from the December, 2013 issue of Kiai!

What Difference Do Your Dollars Make?

 

By Senpai Pat Broughton,
2nd Degree Black Belt

Never doubt that your donations to Thousand Waves make a difference. Last year generous contributions from Thousand Waves members, families, and alums, along with gifts from their family and friends given during fundraising events, made up 29% of Thousand Waves’ revenue.

Now imagine we didn’t have those gifts. What would it be like to have 29% fewer classes, 29% fewer teachers, 29% fewer friendly faces at the front desk, 29% fewer scholarship dollars (and students), 29% fewer violence prevention programs, 29% fewer … you get the point.

Each and every gift helps support Thousand Waves. Our end of the year appeal, currently underway, is one more opportunity to give.

And then there’s the Plum Blossom Society, which recognizes individuals and families who make gifts totaling $1,000 or more. Last year there were 34 founding members of the Plum Blossom Society, This year, to date, the Plum Blossom Society has 29 members (listed below).

There’s still time to join the Plum Blossom Society. All gifts received by December 31 – including those in response to the end of the year appeal – count toward your $1,000 total. Again this year, Plum Blossom Society members will be invited to an exclusive dinner at the home of Thousand Waves’ Executive Directors, Nancy Lanoue and Sarah Ludden. The dinner for 2013 members will be held on Saturday, February 8, 2014.

Thank you for your continued and generous support of Thousand Waves’ mission.

Special thank you to the 2013 members of the Plum Blossom Society:

The Balakumar Family
Pat Broughton
Patrick Coicou
Kelly Coomer
Michele Curley
Rebecca and Patrick Daly
Amy Day
Kurt and Elizabeth Eckert
Debbie Edwards
Ed Flam and Mary Lee Schneider
Martha Fourt and Pat Benjamin
Eric Grenzebach
Martha Ha
Arturo Jauregui
Pat Kane and Kim Osgood
Barry and Rebecca Kaufman
Chris Killackey
Max Kuroda
Wai Kwok and Kathy Strandburg
Nancy Lanoue and Sarah Ludden
Ryan Libel and Michael Moss
April and Michael Ljung
Betty White-Ludden
Mike Mazzeo
Diane and Robert Miller
Kenji and Trisha Muro
Michael Peshkin and Laurie Kahn
Hope Robinson
Peter and Cindy Shearn

If you have any questions about your total giving for 2013, including your responses to the end of the year appeal, e-mail Ryan Libel: rlibel@thousandwaves.org. If you have any questions about the Plum Blossom Society, contact Pat Broughton, chair of the fundraising committee: broughtonp@sbcglobal.net.

Click here to donate to Thousand Waves.