Happy Holidays Everyone!

December 20th, 2011

We had a fun party last night. It was a cold wintery night so it was nice that new friends and old friends stopped by. Donna Lynch, a board member of St Elizabeth’s Shelter, wowed everyone with her amazing positive energy. Laura Sullivan, director of development of the International Folk Art Market, dropped off a beautiful woven basket made by the Khoe Bushmen of Namibia, members of the Mud Hut trading Co-Op, which was so sweet. Applications for the 2012 market are in and the difficult job of selection is taking place at the moment. I also had a chance to visit with Caren Shiozaki, head of the board of Girl’s Inc. I have visited both Girl’s Inc. and St. Elizabeth’s shelter in the last week and am so grateful for the services these organizations provide. Girl’s Inc. continues their programs that teach and inspire all girls to be strong, smart, and bold. The photo I included shows the paper tree in their downtown, Santa Fe location. Every girl that attends Girls Inc. during the year adds their paper hand print to the branches showing them that they are all leaves of the tree which is Girls Inc. La Casa Familia, the family division of St. Elizabeth’s shelter, has just brought their facility up to Green standards making sure that all of the families are as warm as can be during our cold winter. St. Elizabeth’s has also just added a medical recovery wing to their building so that homeless men recovering from surgery have a place to go to fully heal. These are such great things for our community. I was humbled as I visited these sites, and saw how the staff of these organizations care for these people in such dire straits. I am so grateful for these everyday heroes who make such a difference in the lives of others.

This holiday I want to give the gift of love and acceptance to everyone I encounter – be it a smile, a forgiveness or just a great big hug. I wish you and yours the best that life has to offer this holiday season and look forward to continuing the conversation in 2012!