Thank You Volunteers!

Thanks to everyone who made the fundraiser a great success.

Could not have done it without you!

Marilyn (maker of fantastic holuzski & infallible on-call helper)

John & Phil (doormen extrordinaire)

Aaron (manning the beer station at critical moment)

Diane (jumping in to help get the pierogi ready)

Emre (great impromptu violin addition to dont panic's musical offerings)

Thank You to Everyone Who Donated

Thanks for participating in our fundraiser. The photos of the night will soon be available online. If you came to the event you will receive an email with a link to the album.

We will have more information soon on how much money was raised. Eveyone had a great time and we heard a lot of really positive feedback.

Thanks Again!

Rain or Shine Beer Garden is on

Just wanted to let you guys know that rain or shine the Beer Garden is happening.

We've gotten some phone calls from concerned individuals and just wanted to let everyone know that we're prepared in case of inclement weather.

See everyone tomorrow!

October Letter from Zambia with photos

We just got an email update from Mukonchi Mission. Here is a translated excerpt from the letter, along with some of the photos we received:

Pani Alicjo,
Greetings from sweltering Zambia. I received the emails you sent. . . . I'm sorry that I was not able to respond very quickly. In Zambia the situation with the electricity and communications is horrible . . . . today I am in Kabwe, at an internet cafe and I'm trying to send some (photos).

...On the topic of the most pressing needs at the Mukonchi mission at the present time, I will just sketch them out quickly:

a) The launch, at the beginning of the coming year, of a six-month course in sewing and carpentry for young people (purchase of needed materials and basic tools, as well as compensation for two instructors).

b) Fr. Maciek is dreaming of building fields for basketball and volleyball - for youth sports

c) renovation of the preschool (painting), necessary equipment, and a playground for the kids, compensation for the preschool teachers.

d) Building of several quarters (booths) to serve as toilets (WC), washrooms, and changing rooms. What is needed is some place where the youth, after sporting activities, could at least wash off a bit....

Z Bogiem

x. Grzegorz

Round the corner

Greetings,
this is Lukasz from dont panic and it looks like "Beergarden" is right around the corner.
We are all in a mad dash in the last stretch of preparations and everything looks like it won't be done on time... which generally means that we're on schedule and everything will go off swimmingly. Tonight dont panic is getting together for a rehearsal for our cameo on Saturday so watch out... we're coming... ready or not... that goes for you all as well. Looking forward to seeing you all there and having a beer together. It does us good to know we can all get together enjoy eachothers company and raise money to send out to those in real need.

Beer Garden Raffle

Okay, so we worked out the details and here it is:
With every Beer Garden ticket you receive 1 raffle coupon.
Want to up your chances? Additional raffle coupons are $5.
Can't come to the Beer Garden?

You can still participate in the raffle.
You don't have to be present to win.

All money collected from the raffle goes to Mukonchi.
Raffle prizes, and any materials and time involved are 100% donated.

What's this raffle all about?
Well, we were trying to think of ways we can contribute our talents to raise some money for the mission. We have some photography and drawing abilities, so we went with that.
And since we were already thinking that it would be fun to not only get photos of the Beer Garden event, but also to do little photo shoots and charcoal sketches of people in the garden... so we thought, why not offer these photos and sketches for sale and then add that to the money we are sending to Mukonchi.

But since people are already being really generous with buying the tickets, we thought we could donate some of the photos and sketches for a raffle to give people a chance to get one for free.

So without further ado, here are the Prizes:

• 2 hour photo portrait session, date/time TBD between you and photographer, includes a matted print (1 prize)


• Professional 8x10 matted print of your choice from the Beer Garden (2 prizes)
  
• sketch in charcoal of you or someone else, done at the Beer Garden by artist ASP (2 prizes)

Also, if you're not lucky enough to win and want a print of a photo from the event they will be available for ordering:

• 1 - 8x10 matted print $15


• 10 - 4x6 prints: $15 (does not have to be the same photo)

If someone wants to have a photo session and is willing to pay the full price then MP will also donate that money to Mukonchi. Session fees are $200/2 hours and include a CD of the photos. This is for any photo session booked in the month of October.

