Raised by an alcoholic mother who did not tend her straggly hair or mend her tattered hand-me-down clothes, Bernadine ("Bernie") Dutra suffered through her childhood, despite making good grades in school. Many times she did not have clean clothes to wear and often went hungry, and faced constant ridicule by her classmates for her destitute situation.  She was an introverted child with very little self-confidence that lasted well into her thirties.  These memories are the driving force behind OneChild, a non-profit organization which Bernie opened in 2001 in Fremont, California when she was 63 years old. OneChild provides free, brand-new clothing and shoes, school and dental supplies as well as books for underprivileged children up to age 18 to encourage them to be successful in school.  Each family is selected through a referral process and receives a private shopping appointment of one hour to shop for clothing in their store (that resembles a retail shop) without the embarrassment of onlookers.  A personal shopper helps them pick out their attire. OneChild provides gift cards for individual shoe purchases at a local shoe store so that children may try on and purchase shoes that fit correctly. All children in a family are outfitted, at a value of about $250 each.

Over the years, Bernie has worked tirelessly to successfully partner with many different groups and schools and raise funds from special events, grants from businesses, community support, etc. -- all which have helped to make OneChild a success.

Donations of used clothing are not accepted, and although donations of new clothing are received, they prefer financial donations and gift cards from stores such as Target, Kohl's or Payless Shoes as OneChild is then able to shop for children within the current styles of their classmates.  They can often arrange special discounts through volume purchasing power or with their non-profit status to make each dollar go a bit further and helping even more children.

The process is reminiscent of the "back-to-school" shopping that is a tradition for many other children in their school. Thus, these children feel the same sense of pride in their school clothes and supplies. OneChild served 51 children in 2001 and has almost doubled that number each year since. Says Bernie, "We feel privileged to have served over 2,600 children so far and we don't expect to stop there."  The ultimate goal for OneChild is to provide a building with stores, a gymnasium for recreational activities, after-school tutoring, counseling and access to important services.

Bernie herself has had to overcome many obstacles along the way.  She has struggled for many years with chronic fatigue syndrome, breast cancer and a fractured neck, but she has never let this slow her down.  These challenges only gave her the strength and motivation to do more.

Bernie and her husband, John A. Dutra, founded Dutra Realty Enterprises, Inc. (a residential brokerage company) in 1972, which, before being sold in 1999, exceeded $920 million in annual sales and employed more than 250 real estate agents in six offices in the San Francisco East Bay area. An outgrowth of that previous company is Dutra Enterprises, Inc., a highly successful and profitable regional land and investment company. The couple has been married for over 54 years and has five children, 12 grandchildren and one great-grandson.

Bernie and OneChild have received the 2006 "Inspiring Confidence Through Education Award" (Maybelline Cosmetics and People Magazine); 2006 Jefferson Award (CBS Channel 5, San Francisco); was named a 2007 "Heroes In Education" by the California Lottery; and received the 2008 49ers Community Quarterback Award.

For more information about OneChild, visit www.onechildca.org.

Returned invoices and statements can delay Mazon's in-house collection processes by up to ten days and can delay future funding on an individual customer's account.  It normally takes approximately 1-3 business days for a mailed invoice to reach your customer, another three days to be returned for incorrect addresses, one day to research an incorrect address, and another three days in the mail again (ten days possible delay) before a customer can pay an invoice mailed to a wrong address.  Therefore, if you are aware of a customer's change of billing address change, please submit this information to Mazon. This will result in faster invoice payments posted to your account.  Additionally, all of our clients are strongly encouraged to submit new customer name and contact information 1-3 business days prior to turning in invoices for processing to prevent possible delay during busy times in the initial funding of invoices.  

If you would like to find out more about our factoring services for your business and/or apply for an account with Mazon Associates, please phone us at 972-554-6967 (toll-free 800-442-2740) or visit our website www.mazon.com.

In September of 1991, two German tourists discovered the mummy of a man who perished 5,300 years ago in a Tyrolean Alps glacier barely inside Italian territory. Nicknamed "Otzi," archeologists found among his possessions a small box containing bits of charred wood wrapped in maple leaves, apparently smoldering charcoal (carbonized wood) with which to start a fire probably for warmth, cooking and protection from wild animals and enemies. For thousands of years, basic charcoal was used as a desirable fuel as it burned longer and more steadily than whole wood, and is only a fraction of its original wood weight. As far back as the Copper Age (3500-2300 B.C.) charcoal was used in copper smelting during the Copper Age.

The history of charcoal briquettes began in 1897 when Ellsworth B.A. Zwoyer applied for a patent on his invention and design of charcoal briquettes, which he produced by crushing charcoal and mixing it with additives to make it burn better than ordinary charcoal. Legend has it that in 1920, Henry Ford and Thomas Edison put briquettes to practical use by creating briquettes from wood scraps and sawdust left over in his Model T car factory. Some historians say Ford technically stole the briquette idea from Zwoyer, but given that Ford and Zwoyer were apparently friends, and that Zwoyer didn't take any action against Ford, it is generally thought that Ford simply saw an opportunity and ran with it -- and it provided a way for him to market his automobiles by encouraging people drive to picnics, and use charcoal briquettes for outdoor cooking.  E.G. Kingsford, Henry Ford's brother-in-law, initially helped him to market the briquettes (originally called Ford Charcoal), and soon after reached an agreement to mass produce and sell the briquettes, eventually leaving Ford to focus on the automobile industry.  Kingsford Company soon changed its name to Kingsford Charcoal. Today, E.G. Kingsford's company sells around 10 different kinds of charcoal primarily for industrial and residential use. More than 1 million tons of wood scraps are converted into quality charcoal briquettes every year.

·         I demand a salary commiserate with my extensive experience.

·         I have lurnt Word for Windows, computor operations and spreasheet progroms.

·         I received a plague for Salesperson of the Year.

·         Wholly responsible for two (2) failed financial institutions.

·         Reason for leaving last job: maturity leave.

·         It's best for employers that I not work with people.

·         Let's meet, so you can 'ooh' and 'aah' over my experience.

·         You will want me to be Head Honcho in no time.

·         I was working for my mom until she decided to move.

·         I am loyal to my employer at all costs ... please feel free to respond to my resume on my office voice mail.