A big thanks to the following organizations for sponsoring a Generations Campaign fundraiser:
Sangha Support- Handmade Quilt raffle. The ladies got together and created a beautiful quilt made up of the 12 Chinese Zodiac characters. This was definitely a one of kind gift and could become a family’s heirloom.
Dharma School and Lotus Can Collection-This was a fun project where we handed out small cans and had the kids decorate them and then collect change over the last few months. We were trying to get the kids involved in the fundraising as this project is really for them and their kids. This successful project brought in over a $1,000!!! In fact, one kid collected over a $150 by themselves.
Rice Bowl Bento’s- this is a unique fundraiser as several families decided to get together and do a fundraiser for the Generations Project. This is not an organization doing it but families that want to help out in any way they can. This reflects the true spirit of Dana and am very grateful to these trendsetters. Pls come out on Feb 8 to support this fundraiser and have lunch before you head out.
Super Bowl Party-The board decided to do something fun vs a formal fundraising event and came up with this idea. Thanks to the SJBC orgs who donated gift baskets or food. We’re going to transform the gym and annex into a ‘sports bar’ with a huge 8×12 projection screen and several big screen TVs. We’re also having our first annual “crock pot cook off” and some of Sensei Sakamoto’s famous Tri Tip sandwiches. Bring your favorite appetizer too. $25/person or $40 for family includes all the drinks and food.
Project update
As our fundraising continues to move forward, the Board will be presented with a proposal to start construction in Aug regardless on if we hit our $3.8M goal. The Infrastructure team feels that we have already risen over half the goal which gets us a majority of the improvements we wanted and need. This does NOT mean we will stop fundraising as want to fund all the features and we need to hit the $10M goal over 5 years. If approved, it will start the first domino of many including a move out plan and most importantly a message to the organizations that they will need to find alternate locations for their events next year. Stay tuned as this will be a major decision for the Board and Betsuin.
We have finalized the Kitchen layout and it looks good. Most importantly, we have moved the location of the Pantry entrance so it doesn’t interfere with the traffic patterns in front of the stoves. I’m very excited about this portion of the project as it will provide a new life to the kitchen and reward our BWA ladies for all their hard work.
Thanks for reading and take care.
In Gassho,
Todd Tsudama
JAN