Summer Dreams Drive!
Watercolor by Barry Kay
Welcome to our summer dreams drive! Dreams, when they’re separated from action, are flimsy things. That’s why we need your action so that our collective dreams for justice can become real.
Our goal is to reach $50,000 by June 30, the end of our fiscal year – and we’re currently at $20,000. The Quixote Center does not receive corporate or government grants: 80% of our funding comes from individual donors. In fact, we have relied on the generosity of individuals such as yourself for 37 years! That’s why the dreams we dream are your dreams. And our independence from government and corporate money keeps us faithful to you. Thank you for your support!
Can you make your dreams of justice a reality with a tax-deductible donation? Currently, with your support, we are:
- Delivering $10,000 to Haiti to support the reforestation and agricultural programs of the Jean Marie Vincent Formation Center in Gros Morne, Haiti. This is the second of three installments on a $30,000 grant to the project in Gros Morne. This program delivers
- 70,000 saplings a year through a network of communities groups in northern Haiti, does trainings for 600+ farmers on sustainable agricultural techniques, and supports the model forest on Tet Mon, home to 200,000 trees and a place for reflection and teaching.
- Standing up for marriage equality in Maryland. Along with New Ways Ministry and others, the Quixote Center is campaigning in support of marriage equality for gay and lesbian people. The first of a series of three forums in Maryland took place in Baltimore this past weekend, with future forums in Prince George’s County and Montgomery County (if you live in Maryland, sign the pledge to support marriage equality here). Visit the Facebook page and quixote.org for updates and details.
- Launching a food justice network that brings faith communities, food justice activists and farmers together to deliver fresh produce to struggling communities in the D.C. metro area. This signature program of the Crabgrass Christian Initiative seeks to expand the good news of economic justice from the realm of theological reflection into social action.
- Creating a state by state report that profiles resources available to people leaving incarceration. Nearly 700,000 people leave prison every year. They are unable to vote, find employment, locate adequate housing, or achieve basic social support for treating mental illness and drug addiction. The report will make available fact sheets on every state, and direct people to additional resources. The report also provides the research foundation for the Quixote Center’s new work on post-prison re-entry which will be launched this fall.
- Updating our Capital Defense Handbook, which provides needed resources to family members of people on death row or facing life without parole. We receive dozens of requests a month for the report and investigative services for those incarcerated with innocence claims. This work makes a difference.
- Visiting our friends at the Institute of John XXIII in Nicaragua. The Quest for Peace delivered $100,000 in January this year to launch a new housing initiative in Managua. A staff delegation will visit Nicaragua in July for updates, and a renewal of our commitment for funding next year – when we hope to match that $100,000.
We are a staff of four full-time and four part-time people blessed with the opportunity to do this vital work together, and with all of you. Your support at this time makes all of this possible. Please consider a tax-deductible contribution today to help us meet our end of the year goal of $50,000. You may make a general gift, or designate your support to a specific program.
Peace and many blessings,
The Staff of the Quixote Center
Tom Ricker, Andrew Hochhalter, Jeremy John, Kelly Dassow, Dolly Pomerleau, Nilajah Nyasum, Ericka Holland, and Roz Fischer.