David Boothby's last day in the office

Today (Friday, September 28th) is my last day in the office. I am retiring after almost 32 years as Midwest Regional Director. Although I am looking forward to this new stage of my life, it is with a bit of sadness that I leave this office. The many wonderful staff , volunteers, donors and friends that I have met over the years have made this much more than just a job. I will continue to cherish these relationships and hopefully continue to communicate with many of you. I leave with no regrets and a feeling of accomplishment regarding the growth of this office and the region it serves. I also leave with great hopes and expectations for the future. We have come a long way in the past 32 years but there is much more to do and I have confidence that those who are still here and those who will follow me will continue to spread the word about Heifer's mission to those who have not yet heard it. My thanks to all who have traveled this road with me and blessing to all who seek to help those in need through Heifer International!

David L. Boothby

Murphy Keller Education Center website

All,

I am pleased to announce the launch of a new micro Web site in support of the construction of the Murphy Keller Education Center! You can view the site at http://murphykeller.heifer.org.

This Web site is the beginning of marketing efforts on behalf of the Heifer International Campus. During the construction phase, efforts will be focused primarily on potential donors and local and regional media. In fact, this incarnation of the site is meant primarily for those two audiences. As we near opening day, efforts will turn to a destination marketing effort aimed at the general public, schools, congregations and community groups to drive visitation to the campus.

In addition to detailed information about the building, exhibits and adjacent wetlands, visitors can take a virtual tour of the outside of the building, and in a few weeks will be able to use a new feature that will provide a virtual tour of the exhibit area. During the construction of the building, visitors will be able to see a live image of the construction site courtesy of the new Webcam that was mounted on the outside of our headquarters building, as well as frequently-updated still images.

I want to take this time to thank and recognize some key fellow staff members who have worked along with me to build this important home base for news and information about the Center: Katy Starnes (of course!), Nina Rodriguez and Erica Lawlor, the Hope for the Future Campaign staff (Lynnette Watts, David Prater and Jen Heselmeyer), Alan Jones, Jon Trobaugh, Erik Swindle and Jennifer Pierce. I want to say a special thank you to Shane Stacks for his technical guidance of the project.

Please note that, temporarily, the videos may not work inside the building (although they work appropriately externally). IT normally limits the bandwidth of streaming video. They are making a change to allow these to “buffer” and play normally, but it may not happen today. If you cannot see the videos, check them out at home tonight!

The Murphy Keller Center is the new Education Center planned for next to HQ. The “ground-breaking” ceremony was back in the spring and construction will start this fall. Below are some facts/info.

Quick Facts on the Murphy Keller Education Center

• 15,886 sq ft. mixed-use education center and conference facility ·
• Future gateway to a global village
• Immediate use as exhibit hall, Fair Trade international gift market and conference facility
• Interactive learning center and exhibit space where the public can come to learn about the root causes of hunger, poverty and environmental degradation and the sustainable solutions that Heifer International and others provide to millions of families worldwide
• Conference facility will have space for more than 200 people to gather for seminars, conferences, special events and international celebrations
• The Education Center and Commons area will be a place for local and international staff, partners from around the world, volunteers and visitors to gather to learn from each other as well as seek solutions to major global problems resulting from hunger, poverty and environmental degradation. The Commons will be Heifer’s “town square” with landscaped space for outdoor markets, international festivals and other events.
• Will include a food service area and outdoor tables for dining “al fresco”
• Cost of building construction: $7.5 million; total cost of project: $13.5 million
• Architects: Polk Stanley Rowland Curzon Porter, Architects, Ltd., of Little Roc
• Construction company: CDI Contractors, LLC of Little Rock
• Principal architect: Reese Rowland, who designed Heifer’s headquarters building
• Construction start date: Fall 2007
• Construction completion: 2009

The Murphy Keller Education Center will offer a variety of exhibits to stimulate thinking about hunger, poverty, and the environment.

As a gift from Bill and Margaret Clark of Little Rock, the entrance to the center will introduce visitors to Heifer International: its history, mission, cornerstones, and vision.

