Dear all,
After a glorious English summer, it’s time for an update of Laxmi Support:
Market stalls 2019: In June and August Laxmi Support was present at three festivals in the English villages of Ashburton, Staverton and Scoriton. Our blue coloured gazebo came in handy, not so much to shelter from the rain but more to get some shade from the hot summer sun. All three festivals were well attended with a record number of more than 1000 visitors plus the children at the Scoriton Country Show. There were dog shows, flower and vegetable competitions and all kinds of sports activities and games for the children.
In between all this hustle and bustle was our Laxmi Support gazebo decorated with fluttering Buddha flags above a display of colorful things from Nepal, Bali, Thailand, second-hand and new toys, clothing and so much more. Our stall was well attended on all three days and we were able to tell many people about our activities for the schools and the children’s home in Nepal. In total we sold for a marvelous sum of £ 317, which, with deduction of donations to the organizers of the festivals, will go entirely to our projects.
From December this year, Laxmi Support will also be present at the monthly village market of Staverton. This two-hour market is held every third Saturday morning of the month and after four years of attending Laxmi Support is well known in the local community. Up to now, we have sold for £ 113 this year, which will also go directly to our projects.
For a full report and photos:
Ashburton Grand Fete: https://laxmi-support.com/uw-steun/fondsenwerving/ashburton-grand-fete-2019
Staverton Flower Show & Sports: https://laxmi-support.com/uw-steun/fondsenwerving/staverton-bloemen-show-sports-2019
Scoriton Country Show & Sports: https://laxmi-support.com/uw-steun/fondsenwerving/scoriton-country-show-sports-2019
New treasurers: In June this year, Henk Wagenaar, the father of Samantha and our treasurer since October 2011, has indicated, unfortunately he can no longer execute the role of treasurer for our charity and would like to pass it on to someone else. This has been a hard decision, but the time had come. We would like to take this opportunity to say a massive thanks to Henk for all his work over the years. Henk has managed the financial side of numorous projects and was also highly involved in our relief efforts after the earthquakes of 2015. We would like to thank Henk from the bottom of our hearts for 8 years of being our treasurer to the foundation!
Fortunately Geke Kegelaar and her daughter Jolanda from Wapenveld will jointly take over the role of treasurer. The transfer has been arranged with the Chamber of Commerce in the Netherlands and we are in the process of changing names and address for the ING Bank. Geke and Samantha have met each other at the ABN AMRO Bank in Amsterdam in 2008 and their friendship has remained ever since. Geke has been a loyal sponsor of Laxmi Support for many years and has also carried out various campaigns for our foundation. For example, this year Geke raised money for Laxmi Support for her sixtieth birthday and in 2008 Geke and her family sold orange-coloured balloons in Amsterdam on Queen’s Day (see report: https://laxmi-support.com/uw-steun/fondsenwerving/ballonnen-verkoop-koninginnemarkt-amsterdam-2008).
The address of Laxmi Support has now also changed and is: Kievitsweg 8, 8191 BG Wapenveld, Netherlands.
Upcoming project: Festival time has arrived in Nepal. The Dashain Harvest festival has already started and will be extensively celebrated throughout the country. The next important festival will be Tihar which will start in November. This festival is also called the ‘Festival of Lights’, as people will put candles and oil lamps in front of their windows and houses for the Goddess of Prosperity, Laxmi, to find her way to the houses. During this time the Kathmandu valley will be beautifully lit with many small lights. For the children of Hopeful Home, the Tihar festival is their most favourite time of the year and will be celebrated with an extra big meal, new clothes and lots of offerings for the Laxmi Goddess. This year we would love to sponsor this festival for the children. More news will follow in our next newsletter.
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Big namaste,
Samantha, Laxmi Support Foundation