Happy Holidays from COME UNITY!

 At a recent Board of Directors retreat we learned a good lesson that to avoid growing weary it is a good practice to document your successes.  As 2011 comes to an end, here’s the short list on what we’ve been up to!

In 2011 we…

-took a team to Kenya

-held two 6k races in Indiana and Pennsylvania

-started a new well in Ethiopia and took on new sponsor girls in Kenya

-raised nearly $15,000 for our future water and sustainability projects

-completed our 501(c)3 application (and await our approved status!)

 

I’m excited about all of this stuff.  In charity work like this it can sometimes feel like I’m spending my time writing emails, planning events and recruiting volunteers.  For you, maybe it feels like you write your check each month so your Sponsor Child can attend school, or you come participate in our latest fundraiser.  And it’s not every day that we get to see the fruit of those efforts.  The seeds of what is being sewn here at home are planted in a dry and weary land far away--- and there is where there is a harvest of lives changed!  Girls are going to school because of you.  People are drinking clean water because of you.  Your contribution in big and small ways really is making a difference.  How can I thank you enough?

I am grateful for a incredibly committed Board of Directors and team of volunteers who know what it takes to turn nothing into something. Out of the empty air they have invested time and more time into detailing out what COME UNITY is about.  Who we are, exactly, as an organization.  What are we all about.  Why.  The nitty gritty.  We sat in a house one weekend and didn’t get up from our seats until our mission, our vision and some important next steps on the way to NPO status were hammered out.  An important thing as we’re on the tipping point of going from little fundraising organization to big time impact maker and world changer.  We love what we came up with… and we knew you would too!  For us, it’s about sustainability. We are not the savior of our partners, we are not the answer to all their problems. We are a temporary hand up, and we desire to help create a sustainable system for them so they can live respectable lives.

Our mission: To partner with developing societies by creating opportunities for self-sufficient life.

Vision Statement:  COME UNITY will create a world where people are not causes and ‘aid’ is a history term. Every person will have clean water to drink, a respectable life and a way to make ends meet. Girls will have equal opportunity at being educated and women will be a valued part of their community. We will compel generation after generation to be knowledgeable, involved and give generously to those who are less fortunate. We will not be a forever solution to the communities we partner with. COME UNITY’s vision is to bring healing, wholeness, relationship and solution so our organization will not have a reason to exist.

Can I get a little personal here? 2012 is a big year for me.  Dance has long been the passion of my life.  When I was eight I fell in love with performing in the Nutcracker, and, well, 25 years later it is still my full time career.  In April I am getting married to the love of my life!  And in June I will retire from twelve years of being a professional ballerina.  Three knee surgeries, a new husband and home 90 miles from ‘work’ and a growing desire to commit more of myself to COME UNITY are beckoning me to a different life.  I feel the spectrum of emotions, but most days I am ready and really excited to pack my ballerina bags and journey into a new season of life!

In 2012 we will…

-take a team to Africa, build a new borehole, love on our sponsor girls!

-expand the COME UNITY 6k Run/Walk beyond PA and IN.  Will your city be next?!...

-host a professional dance event in PA as part of Philadelphia Fringe Fest

-have a baseball camp, a volleyball tourney

-hold a super cool COME UNITY benefit

-have a part time staff! (Guess who?!)

 
We have loads to be grateful for.  Thanks for being part of all we do.  Celebrate this season with a lot of joy!  Love, Kristin