Double your Donation
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Thanks to a generous supporter, 2008 Common Hope Partner gifts that are designated to Education or Health Care will be matched! Click here to learn more and become a Common Hope Partner.
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Sponsors Needed
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More than 700 students still need Sponsors. Do you know someone who could sponsor a child? Help us find them - forward this e-news or send them to our website.
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Upcoming Needs of the Month
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May:
Toothbrushes and toothpaste
June:
Children's books in Spanish
July:
Full size bars of soap and hand towels
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Greetings!
Progress in San Rafael, students pursuing their dreams, supply drives, events around the country ... we hope you enjoy the latest news about what your support makes possible. Thank you!
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Notes from the field
 Rocio Gonzalez, satellite coordinator at San Rafael, has begun
to see a change over the course of her visits to the community.
"I see the
difference since we started school: the attendance is good and they are more
confident about our presence there." The
thanks is due in large part to the regular visits Rocio and other Common Hope
staff are making to the community - like the visits she relates in the
following story.
Rocio
wanted to learn what life was like on a Saturday in San Rafael, so one weekend she and several
others went to find out. Continued ...
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A student with early success and big plans
 12-year old Rocio Chiroy Marroquin has big plans. She is working hard this year to be the abanderadora, or flag-carrier, an honor
given to the class valedictorian. She
has held this honor every year in elementary school, so she is
confident that she can maintain her high grades and reach her goal again this
year.
Rocio wants to be both an
architect and a chef when she grows up.
She says, "I aim to do both things and do them well." Based on her accomplishments so far, we have
no doubt that she will achieve her dreams. We want to thank her Sponsor, Tom O'Malley, for
his support.
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Meet Rhyna Doranellys Escobar Guzman
 Rhyna
is a five-year-old and currently attends pre-school at New Hope School. Her favorite color is yellow, and she wants to be the principal of the school someday. She lives with her mother and younger sister in San Martin, near New Hope Village.
Rhyna is currently unsponsored. To become her Sponsor, email or call the sponsorship staff at (651) 917-1045.
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New executive and honorary board members
Common Hope recently welcomed four new members to our executive board. Kathy Paden is the director of the master's teaching program at Hamline University; Bob Fafinski is an attorney with Fafinski, Mark, & Johnson; Steve Schmidt is the founder and president of Abetech, producer of barcode and RFID solutions; and Bill Huebsch is the founder and president of the advisory firm Corporate Philosophy, Inc.
Seven new honorary board members from around the country also joined, all of whom have been active and enthusiastic supporters of Common Hope for a number of years. Click here to read the bios of all of the new board members.
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Vision Team from Golden Valley, MN supports education programs
Members of the Good Shepherd Church team have been hard at work even before their upcoming trip. The volunteers, many of whom are educators or on staff at local schools, raised over $3,000 for Common Hope's education programs through fundraisers at their church and schools. When the team travels to Guatemala in July they will participate in programs their dollars are helping support, such as activities hosted by the Antigua library and trainings for teachers at New Hope School. A big thank you to the team and all those who have contributed to their efforts!
Contact us at visionteam@commonhope.org if you would like more information about joining or leading a team.
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Upcoming events
A sampling of what supporters are up to around the country ...
May
18
Presentation at Mt. Olive
Lutheran, Minneapolis, MN. Between services, a recent Vision Team participant will speak about his volunteer experience and give an overview of the Vision Team program.
May 20
Idealist Fair at DePaul University Career Center, Chicago, IL, 12-4pm (www.idealist.org)
June 7
"Friends of Hope,"
a gathering at Orinda Community Church, 10
Irwin Way, Orinda, CA, 4-6pm, $10 requested donation at the
door. Shari Blindt, executive director, will provide updates on the latest news from Guatemala.
Bay Area supporters are invited to attend. For more information, contact Sandy Smith.
June
8
"The Day in the Park," at the Daugherty Valley
Performing Arts Center in San Ramon, CA, 4-7pm. Shari Blindt
will be present and there will be a Common Hope booth. For more
information, contact Sandy Smith.
June
26-28
Latin American Heritage Camp, Fraser, CO. Shari Blindt will present to the Adult
Education Sessions. (www.heritagecamps.org/latam.html)
July 30
La Semana Culture Camp,
Lakeville, MN, a weeklong camp attended by about 450 children from all over the US who were adopted from Latin America. Common Hope will staff an information table and sell Guatemalan market goods. (www.lasemana.org)
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San Francisco Bay Area development group
 A group of leaders in the Bay Area has been busy during the first half of 2008. They have been formalizing their structure as a volunteer regional development group for Common Hope. Over the past several years, the group has been very active in supporting the work of Common Hope - organizing Vision Teams, finding Sponsors, giving presentations, and planning fundraising events.
As they formalize the group, they plan to recruit new volunteers and expand the reach of their great work. Please contact Sandy Smith at smithsss@sbcglobal.net if would
like to serve on a subcommittee or support the work of the Bay Area group.
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Collect toothpaste and toothbrushes
Our May need of the month is 1,500 toothbrushes and tubes of toothpaste. In-kind supply drives help us to keep our
costs down and direct monetary donations toward other crucial program needs.
Thank you to
all who helped to collect colored pencils and pencil sharpeners in April. We still have a way to go with this drive and will continue to accept more pencils and sharpeners until we reach our goal. Thank
you!
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Color printer needed in the U.S. office
Common Hope needs a new light-grade commercial color printer in the U.S. office. An in-house printer helps us save on small run printing jobs that we would otherwise have to bring to Kinko's. The printer will cost about $800. If you can help us purchase this item, please contact Andrew Allen, systems manager, via email or at (651) 917-0917.
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Skilled volunteers needed in Guatemala
Teachers: We have an immediate
need for eight Spanish-speaking pre-school and primary teachers to
help with a new initiative to train local teachers. Application deadline is July
1, 2008.
 Dentists: We have an on-going need for dentists to help
us in the clinic at our new satellite in San Rafael.
For more details please contact Louise Lundgren via email or at (651) 917-0250.
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 Use Fly for Good
Common Hope recently joined forces with Fly for Good, a discounted
travel service for non-profit organizations. Fly for Good negotiates airfare
discounts for non-profit employees, their family members and their
volunteers. Each quarter they also pick a humanitarian project to receive
a portion of their profits. So every time you fly for good, you give back to
people all over the world! Visit www.flyforgood.com for more info.
We continue to maintain our long-time
partnership with Carefree Travel, headed by Deb Streese, and we are grateful
for her continued collaboration over the years, coordinating hundreds
of Common
Hope
volunteer trips!
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