If you don't win the raffle but would still like a Charcoal Sketch done at the fundraiser then you can get one for $20.

Again, proceeds from everything sold at the Beer Garden event will be sent to Mukonchi.

Excerpt from a letter from Mukonchi

One of the latest emails that we received with updates about Mukonchi, Zambia. The correspondence isn't steady since it's a bit of a trek from the Mission to the nearest town to get to internet access. But I will translate (from Polish) and post any updates we receive:

Mrs. Alicja,
I think a lot of time has passed not only since I last emailed you, but also since we met in Kielce (Poland).... I'm really happy that I had a chance to meet you and Andrzej. I am very greatful for all your help.... I think I mentioned (in a previous letter) that I used some of the money to purchase a couple dozen pairs of shoes for the childern from the pre-school, school uniforms, paid for school exam fees, and a part of the money went to pay the pre-shool staff and the instructors for sewing and carpentry (at the Youth Training Centre). From the previous money I recieved I bought 40 blankets for those (children) in most need of them ..., not to mention the financing in many instances of transportation costs and medical care for a large group of people. ...Again I want to extend my thanks to you for all your help for the Mukonchi mission. fr. Grzegorz

Let the feast begin!

Last weekend Magda, Alicja and I (Amber) started the long process of making 600+ pierogi.
We established a nice assembly line and in 2.5 hours we made 195 mushroom and cabbage pierogi.

Sadly, the week has been so busy for most of us, that last night, Alicja took it upon herself to make 230 meat pierogi! Alicja, I say “here here”
Saturday we will be making the potato and onion pierogi, and then it’s onto the other dishes!

Don’t know what pierog is? Pierogi are half circular dumplings of dough stuffed with savory ingredients, most commonly mashed potatoes, cheese, cabbage, sauerkraut, meat or mushrooms.

Trust me, they are delicious!

Another item on the menu is Salatka Jarzynowa. I would translate to English, but where is the fun in that!
Grilled meats will be served with a smile by the amazing Frank!
For the the rest of the menu and the beer list, stay tuned!



Reminder: if you haven't bought your tickets, please do so soon.

Fundraiser Tickets Are Now On Sale

What is this fundraiser all about?
In a nutshell we're pooling our money together and spending it this Beer Garden event in an effort to raise more money then we alone could donate to this mission.
All money from the sale of the tickets will be sent to Mukonchi Mission in Zambia to fund projects which promote self sufficiency, such as courses in carpentry, by allowing people to learn a trade, as well as providing preschool and other educational services.
We will have more information on the specific needs soon.

Photos from Mukonchi

Mother's little helper


End of the semester


Serving dinner

Mukonchi Mission Fundraiser - Informational Flyers Coming Soon

So LP and I spent some time this weekend working on the flyers for the fundraiser. It was slow going, but then we hit on some brilliance and we'll unveil the new flyer tomorrow, if not even tonight.

The idea will be that you can send the flyer to people by email and even if they can't come they may be willing to contribute to the cause. We will also print out a limited amount of flyers for our "street ops" to hand out to friends and acquaintances.

AP is trying to contact Fr. Zbroszczyk in Mukonchi to get us the details on what the mission's greatest needs are right now.

In the Works: October 25th Fundraiser for Mukonchi

We will be selling tickets for a fundraiser in Alexandria, Virginia.

This will be happening on Saturday October 25th from 1-7pm.

There are still some things to settle - like a catchy title - you can vote on that over to the right.

You'll also notice that we will only have a limited amount of tickets available for this event, hence the Ticket Counter addition.

More information is coming oh so soon!

Donations and Volunteers Needed

Since we're busy at the moment with the Mukonchi fundraiser we thought we'd at least post some information from the Christ House website:

Located at:
131 S. West Street, Alexandria, VA 22314
703-549-8644 (shelter)

Christ House needs items for holiday food baskets for the needy on Christmas and Giant or Safeway food certificates for elderly clients.