In the Global Solutions Gallery, students, teachers, and partners of Heifer International will learn that assumptions and stereotypes of poverty are untrue. Visitors will experience the creative solutions implemented by Heifer and other like-minded organizations to produce an equitable society through Health-Care, Education, Infrastructure, Fair Markets, and Sustainable Agriculture.

The inspirational stories in the Hall of Success will be a reminder that people matter and individuals can make a difference! The Make a Difference Gallery will show visitors just how they too can make difference and help eliminate poverty and hunger.

Area Volunteer Coordinators meet in Goshen

Area Volunteer Coordinators from around the Midwest Region met at the Midwest Regional office on Saturday August 4 to develop strategies for working with volunteer communities in their areas. Attending the meeting were Howard and Wilma Lord and John and Saundra Brockschink Iowa, David Kellogg NE, Robert Reed (Mn), Richard and Mary Alice Ruback (Wi), Al and Nancy Lewis (MI), Gordon and Nancy Spalenka (MI) and Gene Gardner (OH). Staff present were Midwest Director David Boothby, Adminsitrative Assistants Rowena Impey and Margaret Vandal, Northwest Area CRC Chris Quinlan and consultant Nikki Kelly

During the session, the overall mission of Heifer International was reviewed by Dave Boothby and the importance of the volunteer program was emphasized. Dave then presented the emerging plan to develop “volunteer communities” as a means of linking volunteers together for better communication and support. Each volunteer community is headed by an Area Volunteer Coordinator whose role includes recruiting, training and supporting the volunteers in his/her area.

In the afternoon session, Nikki Kelly reviewed the work she has been doing following interviews with each AVC and then working with a task force to develop tools that Coordinators can use to recruit train and keep records of volunteer activity in their area. AVC’s not able to attend the meeting will get a packet of materials from the meeting. Following the afternoon session the group had dinner together at an Amish style restaurant (Das Duchman Essenhaus) in Middlebury. Thanks to all who came and shared their ideas and pledged their support for this new program.

Upcoming Events

Upcomming Midwest Events:

July 21 Missouri Festival of Sharing--Sedelia, MO

August 1-4 Heifer University for Educators--Heifer Ranch, Perryville Arkansas

August 4 Midwest Area Volunteer Coordinators workshop--Goshen, IN

August 16-18 Heifer University--Menno Haven Retreat Center, Tiskilwa, IL

September 7-8 Wisconsin Volunteer Workshop--Monona United Methodist Church
Monona, WI

September 16 Annual Hog Roast-- Elkhart Co. 4-H Fairgrounds, Goshen, IN

September 16 Heifer Hoedown--Wheaton, IL. Dupage County Fairgrounds

November 3 Quilt Auction and Craft Fair. Glenview Community Church, Glenview, IL

For more information on these events, call the Midwest Regional office at 1-877-663-1684

New Partnership

New Partnership with NAU Outdoor Clothing

Heifer has partnered with NAU, an outdoor clothing company. Their goal (from their website) is to demonstrate the highest levels of citizenship in everything we do: product creation, production, labor practices, the way we treat each other, environmental practices and philanthropy. We believe that companies have a broader responsibility than simply generating profit. That’s one reason we blend profitability and philanthropy, what we believe is the new measure of success. Lofty? Perhaps. We didn’t invent all the ideas we seek to combine, but we will stake ourselves to them.

NAU has a number of Partners for Change. Heifer International is one of them. Each time an individual goes to check-out from their site and purchase something, they can select the organization that they wish to have the company donate a portion of their proceeds to. You can visit their site by clicking on the following link: www.nau.com. Chicago is also lucky to have a NAU store in Lincoln Park at 2118 N. Halsted.

Baby Animal Fair Huge Success

COMMUNITY BABY ANIMAL FAIR

A HUGE SUCCESS!

