Tom Gleason is the owner of Gleason Woodwork, Inc., a producer ultra high end custom millwork, cabinetry and furniture for Chicago?s elite families and other projects coast to coast. In the summer of 2001, Tom and his wife, Glenda, led a youth group service trip to Nicaragua organized with Old St. Patrick?s Church. Tom became enthused with Fabretto?s work in Cusmapa, a small town nestled in the pine covered mountains of Nicaragua?s northern highlands.

Acting as mentor and advisor, Tom has assisted Fabretto in the development of a carpentry program which produces furniture for the local Nicaraguan market and small household decorative items, like crèche puzzles for sale in the United States. Over the years, he has supported the carpentry project not only with financial contributions, but also, and more importantly with his time and knowledge. Since 2001, Tom has visited Nicaragua three times, leading other Old St. Patrick mission groups and introducing more than 80 Chicagoans to Fabretto?s work. On each visit, he has spent time training and coaching the Fabretto carpenters.

Tom has also helped the carpentry shop secure significant donations of tools and millwork equipment for their operations. Indeed, a significant in-kind gift donated in August 2006 prompted the renovation and expansion of the Cusmapa workshop. The picture above, taken in November 2006, is of Tom with Adrian Vallejos, the chief Fabretto carpenter. They are standing in the new shop, still under construction, with some of the donated equipment.

Finally, Tom sponsors the shop?s efforts to bring manufactured items to the United States for sale, like those available from the Shop Fabretto section of our website. All proceeds from Tom?s efforts in the U.S. go directly to the carpentry program, allowing it to grow and invest in capacity building for the benefit of the carpenters, their families and the community.

Tom?s efforts on Fabretto?s behalf extend beyond the carpentry program as he is a tireless advocate for the organization as a whole. Therefore, for his endless generosity and his ongoing commitment to shepherding the growth of Fabretto?s carpentry program into a viable micro-business supporting the local Cusmapan economy and new job and training opportunities for our students, we are delighted to recognize him as the 2007 Volunteer of the Year.

One of the nicest things about being a Child Sponsor is having a special relationship with a Nicaraguan child that develops over time through correspondence. Sponsors receive at least two letters a year from their child, one of which is always around Christmas. We thought we'd share with you one such letter, from 12 year old Isela. We feel it's a wonderful synopsis of all the letters that flowed up north via email from the "niños" to their "padrinos", or godparents.

Hello dear Godparents,

I hope you and your loved ones are in good health. I want to tell you that my parents and I are very grateful for your help. I am still attending the Fabretto Centro Maria Auxiliadora. I am enjoying the classes and the food they provide every day. I am doing well in my studies. I am trying my best to do well this school year. My favorite class is environmental studies. At the Center we also have art classes and learn sports. They teach us to dance, sing and write poetry.

I am very happy that you are my Godparents. I am proud to be your Godchild, and thank you for your letter, your birthday wishes, and the photo you sent. It is very nice. I hope that you will continue being my Godparents.

This year is coming to an end, and Christmas will be here soon. I hope it is a very beautiful and blessed one for you and your loved ones, and that the New Year is full of prosperity and harmony. I hope you will come to visit me soon. I keep you always in my prayers.

With much affection,
Isela Belen Cruz Hernandez
Esteli, Nicaragua

Thank you to all the volunteer translators who put in hours to get the letters into English in time for Christmas delivery. We could not fulfill our promises to the sponsors without you! Gracias!

In December, a group of 17 young adults from the Sheil Catholic Center of Northwestern University, led by Fr. Ken Simpson, visited Nicaragua. They spent a good portion of their time in Cusmapa, in the northern mountains of the country. During their visit, the Sheil volunteers did a wide variety of jobs. One of the nicest, we hope, was playing Santa Claus to the children by helping to distribute gift bags of school and hygiene supplies. However, the story of how these items came to Cusmapa for Christmas starts long before in August, in Cincinnati.

Six months ago, our wonderful friends at the Tin Roof Foundation in Ohio began gathering all sorts of items for gift bags like crayons, stickers, erasers, notebooks, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and combs. In September, their volunteers spent hours sorting and dividing everything into bags, one half for girls, the other half for the boys. In all, they prepared over 4,000 bags, for all the children in our programs, not only those in Cusmapa.

Then, the bags were crated, marked for their intended centers, and loaded onto a 40 foot sea container, along with school desks, clothing, Spanish textbooks, boxes of baby wipes, and guitars. All of these items were donated from all over, such as the guitars that came from Florida. The container was then shipped, with supporting funds from the Denton Ocean Freight Program at USAID, to Nicaragua in October. In November, the boxes were trucked and delivered to the five centers and many rural schools we serve. Finally, in December, the gift bags were distributed by Fabretto?s staff and the Sheil volunteers to the children and their families.

The point is, it takes a lot of people, goodwill, work, generosity and time to bring Christmas to over 4,000 poor kids in the hinterlands of Nicaragua. We, and the children, would like to thank everyone who helped us get it done.

Get out your calendars and mark these down!

Upcoming Benefit Events

Visitors Trip

Volunteer Trips

Nicaragua: Individual volunteers and small groups are invited to come down to Nicaragua for a week of service. Join like minded people who want to spend some time helping, getting to know the kids, and working with our staff. Call or email if you want us to put your name down!

• March 25 - April 1, 2007
• May 27 - June 3, 2007
• August 19 - August 26, 2007 - FAMILY TRIP
• October 28 - November 4, 2007