Donations needed:
• items for bagged lunches (pre-sliced packaged lunchmeats, individual fruit cups, 8-oz bottles of water, presliced packaged cheese, sandwich bags, lunch bags, peanut butter, jelly, and large cans of tuna fish)
• canned meats • canned vegetables • tuna • cereal • pasta • instant potatoes • Mac & cheese kits • laundry hampers • small trashcans • bars of soap • toothbrushes • toothpaste • razors for shaving • shaving cream • hairbrushes • deodorant (preferably bar) • shampoo • Giant & Safeway food certificates ($10)

drop off Monday through Friday, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

More volunteers are needed for the following services:

Thrift Shop - Daily, 11 AM-3PM
Help manage the thrift shop operations and assist manager with donations, sales, sorting, and other duties.
Food Pantry
Work can be scheduled for daytime, evenings and weekends. Help sort donated food items to help keep the pantry organized and current.
Soup Kitchen
Work with various volunteer groups in the afternoon and evening to help prepare and serve the evening meal or help with clean up (there is an automatic dishwasher).

Christ House Soup Kitchen & Shelter

This is another project that we are trying to take up.
LP knows more about it.

This is from their website:

Founded in 1973, Christ House provides food to the hungry, shelter to the homeless, and clothing to those in need. Christ House helps individuals recognize their abilities, develop self-sufficiency, and maintain their self-respect. It offers limited assistance to individuals needing help to
pay their rent, utility bills, prescription bills, and other expenses.

Food
The program provides over 18,000 meals in a year's time. Volunteers of various churches, civic and social organizations prepare and serve the daily evening meal. An average of 50-65 people eat at Christ House each evening.

Shelter
Christ House offers transitional housing to the homeless. Its recently renovated facilities afford a safe, clean, and welcoming environment to single men in need of a place to stay while they improve their lives. Christ House also provides shower and laundry facilities to residents.

Clothing
Christ House operates a thrift shop seven days a week from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Items are inexpensive; if an individual is unable to pay, there is no charge. The Thrift Shop welcomes donations of clothing and shoes but is not accepting donations of furniture at the present time.

Emergency Assistance
Catholic Charities' emergency assistance program provides limited financial assistance to needy individuals for payment of rent, utility bills, prescription charges, and other expenses.

Volunteers
More than sixteen hundred volunteers contribute time and talent to the important work of Christ House. Many help with preparing and serving the evening meals, and some help by painting, cleaning windows and rugs, and washing dishes. Numerous volunteers assist during Christmas, Thanksgiving and other special times.

About Mukonchi Mission

In Zambia schooling is mandatory, but in the bush more than 50% of the children don’t benefit from this law. There are many different reasons for this. A great percentage of the children do not have one or both parents. Often a child cannot go to school because the parent cannot afford to buy shoes, a uniform, or school supplies. It also happens that the children don’t go to school because of the great distance between the school and where they live. Some children walk about 3 to 4 miles to school and the same distance back.Mukonchi Mission belongs to the Archdiocese of Lusaka and is located about 124 miles to the north-east of the capital, Lusaka , in the African bush. The closest town, Kabwe, post office or hospital is 31 miles away, by dirt road. The mission is run by Father Grzegorz Zbroszczyk and the beginnings of the mission reach back to 1998.

Mukonchi Mission Serves the Community:

Preschool/Daycare
Mukonchi Mission has a pre-school/daycare for 5-7 year-old orphans, half-orphans and children from the poorest families.

Mukonchi Youth Center
Courses taught in carpentry, blacksmith and tailoring for young adults, promoting self-sufficiency.

Home Based Care
Care and support for people with HIV/AIDS. Individuals receive medical assistance as well as care by volunteers.

-Mukonchi Mission Information provided by Fr. Grzegorz Zbroszczyk