President’s Message March 2018

Dear members and friends, So spring is just around the corner…seriously—and we at P.A.C.E. are gearing up for our annual Strawberry Social on June 3rd 2018. Please mark the date in your calendars. Ticket price is $75 but you can get an Early Bird rate of $60 until March 31.

We again thank everyone who has reached out to us; made a donation; supported their school; became a new member or rejoined us and we are continuing our goal of increasing the number of adopted schools as the need is always great !

So some housekeeping:

1.Our thank you letters/packages from our schools have been lightened as per OUR request as the cost of mailing was/is prohibitive.

We have asked the schools not to send any gift that is purchased but instead to send a card done by the children (no store bought cards) and to add pictures or thank-you greetings (done by the children only/no teachers) that can fit into our envelopes which we now provide to them.

2.Tax receipts are now sent out once per year (by end of Jan/Feb) each year as per CRA guidelines.

If you donate online receipts are immediately downloadable so this is also a great option for those tech savvy sponsors. www.pacecanada.org/donate.

3.Membership dues are used to administer the P.A.C.E. office, for mail-outs, and any number of initiatives that require monies to help us achieve our goals.

Our 2017 goals are now our 2018 goals and remain:

* Increase our membership by 30%-still working on that! We have reached out to many of you who had left us and     invited you back.

* Add 30 new schools (or more) to our roster – Achieved and continuing to grow

* Add 300 new donors and supporters – Still working on this very ambitious goal

* Offer 30 new teachers scholarships – Working on these agreements

And of course we need to continue to raise funds to make these plans a reality. Serious fund and again we ask you to dig deep and if you can, add an additional $30.00 to your contribution as a one-time contribution or as a monthly donation All will be gratefully received.

Thanks to our members who know we need their funds not only to do the work of the organization but because they know it is important to be involved!

We are asking you all, you who have supported us through the years to invite others to join us to make all these goals a reality.

Thanks to our Board members who take the time to do the work.

I look forward to seeing you at the annual Strawberry Social on Sunday June 3,2018.

So again, thank you all and I end as I always do: know that we do make a difference in the lives of children – the most important work of all.

Thank you

Sandra Whiting