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Spring & New Beginnings

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As we begin the month of March, cooler winter weather slowly gives way to warmer temperatures and longer days. The change in seasons brings change to our lives. If you live in the States, you begin to see the crocus bloom. Here in Chapala one of the earliest harbingers of spring is the Primavera tree. You can’t miss their beautiful yellow or delicate pink blossoms smothering the trees on the hillside. No matter where you live, everyone looks forward to spring because it is a time of new growth.

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Last October we advised you of the need to demolish several condemned buildings at Love in Action. We’d like to report that with your assistance we have just completed the demolition of the boys’ house and are about 70% towards the completion of a new maintenance bodega.

We are now in a position to begin the destruction of the old bodega and commence our plans to build a recreation space where the kids can be involved in regular physical activity. The children are eager to get this project off the ground so that they have a place to play basketball, ride their skateboards or shoot marbles! If you would like to be a part of this new growth and change for the children at Love in Action, please go to our website to donate and designate Playground for your gift. Without your continued support of Love in Action and the children, they would not be thriving and “growing like weeds” as we say in the States! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

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This bare space is where the boys house was previously and where a future playground will be.

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The new maintenance building is coming along!  We hope to have it completed by the end of summer.

Carmen y dorian

Psalm 68:5

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Days like today are always a struggle for our children. Please pray that they would again be reminded of this promise:
Psalm 68:5 “He is a father to the fatherless, defender of widows— this is God, whose dwelling is holy.”
We are thankful for the volunteers and staff that share the love of a father.

 

Carmen y dorian DWayne y Alfredo Orlando y jordan

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“If only I would have known”

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FritzLiedtke-LIA1204-497-Edit-2Dear Love in Action Community,

I often have people say to me, “If only I would have known, I would have helped”.  It’s quite possible those very words have come out of your mouth at one time or another.

It’s for that very reason I am writing today to communicate our needs to you.  And more importantly, maybe this is the time you can help.

The entire Love in Action team has been working extremely hard at providing the best way we can for all our children.  We have made tremendous strides with our on campus school in providing not only an education, but also individual attention with tutoring when needed. We have heard from many of you encouraging words of the progress and improvements you have seen from our organization and the difference in the children.   But none of it could have happened without your support!

As you are all aware, we have recently had some large projects sponsored by local charities and donors.  We are extremely grateful for this support as the need was great, and LIA simply is not in a position to cover the repair and maintenance of very old structures.   We have realized that the “good news” of these projects brings assumptions to the community that LIA has plenty of funds for our daily operations.  I want to stress and communicate to you that is just not case.

Currently LIA is in dire need of monthly finances for our general operations’ budget, which includes salaries and day-to-day expenses such as food, electricity, etc.  As you can imagine, our staff salaries are our largest expense.  But without good staff, our children do not receive the care and attention they need.

And now you know the basis for my asking you to make the decision to help. We not only need one-time donations, but also would love to have our donors set up recurring monthly donations.  It would help us manage our finances and alleviate the stress of wondering how LIA is going to make it through another month if we had a better base of donations coming in regularly.   No amount is too small!

There are two ways to donate:  You can do so in person at LIA. (Please give your donations directly to our Director of Administration, Dalia Zepeda.  She will provide you with a receipt.)  Or you can give simply and quickly on our secure site!  On the website you will be given the option of which specific fund you would like your donation to go toward.   You can also set up a recurring donation.  Immediately after your donation is processed you will receive a tax-deductible receipt via e-mail.

I am more than willing to provide any specific financial information or reports per your request if you want to see where and how our funds are being spent.

We cannot do this work without this incredible community.  Thank you for your consideration and more importantly, for “Putting your love into action”!

Sincerely,

 

Kari Romey

Treasurer

A New House!

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Love In Action hosted an Open House event on November 22nd to honor our donors and celebrate the completion of “House #4!” The house was totally renovated thanks to donor, Geoffrey Kay, who generously funded the project, making these much needed renovations to this living area possible.

Geoffrey Kay was presented with a certificate from Love In Action, and was given the honor of performing the official ribbon cutting, which ceremony capped off the dedication of the new building.

At that same event, the “Sonrise Chapala Rotary Club” presented Love In Action with a check for $22,500 to provide funding for our next renovation project, slated for House #3. This much needed renovation will address the urgent needs for improvements in our building which houses girls ages 10-18 years old. The building was close to becoming uninhabitable due to dilapidated conditions in the ceiling, walls, floors, and restrooms.

When it is completed, House #3 will be 100% occupied by a house parent, 8 girls, and 4 teen girls who are “transitional age” – those who are older than 18 but still need support while continuing their education. These girls will have their own room in the newly renovated house. The project will also convert some existing space into a “Community Room” that will be used for multiple purposes. We will be able to provide a space where the children can come to use computers for completing their homework (which gives excellent training for their futures). The space will also contain tables for board games, a recreational area for table tennis and foosball, as well as a TV that can be used for movie nights and for training purposes.

Additionally, we will be able to use this space for Campus Wide Weekly Family Meetings, training for our staff and volunteers, and a general large meeting space. The upstairs of the building will be converted into two private psychologists’ offices and one group therapy room. Construction is scheduled to begin on January 6th of 2015 and is expected to take six weeks.

Love In Action is so grateful to our donors and supporters who are making LIA such a safe and livable place for our children who call this Center their home.

 

READ ALL OF OUR CURRENT NEWS IN OUR NEWSLETTER: LIA-NEWSLETTER-1214

Good news!

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Since last week’s request for more meat (protein) in the children’s diet, LIA received donations of:
*  20 dozen eggs
*  industrial-sized supply can of tuna
*  120 hot dogs
*  95 liters of milk
*  a poultry store which normally donates 5 chickens a month doubled it to 10 this month
*  a pastor in Guadalajara encountered a man who wishes to donate food monthly and asked what was needed most — of course he was told, “Meat!”
THANK YOU to our prayer supporters and our generous donors who are providing for this need!

Prayer requests this week for Love in Action:

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Prayer requests this week include our 2 biggest ongoing needs — staff & finances. Our highly trained admin. asst. is moving to Mexico City & will be missed! LIA is still in need of two sets of loving house parents who wish to make this their forever home. Please pray for spiritual encouragement for our team of caregivers, psychologists & teachers that they can have a positive impact on the children daily. Also pray that 2014 will be the best year ever for Love in Action! THANK YOU for your prayer support!

Putting Love into Action

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Teens from Love in Action recently had the opportunity to participate in a reforestation campaign for “El Bosque de Centinela,” a community event sponsored by Guadalajara radio station, “Los 40 Principales.”

Teens and staff from Love in Action traveled to nearby Zapopan, where they worked alongside other volunteer groups to plant trees. Their collective efforts resulted in the planting of 80 new trees for El Bosque de Centinela.

The event began at 8am and was scheduled for completion by 1pm. However, the girls were so motivated in their work and planted so many trees that the organization literally ran out of trees for them to plant, and the entire job was finished by 11am.

The girls enjoyed the activity so much, they hope to be able to do it every year. They expressed how they loved helping to plant the trees and how it made them feel good to give back.

One of the most beneficial aspects of the experience was demonstrating to the kids the importance of community service — a principle amplified by the reward of seeing the tangible and lasting results of their work.  In addition, sponsors hoped to promote and emphasize the universal importance of caring for the environment.

Love in Action is grateful to the dedicated staff at el Bosque de Centinela for providing this learning opportunity in environmental awareness, and to the team at Los 40 Principales radio station for inviting the teens to be part of such an educational and rewarding experience.

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