The Wright County Community, just west of the Twin Cities in Minnesota, made a significant statement to the world as we celebrated our fourth biennial fundraiser for Heifer International on Sunday, April 22^nd at the local Civic Center. We demonstrated that This American Community Cares About the World and We Want to Share Our Blessings by Giving Hope, in the form of farm animals and training in their care, to Communities Around the World.

Over 3000 people were in attendance for the Baby Animal Fair. Young and old all came. Admission was a gift of food for our local food shelf, 3,000 pounds of food were donated, enough to fill the local pantry! The community united, as Churches, Schools, Businesses, Organizations and Individuals, came together and donated $13,000.00 for Heifer animals. This sum will be doubled through a Heifer matching grant program!

The Fair is a time for community fun, learning and family giving. Organized around a huge world map, fair goers find 5 continents full of live baby animals, ethnic foods, local entertainment, and information booths where local young people share stories of Heifer International and how the gift of an animal can change the lives of families in need of hope throughout the world. Fair goers are instructed on zero grazing strategies, told about pastured poultry, and learn the value of “black gold” (animal manure) in renewing the earth.

The local 4H provided most of the baby animals, along with face painting, and free helium balloons for the children.

The fair focused on Heifer’s goal of healing the earth through the Ecology Booth where people could test their knowledge of our planet’s ecosystem. At the Global Dinner Table families talked about world hunger and learned about the world’s demographics at the Global Village Booth. A Geography Booth gave families an opportunity to quiz each other on their knowledge of world geography.

One of the high points of this year’s fair was the “Story Ark” built by our local alternative high school, Phoenix Learning Center. The youth there organized, financed, and built a beautiful ark, for the storybook reading center, where the littlest fair goers hang out with stuffed animals from around the world and listen to wonderful animal stories read by the Phoenix youth.

Discovery Elementary School’s 138 students read over 2000 books during “I Love to Read” month, raising over $3,500.00 for Heifer animals through Heifer’s Read to Feed program

Our local Catholic School, St Francis Xavier, learned about Heifer during Lent and filled ark banks with $830 to buy animals to help hungry children

Local Churches shared Heifer Stories with their congregations and contributed over $1,000 to our goal.

Many businesses and local philanthropic organizations played a part. Youth groups from churches, the high school drama department, a local karate school, and the Boy Scouts all had a hand in the success of the day.

Through the volunteer efforts of hundreds of local people, our community united for an afternoon of good family fun and learning. It felt good to share our blessings and to know that they will multiply as the gift is passed on, family to family.

Dedication of Murphy Keller Education Building

On April 11, KARN News Radio in Little Rock interviewed Donna Jared, Senior Vice President of Development, about the Murphy Keller Groundbreaking, to be held Monday, April 16 at 10:30 a.m. Click the following link to access the audio, which is listed under the 4/11/07 heading:

http://www.karnnewsradio.com/article.asp?id=176612&spid=

New Midwest Community Relations Coordinator

Christopher Quinlan from Eau Claire, WI has been selected as the new NW Area CRC in the Midwest Region. Chris is a graduate of Brigham Young University with a degree in International Development and the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a masters in French studies. He is currently employed with United Way of Greater Eau Claire. Chris is married to Jennifer and they have 3 sons (Michael 6, Matthew 4 and Mark 1) Chris will begin work with Heifer on May 4. We are delighted to welcome Chris to our Midwest Heifer team!

Cow Auction

I attend a fantastic event this past Sunday (March 11) at St Peter's Lutheran Church in Mishawaka, Indiana. The Children of the Sunday School had been working for months constructing paper mache cows to raise money to purchase REAL cows for Heifer Intenrnational. Sunday was the culmination of the project and after Church they set up a display of all their cows and auctioned them off through a silent auction during lunch. Each child watched excitedly as his/her cow received bids and when it was all over they had collected enough to buy 4 Heifers! There was such great enthusiasm on the part of children and adults and I'm sure the kids will remember this project for years to come. Thanks to the kids and the adults of St Peter's for this very unique fund-raising event!

