Welcome to my first blog.
My name is Ted Grosser. My wife, Janet, and I have been involved in work with poor child in Third World developing countries for over 40 years. For 23 of those years I was the President of AngelCare. We became part of Americans Care & Share in May 2010 when I retired due to health issues, and to have time for special projects.
Our marketing advisors tell me that doing a blog is a good use of time on several fronts. First, it puts a human face on our work because we are able to explain the background and purpose of our mission. Secondly, hopefully, you who read my blog will forward it to others who are interested in creating a better life for those we serve. The advisers also tell me to keep these blogs as short as possible, because all of us are so busy these days with only so much time to spare. Thus, I will err on the side of brevity here, but future blogs will and our new Web Site (www.angelcare.org) will more context and detail.
Our Near Term Goals
AngelCare’s plans for the next 18 months are to meld together the two strands (AngelCare and Americans Care & Share). One strand focused on serving poor children in both the U.S. and in Third World developing countries and providing Americans with opportunities to live and work with the poor for short periods of two weeks or more. The other strand was established to raise funds to give scholarships to first generation Americans for college and trade schools.
We are going to be making a major effort to upgrade and expand our marketing efforts, increase fund raising to create a reserve fund to carry us through things like a Great recession and a Scholarship Fund, and to expand our Caring Angels (child sponsorship) and our Angels On A Mission programs. Unfortunately, we need to do all of these things with a very limited staff and financial resources. That means we need all of the help we can get. If there is anything you, your friends, or your colleagues can to do assist us in making our plans into realities, please don’t hesitate to step forward.
Our most important project goals have to do with Haiti. This poorest country in the Western Hemisphere has been struck with triple whammy in 2010. On January 12th a 7.0 killer earthquake destroyed one-third of all of the buildings in the country, snuffing out over 250,000 lives, and leaving tens of thousands of children orphaned. In October, Hurricane Tomas drenched the country and 1 million people in flimsy, make-shift houses with 5 – 15 inches of rain, flooding the land and creating the near perfect environment for a Cholera epidemic. In November, the Cholera epidemic reared its deadly head and attacked young and old, with deadly effect upon the weak and young.
Our goals for Haiti are (A) to enroll 3,000 Caring Angels (sponsors) in the first half of 2011, and (B) recruit 105 Americans to go to Haiti in one of three two-week sessions. They will be building domed houses made of earth and a light mixture of cement. These are not only low- cost houses that have been designed and engineered to withstand earthquakes and hurricanes. We believe these houses could transform housing in Haiti.
The first step towards achieving our goals for Haiti is to expand and improve our outreach efforts. Earlier this year, we launched a national TV Public Service Announcement (PSA) campaign which was Sent to 565 local stations and leading national networks. You can view the PSA on our Home Page(www.angelcare.org).
That campaign resulted from a miracle! Here’s The story: Dave Smith, one of our Board members and a videographer, was moved by the earthquake in Haiti and wanted to create a PSA. I said, “Fine but we do not have the money to duplicate it or distribute it.” Dave said, “Let me see what can happen.”
Dave called Bill Goodwill, President of Goodwill Communications, and requested an estimate of the costs of getting the PSA duplicated and distributed. The barnyard figure was $30,000! Dave told Bill that there was no way that AngelCare could raise $30,000 and thanked Bill for his time. Dave called me to report on his conversation. We commiserated about a wonderful opportunity we couldn’t afford to take.
The next day the miracle happened. Bill Goodwill called Dave and asked, “What if my firm and all of our vendors donated our services. Could AngelCare afford that?”
Dave said. “I am sure we could. Let me check and get back to you. He called me and was back talking to Bill within no time making the necessary arrangements. Seven months later, we are still getting reports of TV stations using the PSA and middle-of-the-night callers requesting information. The miracle of hard-nosed business people, in the middle of the Great Recession, wanting to help us help the children in Haiti had an inspiring. magic affect upon everyone in the AngelCare family.
As I write this in the middle of December 2010, we are (Picture of Norwood)about to experience a second miracle. If you live in Southern California, you can come to Santa Monica and join us in our first AngelCare Benefit Concert on the anniversary of the January 12th earthquake in Haiti. The concert will be held at The Central, in Santa Monica, at 14th & Santa Monica Blvd.
The concert is being organized by Norwood Fish, one of the brothers who organized the Punk Rock Band, Fishbone, that celebrated its 25th anniversary this year (see www.Fishbone.com ). Norwood has recruited the Red Hot Chili Peppers to join Fishbone for the concert. Other bands have offered to perform or otherwise help.
Watch for more details.
In my next blog, I will provide more information about our Angels On A Mission to Haiti and New Orleans, and hope that you will pass the word to your friends and colleagues. One of the things we are learning from new media is that it can be much more engaging than some of the more conventional techniques. Using email, new platforms on Facebook, My Space, Linkedin, etc., we can do a better job of engaging those people we are interested in our mission, but it only works if you take some action to help. Through our collective efforts, we can make the world a better place.
My blessing to you and yours!
