still waters: what buys what

Howdy, everyone!

Here's a brief outline of what your contribution (or the contribution of a friend with extra means) to Still Waters in a Storm (www.stillwatersinastorm.org/support) makes possible:

$25 buys a splendid Fortunata's pizza and juice for one meeting

$50 buys 100 fundraising Still Waters buttons (stylish conversation-starters)

$100 buys food to host a cross-town meeting with our sister group from the Bronx

$150 buys stationery supplies for a year (we really WRITE! and then we write some MORE!)

$250 pays for recording and distributing our next CD (go to www.stillwatersinastorm.org/media/audio to hear our first CD)

$300 buys food for a month of meetings

$350 hires a renowned writer to give a poetry workshop (this year we hired Willie Perdomo)

$400 buys a group set of books (this year we bought 15 copies of THE PHILOSOPHER AND THE WOLF, by Mark Rowlands, and RANDOM FAMILY, by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc; we're looking forward to Junot Diaz's THE BRIEF, WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO, among others)

$500 sends the group on two field trips to museums or sites of natural beauty (this year we went to the Museum of Modern Art, and brought a real, live wolf to class; we look forward to hiking along the Hudson and keeping naturalist journals)

$1,500 sends 15 group members to a Broadway show (this year we saw IN THE HEIGHTS)

$2,500 stocks our store with fundraising merchandise (books, stationery, meditation guides, yoga supplies, water filters, umbrellas,...)

$30,000 hires three youth workers for a year, part-time

$35,000 hires the group director for a year, full time

The above are GENERAL OPERATING EXPENSES, and they keep us alive. As such, they are the group's pressing needs.

If you are interested in contributing to our long-range CAPITAL CAMPAIGN for a home in the neighborhood, where we can open our doors seven days a week offering Still Waters sessions, tutoring, and a place for peaceful reflection, please read on.

Any donation helps, but here are some major targets:

$5,000 puts a deposit on our new home

$7,500 renovates our new home

$10,000 pays two months' rent

$30,000 pays half a year's rent

$50,000 pays the deposit, insurance, renovations and rent for half a year

$75,000 pays the rent and insurance and utilities for a whole year in our new home

We would gratefully and happily accept donated space in the Bushwick neighborhood, and in-kind donations such as furniture, signs and cleaning supplies.

Please let us know if your donation goes to our Capital Campaign for a home in Bushwick or to General Operating Expenses. For complete instructions on how to make a donation, go to www.stillwatersinastorm.org/support. All funds received by December 31st qualify as charitable donations for the 2009 tax year and will instantly receive a receipt for deduction purposes.

If you have questions, ideas or concerns, please feel free to email stillwatersinastorm@yahoo.com or call me at 646-579-5025.

Anything and everything you donate turns into beauty, fun and peace in the neighborhood.

Amor y paz,

Stephen Haff

Still Waters in a Storm

646-579-5025