Rhinelander, WI school projsct

By Heather Schaefer - Daily News Staff
From the Rhinelander, WI Daily News
The third grade class at Nativity of Our Lord School in Rhinelander wants to adopt its own Wilbur the Pig, while other Nativity students are interested in purchasing a water buffalo or perhaps a llama.As part of a special Lenten service project, students at Nativity of Our Lord are “adopting” livestock which they will donate to needy families across the globe through Heifer International's animal adoption program.According to its Web site, Heifer International works to “end hunger and poverty, and care for the earth by providing appropriate livestock, training and related services to small-scale farmers and communities worldwide.”Each family that receives an animal gives the animal's offspring to another family in need so that the cycle of giving never ends, the organization's Web site states.“This concepts helps build community and enhances dignity and participation in each project. The families continually give to others ensuring self-sufficiency, one family at a time,” the web site states.Principal Shirley Heise said each of the school's classes has chosen an animal to adopt and is working feverishly to raise enough money to purchase the particular animal (each animal has a different price, for example one pig costs $120) before Easter, when the project is scheduled to come to an end.Heise said the project started on Ash Wednesday (February 21) when the classes started researching what kind of animal they want to sponsor.“The students are learning how their animals are used, which ones produce milk and which ones can carry a burden,” Heise said, “We're trying to find animals that are long-lasting so the people who get them can get the most out of them.”Besides history, geography, economics, and a bit of animal husbandry, the project will also teach the students to think on a global scale even though they may live in a small town.“It teaches us to live as Jesus did,” Heise said. “God put us here to serve others. We are given so much and we take so much for granted. Our students are learning about the struggles of other children just to get an education.”Heise said the students have embraced the project with considerable enthusiasm.The third grade class is tying the project to their reading of the classic children's book ‘Charlotte's Web' (thus the plan to adopt a pig) and will also perform the play “Charlotte's Web” on March 29.Students are even giving up allowance money to the cause.“Some of the kids chose to give up candy for Lent and they are putting the money towards purchasing an animal,” Heise said. “We also had some students who baby-sat over the weekend and donated their wages,” she added.A recent soup night fundraiser also raised $452, Heise said.Heise said the students have turned the project into a friendly competition between grade levels and the experiment will end with a school-wide celebration near Easter.“I will probably have to do something crazy (as a reward to the students for their hard work) but I'm okay with that,” she said.

Heifer on TV

PBS Program Spotlights 'Passing on the Gift' in Tanzania

Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, a program on the Public Broadcasting System (PBS), will feature Heifer International projects in Tanzania on its Sunday, February 18 broadcast. PBS correspondents visited Heifer Tanzania projects to explore the impact of “Passing on the Gift.” Check your local listings.Religion & Ethics Newsweekly has been breaking ground in news reporting since its national debut on PBS in September 1997. Hosted by veteran journalist Bob Abernethy, this one-of-a-kind television newsmagazine provides insightful coverage and analysis of the news, people, events and trends behind the headlines in the rich world of religion and ethics. The program explores how religion shapes both national and international events, and examines the challenges raised by difficult ethical issues. Newsmakers, scholars, and historians also provide insightful perspectives in roundtable discussions

North Manchester, IN Living Gift Market

Last night I presented a program for the folks in North Manchester, IN who each year sponsor a community -wide Living Gift market for Heifer. They have been doing it every year since 1988 and have raised over $310,000 over that time span. This year the total was just over $21,000. Each church in the community sponsors an animal and after promoting it in their own church they all gather at the community center for joint market for the whole community. The originator of this event, Don Myer, passed away last year but the effort continues with the leadership of his son Jim and others in the community. Last year, the group contributed an ARK ($5,000) in Don's memory. I admire this community for their efforts over the years and they are committed to continuing the event in the future!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone!!!! We are really busy in the office these days trying to keep up with all the year-end gifts that are coming in. It looks like we are having a very successful holiday season. I'll post more messages in the next week or so, but I just wanted to assure you that we are still alive and doing well!!!