LORNA PEREZ-CASTER Issue: March Hello Everyone With the chill in the air, I think it helped us get more things done this month! I know your Board had a good meeting on the 13 th of the month and accomplished one task after another. Our Happy Hour Membership Meeting was finalized, the FOCUS directory is ready to be distributed, Projects where brought up, discussed and were voted on, our Elvis FOCUS Fundraiser is coming along very nicely with over 65 reservations for our big event to be held on April 29 th. By moving our Membership deadline to January 31 st we were able to go from 104 members to OVER 160! Good Job Membership. Please talk to your neighbors and friends about FOCUS and invite them to a meeting or event. It is never too late to become a member. Thank you to Betty Lepore and Fran Becker for organizing the February 15 th Happy Hour Membership meeting at the Bahama Clubhouse. We had 60 reservations to attend. The appetizers were delicious, prepared by your Board. Our Membership meeting will be held on March 15 th at the Coronado Gulf Course. Check out the flyer and RSVP for a good morning with information from Mike Babida, Business Development Officer with the San Diego Rescue Mission, visit with friends and enjoy the refreshments. Sharon Blongiewicz and Roger Clapp have been working non-stop on our big Elvis FOCUS Fundraiser. Please get your reservation in, ask for donations (this is also a good way to advertise their business or product) and volunteer! I find it is so rewarding to help and be a part of the activities and event!! See you soon and stay healthy. Marianna Polles, FOCUS President
TREASURY Roger Clapp Treasurer s Report For February 2018: Ending Balance on 2/28/2018: $82,960.51 Project Expenses: $ 7,836.98 Other Expenses: $ 466.16 Unobligated Money: $50,476.14 This is an abbreviated report from last year, if you would like more information, please contact Roger Clapp. Amazon Smile another way to raise funds for focus Most large companies support charities in one form or another and Amazon does it through Amazon Smile. People who use Amazon Smile can select the charity of their choice and Amazon contributes.5% percent of the cost of their qualifying order to their designated charity (not all purchases qualify). You pay the same price as you would on Amazon and Amazon Prime. Every quarter Amazon sends the total amount of contributions to the charity s account. Last quarter FOCUS received $49.37. Steps to shopping on Amazon Smile Go to the website www.smile. Amazon.com Log in just the same as you do with Amazon.com, using the same user name and password. On your first visit to Amazon Smile, you will be prompted to select a charitable organization to receive donations from eligible purchases before you begin shopping. Search for Friends of Children United Society Coronado and select it. Proceed with placing your order as you usually do. Amazon Smile will remember your charity selection so that future eligible orders placed on Amazon Smile will result in a donation to FOCUS. You might see if your friends and relatives would be interested in shopping on Amazon Smile with FOCUS as their designated charity. This is an easy way for FOCUS to get more money to help Children in Need.
GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS Betty Lepore Marsha Buckley-Boyle MEMBERSHIP UNDERWRITING Underwriting for "An Evening With Elvis" As you know, we have many expenses for this fundraiser. The only way to be profitable is to have underwriting for these expenses. I thank those of you who have already sent in your checks. If you haven't done so, please consider sending FOCUS a donation for underwriting. It will make a huge difference to us. Send to: FOCUS, PO Box 180023, Coronado 92178.
MEMBERSHIP Lisa Alves and Carol Dobi Please join us in welcoming our two newest member s: Darlene Martolio & Patricia Robitaille We continue to encourage members to bring friends, family members and neighbors to our meetings. It s a great way for potential members to learn more about FOCUS. The FOCUS 2018 Directory will be available for pick up at the March breakfast meeting. Do
PROJECTS Sharon Shelton and Bonnie Van Vugt APPROVED PROJECTS FOR FEBRUARY 2018 1) ANY BODY CAN (ABC) YOUTH FOUNDATION The Any Body Can Youth Foundation aims to provide an all-in-one after school program in a safe, inviting environment for youth in underserved areas of San Diego. The ABC Youth Foundation is equipped with a learning center and a gym where youth can take advantage of academic resources and boxing lessons. In addition to our year-round academic and athletic programs, we also offer our Bridging the Gap enrichment program during the summer break. Our goal is to establish more facilities and share the ABC concept throughout areas across the nation to prevent drug and gang violence among youth. Approved: $500 to be used to purchase snacks for after-school program. 2) THE ENLISTED PROJECT (STEP) STEP assists junior active duty enlisted members and recently discharged enlisted veterans and their families in Southern California facing financial crisis achieve long term financial self-sufficiency through counseling, educations and grants to alleviate critical near term obligations. Approved: $1,000 for purchase of diapers, wipes and baby formula. PROJECTS LISA ALVES AND JEAN BAUER
FUNDRAISING Roger Clapp and Sharyn Blongiewicz We are so happy to report that there is a LOT of excitement and support for the ELVIS event. Ticket sales have been excellent. We strongly urge you to make your reservation early... there is no doubt that this will be a sell out. Please see the following flyer in this newsletter and get your check in the mail! The committee heads got an early start and are all doing an excellent job. Catering, decorations, auctions and entertainment are going to be better than ever. A sneak peak of a few of the fun silent auction items we have so far is; Dinner/Poker Party in a Private home, an opportunity to crew in a regatta, play golf with the Coronado Golf Pro, art glass sculpture & a behind the scenes brewery tour. We still need your help to get additional items for the silent auction. Use your imagination and let us know if we can help. The Live Auction is going to offer several amazing prospects for travel and entertainment... watch for additional information. Sunday, April 29th. Put it on your calendar and get your check in the mail! Roger Clapp roger.clapp@sbcglobal.net Sharyn Blongiewicz sharyn1996@aol.com
WEBSITE Our NEW and IMPROVED website, www.focus-sdkids.org, is now live! It has been redesigned to better inform visitors about FOCUS, who we are and what we do, and hopefully expand our membership. Through the website visitors can make donations, renew membership (or become a new member) and purchase event tickets by using their PayPal account (if they have one) or their credit card. A new Media Coverage section has been added, which provides newspaper and magazine articles written about FOCUS. As always, information about upcoming meetings and fundraisers, archived newsletters, event photos, and past projects can be found on the site. Our online membership directory is still password protected and can be accessed by entering the password Ch1ldren! I hope you ll find the new site to be beneficial. Lorna Perez-Caster
EVENT PHOTOS Don Swanson February Meeting