Mano a Mano Fundraiser at Rich’s Foxwillow Pines Nursery, Inc. This Weekend
This Saturday, August 27th, 2016 from 9a-4p, the Eyres are hosting a fundraising event for Mano a Mano and Heifer International at their nursery in Woodstock, Illinois. Below is an excerpt from their website about the event this weekend:
“Rich and Susan Eyre, along with Rich’s recently deceased mother Margaret Eyre, have been longtime supporters of Heifer International (HI). This is a non-profit, humanitarian organization dedicated to ending world hunger and poverty and caring for the earth. HI provides livestock, trees, training and other resources to help struggling families build sustainable futures. Proceeds from the sale of hostas go directly to the charity. A wide selection of hostas will be available.
Several years ago the Eyres expanded their charitable efforts to include Mano a Mano International Partners, a small yet powerful organization working to improve lives in rural Bolivia. Their work focuses on building hospitals, schools, roads, and irrigation projects. Sales of colorful handicrafts made by Bolivians benefit the charity. Previous efforts raised enough funds to build and dedicate a school in Sora Sora in honor of Margaret Eyre.”
Thank You Richard and Susan!
Richard and Susan Eyre have been extremely dedicated supporters of Mano a Mano over the years; here is just a short list:
- Hosting fundraising events (HERE and HERE are just 2 examples of many)
- Traveling to Bolivia with Mano a Mano
- Appearing on radio shows to talk about their philPLANThropy
- Connecting friends & family to build a school in honor of Margaret Eyre
The Margaret Eyre School Project
The Margaret Eyre school project in Sora Sora was completed in June 2016. Sadly, Margaret Eyre passed away earlier this year, but we are happy that this project in her honor is complete and will provide access to education and a better environment for students and teachers in Sora Sora for a long time to come.
Margaret Eyre School – Repost from December 2015
About a year and a half ago, Mano a Mano friends Richard and Susan Eyre started working on raising funds to build a school in honor of Richard’s mother – Margaret Eyre. Richard and Susan have been amazing supporters of Mano a Mano and extremely active – appearing on radio shows, hosting craft sales, traveling to Bolivia, among many other things – and this effort was no different.
At the office, at least once a month we’ll open the mail to find a new stack of checks from the Eyres and their friends to go towards the school project.
We raised enough funding to select a community and get started on the project – a 4-classroom school project in Sora Sora, a small community of about 1,800 in the province of Chapare, municipality of Colomi, department of Cochabamba, Bolivia.
In Deember 2015, Mano a Mano’s co-founder Segundo Velasquez traveled to Chicago to present a plaque for the project to Margaret Eyre.
Note from Segundo About the Visit
Margarita, friends, and family who contributed to the construction of this school project were touched with the gesture and the special trip made to Chicago. Margarita is 97.5 years old and she is still pretty sharp. Margarita supported her son, Richard Eyre when he was serving in Bolivia in the Peace Corps and has supported Mano a Mano in the recent past.
We wished her a Merry Christmas. They asked me thank everyone at Mano a Mano for your work in Bolivia….
Pictures from Sora Sora, Bolivia
Partnership Model
As with every Mano a Mano project, this school project is a partnership with many different people coming together. Donors in the US, Mano a Mano (in this case Mano a Mano International in the US and our counterpart organization Mano a Mano Bolivia), the municipal government, and the community all play integral roles in making this project happen.
You can learn about our partnership model here.
Letter From Margaret Eyre
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2015.
I wish you a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year. I am still at Valley Hi Nursing Home and I am doing well there at 96 years old. My only complaint is that every day is the same. The holidays are wonderful and so many people and groups come to entertain us.
The ‘Margaret Eyre School’
One great piece of news is that Mano a Mano International is going to name a school in Bolivia in my honor. If anyone would like to donate money designated to the ‘Margaret Eyre School’, send it to:
- Mano a Mano International
- 925 Pierce Butler Rte
- St Paul MN 55104
Thanks to everyone for all the love, letters, visits, and calls. It makes me happy!
Love, Margaret