Overtaken by life's unpredictable circumstances and uncertainties, I realize that I have been remiss in posting anything new for the past couple of months. In April, I lost my mom. I am thankful I was able to be with her in her final moments and even more thankful I have been able to spend the past six years caring and being with her, but as much as I thought I was prepared for this moment, I still find myself processing her passing. To all my friends and colleagues, I want to express my appreciation for all the kind words and notes in regards to my mom's passing. They truly brought a sense of comfort and peace. And, when I can muster enough courage, I will share with you my thoughts about aging and the surreal and almost anticlimactic nature of death. The experience brought home the importance of our priority for supporting services and programs to ensure home-bound elderly persons remain healthy, safe, and secure.
But, life doesn't stop just because I'm feeling a bit out of sorts.
Here at Red String, a lot has happened over the past two months. We completed our first set of grants and just recently kicked off our second grant cycle, brought on board a new team member, Robert Eastin, hosted several donor appreciation events, and began planning for a second donor appreciation event in July and two fundraising events set for August and September.
Our first grant cycle distributes funds in early April. This cycle typically includes grant projects supporting graduation and summer youth programs, family support service, and elderly care services. The team always puts a lot of effort engaging with the charities, analyzing performance, and reviewing candidate grant projects. We distributed over $23K to three existing partner charities and two new partners, All Stars Helping Kids located in Santa Clara and Meals on Wheels in Long Beach.
In May, we welcomed our newest team member, Robert Eastin. Bob is a great addition to our team bringing his leadership and technical experience. Bob retired from the FAA where he was the Chief Scientific/Technical Advisor for Fatigue and Damage Tolerance. For the past eight years, he has been the head soccer coach at Oxford Academy in Cypress, California. He also volunteers as a coach with the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) for core and special needs programs, and the City of Cypress summer basketball program for special needs individuals. His work with AYSO, a national nonprofit, and with disadvantaged and special needs youth at Oxford Academy and AYSO, will be invaluable to the future of the foundation.
When we started the foundation, our first core value was to build strong relationships with all our stakeholders. We felt that, too often, the only time donors hear from a charity is when they were asking for donations. This is why we decided to hold donor appreciation events that focuses on building relationships and not on fundraising. In March, Tina hosted two events at the Chen Art Gallery while Pam hosted a wine tasting event with about a dozen of our supporters who helped us with last year's inaugural charity golf tournament and auction. Both events were a lot of fun and a great way to spend an afternoon.
We plan to hold a second wine tasting event in July followed by our 3rd Annual Friends of the Foundation Get-Together in August. And, if you are a golfer, please plan on joining us for our 2nd Annual Swing for String Charity Golf Tournament and Auction on Monday, September 23.
Lastly, I want to say a heartfelt thank you to all of you, our supporters. Knowing that you are behind us and our journey to become a lasting force for good, brings us the strength and resolve to keep pushing forward.
(to be continued)
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