we would appreciate your donation of any size. It is important for you to know that we are a small all-volunteer force with no administrative or overhead costs. Every dollar of your donation goes to the purchase or storage of food for our clients.
Buenos Vecinos de Boquete's wholesale purchase power enables us to furnish our clients more food than they could purchase on their own in the store with the same amount of money.
When you make that important decision to help feed the less fortunate in our community, you have truly become a "good neighbor". When you donate $360 a year or $30 a month (about the cost of a daily latte), you will become a Coconut Foundation member as an acknowledgment of your concern and generosity. Donate Online: http://www.buenosvecinosdeboquete.com/how-you-can-help We use PayPal for easy and secure transactions.
If you prefer to donate by cash or local check, please contact Louise Orr panamaleo@gmail.com for arrangements.
Thank you!
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