Chapters Indigo Venue Proposal

On April 24, I sent off an email to Chapters Indigo to ask if it was possible for Adopt a Village in Laos to conduct a presentation at one of their locations, specifically the store near Yonge and Bloor. This particular location is central and convenient to access in a number of ways. Because of the high volume of customer traffic through this location, I thought that this would be an ideal arena for Adopt a Village in Laos to gain much needed visibility, particularly here in Toronto. Within 24 hours I received a reply requesting that I get in touch with my local store directly. Not wasting any time, I did just that.

On the evening of Monday, April 25, I met with that location's events coordinator. While the meeting was brief, I did provide a concise overview about this humanitarian organization. I left some literature with him which he could present to his superiors for consideration. Before the meeting ended, he recommended that I submit a proposal to state exactly what the organization's intentions were. That week I drafted a proposal and submitted it via email to the events coordinator on May 2, which he, in turn, forwarded to the general manager.

For the next couple of weeks, it was a game email and phone tag of trying find out if my proposal had been accepted. Finally on May 26, I briefly met with the general manager to discuss my proposal in person. During the meeting, she mentioned that to help advertise the event Chapters Indigo would use their Facebook and Twitter feeds to get the message out. When the meeting ended, she was highly optimistic that approval would be granted. She simply needed to confer with her regional manager.

On May 30, I emailed the general manager to see if there had been any updates. Within moments of sending out that email, I received a reply from her indicating that my proposal had been officially approved. But some details still needed to be finalized before selecting an actual day and time to host the presentation. I immediately emailed Steve Rutledge with the good news. For the next part of this process, it would directly involve Steve himself

It will be interesting to see how this next chapter plays out.

Water Filter Brochure Published

Yesterday I emailed my friend and president of Adopt a Village in Laos, Steve Rutledge, the final version of a water filter brochure I had designed for the organization. When he first saw the layout, he was absolutely thrilled.

This tri-fold design packs a lot of information into a very small package. Inside the brochure it introduces the reader to Laos by giving some quick facts about this Southeast Asian country as well as some of its history. Also inside, it provides some interesting information about the water filters themselves and a donation form. On the back page, there is an overview about Adopt a Village in Laos itself.

This Tuesday afternoon Steve will drop off some copies from the first printing for me to distribute here in Toronto.

Please feel free to download a copy of this brochure and distribute it to people who might be interested.

Anatomy of a Water Filter

In an email from Steve Rutledge, president of Adopt a Village in Laos, on March 9, he had estimated that he would need at least 500 water filters. On May 14, when he and Mike Yap, the other half of the organization, attended my 'To Laos with Love' presentation, Steve informed me that that original estimate had doubled. In other words, at least 1,000 water filters will be needed for the 2011-2012 season.

Manufactured in Chamapasak province, Laos, these gravity-fed water purification filters are effective, easy to use, portable, lightweight, inexpensive, long lasting, chemical free and durable solutions to providing clean drinking water, which we in the West take for granted. At $55.00 Canadian per unit, this is a small price to pay for a healthier life.

The illustration above reveals the ceramic filter suspended within its plastic housing. The filter's extremely small pores are highly effective at removing bacteria, protozoa, helminths, turbidity and other suspended solids. When properly used, up to 99.99% of bacteria is reduced.

Before each hill tribe family can receive a water filter, one member from each family must take a hygiene course to learn how to maintain the unit properly.

My Article in SNAP

This image is extracted from the May 2011 issue of SNAP DOWNTOWN TORONTO which contains my article, "The Adopt a Village in Laos Story". The article appears in the upper right hand quadrant of this page.

Travel Fundraising Fund Surpasses $1000

Last night I received a very lovely birthday gift from two dear friends of mine, $100 to add to my Laos travel fund. With this addition, my travel fund now stands at $1100.

Q107 Mentions My SNAP Article

On May 4, Q107, one of Toronto's radio stations, briefly mentioned my article, "The Adopt a Village in Laos Story", which now appears in the May issue of SNAP DOWNTOWN TORONTO.

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