Ripple Ice Cream with a Ripple Effect
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We would like you to meet Sam.
Sam is a young entrepreneur (age 13) who started an ice cream bike business in his hometown in Bend, Oregon because he thought the ice cream man was taking advantage of the neighborhood kids with high prices.
Sam was using his savings from the previous summer to buy a wagon so he could expand his little business.
One day he noticed an e bike was for sale. The owners were asking for more than he had or could afford but after discussing it with his parents, everyone agreed it was worth asking if a deal could be made.
The owners of the e-bike just happened to be Los Barriles’ and SNAP (Spay, Neuter, and Protect’s) very own Rita Rehome Myers and Paula Myers.
Before we knew that part of the story, a donation from Sam came into Leaders2Give with a note of appreciation. We first reached out to Sam for more information and that led us to Paula & Rita whom we reached out to for the backstory.
“We were asking more for the ebike than he had saved but we weren’t THAT far apart and it didn’t hurt that we are a sucker for a good cause.” Said Rita Rehome.
“So I made him a deal. As an entrepreneur we asked him to think about more than the business’ bottom line. We asked him if his business could also be a force for good and improve lives. Could it impact a charity? He agreed that it should and so we made a deal.”
The deal was that if Sam made a profit on his business as a result of getting a deal on the bike he would make a donation to Leaders2Give. If he was willing to do that, Paula & Rita promised they would sell the e-bike for the money he had saved which was well below the asking price and market value. They shook on it and the deal was done.
But the story doesn’t end there…
When Sam donated the money, he selected the option, “As determined by Leaders2Give based on urgency/demand.” In other words, he hadn’t specifically directed the money towards SNAP. We informed Paula and Rita that we would direct the money towards their cause, however, they insisted that we use the money for the most urgent cause for protecting vulnerable children.
So my friends, that’s the story of how…
Paula & Rita helped Sam
so Sam could help kids in his home town save money on ice cream
which led to a growing and profitable small business
which led to funds being donated to help protect vulnerable children while inspiring empowered leadership
and finally, how Paula and Rita are living examples of “helping is helping” and "a rising tide raises all ships.”
Thanks for being the change you two, you are inspiring!
And… if you are ever in Bend Oregon be sure to buy some ice cream from Sam 😊
Now for even more inspiration, please read all of our partner updates below:
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PARTNER UPDATES
Líderes Para Dar / John Gullo Home for Children
It’s hard to find a cause more fulfilling than protecting vunerable children and when we work collectively we can achieve it. This has been our inspiration for the John Gullo Home For Children, a vision we have had in place for more than two years. Now that the pandemic is in our rear view mirror, it’s time to focus and make that beautiful vision a reality.
Let’s remind ourselves about why this is important:
Supporting efforts for underprivileged families and children is not only a moral obligation but also a necessity for society. Children and families from underprivileged backgrounds often face a range of challenges, including limited access to education, healthcare, and other basic needs. Investing in underprivileged families and children - especially when dealing with a personal crisis, can yield significant long-term benefits for both individuals and society. Providing dependable ways to address education, healthcare, food and other basic needs can help break the cycle of poverty and enable children to achieve their goals. We believe it can also result in improved health outcomes, reduced crime rates, and increased economic growth. In short, a brighter and more prosperous community and future for all.
We’ve spent several weeks coordinating some of the major elements needed to light that rocket and go!!
Dedicated expertise through volunteers to responsibly and structurally lead the coordination of all construction and operating activities
Thoughtful evaluation & selection of general contractor and other design partners
Careful development of budgetary and stewardship elements required to respectfully build and protect community trust and all precious investments
Our goal is to begin construction this summer!
New Creation Kids Children’s Home
Aaaaaand they’re live! All systems a go!
Today, New Creation Kids is running on solar power that has its own battery system!
I would love to publicly name and thank the amazing people behind this project which included building a secure and stable shed to house the new solar panel battery system, but alas, I’ve been sworn to secrecy and they absolutely insist on anonymity so a quiet thanks will just have to do.
You should all feel very proud.
Thank you for helping to protect these vulnerable children who will always have “free” power even during storms and brown outs.
The East Cape Health Center
The East Cape Health Center is proud to announce that the first day for Dra Ingrid Quintero, OB/Gyn will be on Sat 6 May at the new Women’s Health Center. They have a full schedule for her with six patients.
In April, Dr. Daniel Medina joined their team. Daniel was one of the East Cape Guild doctors in 2016-2018 and aspired to attend a three year Emergency Physician Masters degree. When he graduated, he returned to join their team to cover 24 hour weekends, Monday and Tuesday duty. He is a valued physician with skills to share with their medical team.
Another good recruitment is the addition of Dra. Karla Zamudio. Karla comes with fantastic triple credentials, specializing in Pediatrics, Pediatric Urology and Pediatric Surgery. She will start 6 May and work twice a week.
La Ribera had a two day power outage so the new clinic found it essential to install a generator to keep the lights on in case of another power outage during the summer.
And finally, last Saturday, the East Cape Health Center attended a fun affair at Viva Creacion to support their new remodeling of the dormitories, the main play area, the garden, and the woodworking site. A fun time was had by all as the children who painted art projects which were raffled off to the attendees.
Stay tuned for their summer projects…
Feeding The Hungry
Hundreds of people turned out to support the Feeding the Hungry (FTH) fundraiser featuring the electrifying music of the Lack Family at La Playa restaurant. Even the overflow parking on the beach consisted of more than a hundred vehicles.
As usual the Lack Family performed an eclectic set, composed of some classic favorites and some original pieces and the dance floor was packed for most of the evening.
The concert was free, but attendees were asked to make a donation to FTH which supports those in the community suffering from poverty and food insecurity by providing them with vouchers with which to purchase food and essential supplies.
The event raised $560 USD and 10,530 pesos which will help feed approximately one and one third families for a year. Currently, it takes $15,600 pesos a year to supply vouchers for one family.
Thank you goes to the volunteers who assisted with the donation collections and running the raffle.
Dancing to a superb band is a great way to support FTH in its efforts to ensure that no one in our community goes to bed hungry.
SNAP - Spay, Neuter, and Prevention
SNAP Los Barriles is continuing its work towards building new community relationships and strengthening other partnerships to help families take the basic steps of combating the overpopulation of dogs and cats.
SNAP Los Barriles presented to the Los Barriles Rotary Club about what they do and how they could partner with Rotary Interact Kids to help youth get community service hours. SNAP's voucher system and community outreach is going strong with an average of 100 dogs and cats receiving spay and neuter services each month. April has also been filled with "Fun" fundraising events but as the tourist season is wrapping up SNAP is gearing up to help under privileged families with providing transportation for their pets to the vet and surgeon, and assisting with pet food during the hot days of summer.
A $20 donation to SNAP Los Barriles can prevent over 20 - 28 unwanted animals per year for each dog or cat spayed or neutered.
To Donate to Leaders2Give and any of our Partners, visit our Donate page.