It has been a tough week. Kim's grandmother died Friday night or Saturday morning, and she has been in Illinois all week attending the visitation and funeral and dealing with family matters, so there hasn't been much in the way of new developments the last several days.
The church website, by the way, is http://www.aplc.org, and it has been down and up a couple times in the last couple of weeks, but they have directions on the site. And it has some decent information up about the pastors and the mission of the church. It has quickly become close to a home church for Katie and myself after several years at our prior church.
Anyway, please keep Kim's family in your prayers as they mourn the loss of the family matriarch. I am sorry that I never got to meet her as she seems like a fabulous woman.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Goforth scholarship at Trinity University
The third place we are registering for charitable donations is Trinity University in San Antonio, TX. I (Curtis) used a portion of the life insurance proceeds from my first wife's passing to endow a scholarship in her name for the Department of Mathematics there. We were both math majors back in the day, and she was the first female graduate of the math department to earn a PhD in mathematics.
The scholarship is geared to support folks with potential to teach mathematics, especially at the college level. Becky's passion was teaching the people who would become teachers in our public schools, from the elementary grades through high school. She taught math - not education - but she always had in mind not just her students but her students' students as well, and she redesigned several courses in her career at Florida State University as a graduate student and Stephen F. Austin State University as a professor.
Each year, I give the proceeds from the amount set aside from the portion of her life insurance to this scholarship, and I have guaranteed Trinity that it will be at least $1,000 per year. In addition, I do tax returns for friends and family each year as a fundraiser for the scholarship, and we are happy to list the scholarship fund as a charity that we support in this joyous time.
When you go to the justgive.org registry (the link is below), please indicate under the designation the Goforth Scholarship. I have let the Planned Giving Office know what we are doing with this registry, so anything going through the Dunevant/Ruder wedding registry should get to the right place, but indicating the Goforth scholarship will make doubly sure.
The scholarship is geared to support folks with potential to teach mathematics, especially at the college level. Becky's passion was teaching the people who would become teachers in our public schools, from the elementary grades through high school. She taught math - not education - but she always had in mind not just her students but her students' students as well, and she redesigned several courses in her career at Florida State University as a graduate student and Stephen F. Austin State University as a professor.
Each year, I give the proceeds from the amount set aside from the portion of her life insurance to this scholarship, and I have guaranteed Trinity that it will be at least $1,000 per year. In addition, I do tax returns for friends and family each year as a fundraiser for the scholarship, and we are happy to list the scholarship fund as a charity that we support in this joyous time.
When you go to the justgive.org registry (the link is below), please indicate under the designation the Goforth Scholarship. I have let the Planned Giving Office know what we are doing with this registry, so anything going through the Dunevant/Ruder wedding registry should get to the right place, but indicating the Goforth scholarship will make doubly sure.
The Clubhouse
Another charity we are supporting is called The San Antonio Clubhouse. This organization is part of a national organization of Clubhouses which support folks with mental illness. I (Curtis) have been on the board of directors for over a year now, and have come to know many of the fine people who work for and participate in the Clubhouse, and watching them develop in the months that they attend is amazing.
One of the biggest problems people with mental illness face - most of the people who attend have schizophrenia or bipolar disorder - is the isolation from society that happens. One of the things that the Clubhouse offers is a peer group and a chance for interaction. We offer structure to the day, and people are involved in all sorts of activities, and there is help in finding employment for those who are ready for that. We will help advocate for our members because they might need somewhat different working conditions.
It is an exciting year to be working with the Clubhouse. Thanks to an amazing donation, we have been able to purchase a building on North Alamo St. And while the mortgage is taken care of because of this donation, there is much need for equipment as we build a kitchen and install an elevator and the like. So contributions made from this wedding will be used on these types of capital projects which will help folks with mental illness for many years to come. In addition, the Clubhouse has received a matching grant from the Meadows Foundation in which they have promised to match the first $30,000 of contributions that are designated for the match. So every dollar we contribute to the Clubhouse will earn another dollar if so designated. I have noted this on the Justgive page.
One of the biggest problems people with mental illness face - most of the people who attend have schizophrenia or bipolar disorder - is the isolation from society that happens. One of the things that the Clubhouse offers is a peer group and a chance for interaction. We offer structure to the day, and people are involved in all sorts of activities, and there is help in finding employment for those who are ready for that. We will help advocate for our members because they might need somewhat different working conditions.
It is an exciting year to be working with the Clubhouse. Thanks to an amazing donation, we have been able to purchase a building on North Alamo St. And while the mortgage is taken care of because of this donation, there is much need for equipment as we build a kitchen and install an elevator and the like. So contributions made from this wedding will be used on these types of capital projects which will help folks with mental illness for many years to come. In addition, the Clubhouse has received a matching grant from the Meadows Foundation in which they have promised to match the first $30,000 of contributions that are designated for the match. So every dollar we contribute to the Clubhouse will earn another dollar if so designated. I have noted this on the Justgive page.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Children's Bereavement Center
One of the places we are registering for contributions is the Children's Bereavement Center of South Texas. Katie and I have been going there for close to a year. They provide group and individual counselling for children whose family members or close friends have died. We go to a group every other week for children who lost parents to a long-term illness, and it has given Katie a peer group as well as a place where it is safe for her to express herself without worrying about what the right thing to say or feel is.
In addition, since it has become clear to me that Kim and I were headed towards marriage, I have taken Katie there for individual counselling as well. She goes every other week and meets a student who is getting a degree in counselling. I decided to do this because this is something different than her peer group there. Most of the children there are within a year of losing their parent, and so they are not dealing with remarriage issues. Katie gets along fabulously with Sarah, her counsellor, and looks forward to going each time.
All services provided to the children are free of charge. The CBC is supported by individual donors and foundation grants so that no child is turned away for financial reasons. We as a family wholeheartedly support the CBC, and could think of no place we would recommend more highly for our friends and families to support.
In addition, since it has become clear to me that Kim and I were headed towards marriage, I have taken Katie there for individual counselling as well. She goes every other week and meets a student who is getting a degree in counselling. I decided to do this because this is something different than her peer group there. Most of the children there are within a year of losing their parent, and so they are not dealing with remarriage issues. Katie gets along fabulously with Sarah, her counsellor, and looks forward to going each time.
All services provided to the children are free of charge. The CBC is supported by individual donors and foundation grants so that no child is turned away for financial reasons. We as a family wholeheartedly support the CBC, and could think of no place we would recommend more highly for our friends and families to support.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Site under construction
Hopefully, we will be adding more details soon. But for now, this is what we know. The wedding will be June 30, 2007 at 2 p.m. at Abiding Presence Lutheran Church in San Antonio. The reception will follow.
We will be sending out a save the date invitation soon, with the formal invitations to follow in a couple of months, though anything Curtis has much of a say in won't be very formal.
We will be registering at justgive.org as well as at places where you can buy presents that fit in boxes. Hopefully, as time goes by, we will provide links and information to the charities we are encouraging people to support.
https://www.justgive.org/basket?acton=viewWedding&donorId=70643&listTypeId=2
We will be sending out a save the date invitation soon, with the formal invitations to follow in a couple of months, though anything Curtis has much of a say in won't be very formal.
We will be registering at justgive.org as well as at places where you can buy presents that fit in boxes. Hopefully, as time goes by, we will provide links and information to the charities we are encouraging people to support.
https://www.justgive.org/basket?acton=viewWedding&donorId=70643&listTypeId=2
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