Plant With Purpose Welcomes a Fresh Face with a Big Heart
Please join in welcoming Plant With Purpose’s newest staff member, Becky Rosaler. As the new Marketing and Events Coordinator, she will play an integral role in executing Plant With Purpose’s marketing campaigns and PR efforts as well as planning our annual Planting Hope Gala!
You’re in for a treat today as she shares a bit of the incredible journey that has brought her to partner with Plant With Purpose.
Record Breaking Amount Raised at the 2011 Planting Hope Gala!
We are excited to announce that this year’s Planting Hope Gala was our most successful yet! Thanks to everyone’s incredible generosity, we raised a record breaking $380,236! This exceeds our previous record of $317,000 in 2009.
Thank you to everyone who 
attended and supported this year’s Planting Hope Gala, including our dedicated committee and volunteers. We are overwhelmed with your support and truly appreciate your partnership.
The night was filled with laughter, excitement, and generosity. One guest commented, “It was a perfect evening filled with the Lord and a celebration of all that Plant With Purpose has become. Christ was clearly the heart beat.” The evening kicked off at Paradise Point Resort with an exciting silent auction, followed by a delicious dinner, a live auction, inspiring speakers, a never-before-seen video highlighting our expanding Village Savings and Loan program, and a Fund a Need auction. The night concluded with a celebratory performance by local Haitian band, Lounge a Dieu.
All the proceeds from the gala will go toward empowering thousands of people in the communities where we work to improve their lives and lands. With the amount raised, we will be able to:
- Launch 20 new Village Savings and Loan groups to help the poor become self-sufficient, allowing them to start businesses and send their children to school.
- Provide 200 families with water purification systems in the Dominican Republic and Haiti to treat water contaminated by bacteria and other water-borne disease carriers.
- Plant 14,060 trees to reforest and revive the land and create opportunities for the rural poor.
- Build 750 fuel-efficient stoves to improve the health of families and reduce deforestation.
- Provide curriculum to 4,200 churches to equip pastors and leaders with the resources needed to serve the spiritual and physical needs of their communities.
- Provide cassava, banana, and vegetable seeds to 1,500 farmers in Burundi to provide food and a source of income.
- And much more!
Thank you again to everyone who made the Planting Hope Gala such a wonderful success, and for your partnership with us in transforming the lives of the rural poor.
Save the Date for next year’s Planting Hope Gala, which will be at Paradise Point Resort on Saturday, October 13th, 2012.
Reserve your Seat for the 2010 Planting Hope Gala
Please save the date for Plant With Purpose’s biggest fundraising event of the year! Join us on Saturday, October 9th at 6:00 p.m. at the La Jolla Marriott for an inspiring evening at the 2010 Planting Hope Gala dinner and auction. The event will include exciting silent and live auctions, an iPad raffle, an exceptional dinner, and an opportunity to help the rural poor and learn more about Plant With Purpose. This year will be particularly critical as we raise funds and awareness for our brothers and sisters in Haiti.
Please visit our gala web page to preview photos and descriptions of our impressive auction items: http://www.plantwithpurpose.org/gala. You can also rsvp via this web page, or donate an auction item.
Please contact Kate Nare at kate@plantwithpurpose.org if you are interested in volunteering at the event, or if you have any questions.
We hope to see you there!
Here is a sneak peek at some of this year’s items:
Bon Appétit!
A chef’s tasting for 4 at Market Restaurant & Bar
Brush Up on Your Game
A Big Five $100 gift certificate plus a Golftec instruction for two
Can you dig it?
A Courtyard Pottery succulent dish, a Bookworks succulent book, and Dig garden tools
Come Sail Away
An afternoon sail on San Diego Bay for up to 5 guests with Plant With Purpose Executive Director, Scott Sabin
Girl’s Day Out
Lunch for 4 at the Zodiac, makeovers, and 4 $50 gift certificates at Neiman Marcus
Golf Twosome
Maderas golf for two and a Golftech instruction certificate for two
Enjoy a day of luxury in Del Mar
A Pacifica Breeze $50 gift certificate and spa treatments at Salon Del Mar
Ensenada Getaway
4 days and 3 nights at a beautiful condo in Ensenada, Mexico
Happy Trails To You
A Feather Acres Pony Party and cake
Mad Science Birthday Bash
Mad Science Kids Party plus Rubio’s Catering
Paella Party with a Private Chef
A “Cooking Fri Style” party for 8, which includes a ½ case of wine from the Island Wine Group
Play like a Pro at a PGA Course
A La Costa golf foursome and golf shirts from Amy Savlov
Surf Weekend
Four passes to the Oceanside Museum plus a three night stay at an Oceanside Beach House
Wine Lover’s Delight
Orfila Vineyards wine tasting, plus a Calloway vineyards tasting, plus a Magnum of from Wine Connection
Vancouver Getaway
A one week stay at a 2-bedroom condo in Living Shangri-La, Vancouver, Canada
Visit http://www.plantwithpurpose.org/gala to see photos and descriptions of these and other exciting auction items!
A Plant With Purpose Love Story
Plant With Purpose is transforming the lives of thousands of rural farmers in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Tanzania, Burundi, Mexico, and Thailand. Our transformational work would not be possible without the volunteers who dedicate their time, resources, and talents to help us reach our goals and tell the story of the rural families who are engaged in our programs and overcoming poverty.
Today we are excited to share a story about two fantastic Plant With Purpose volunteers whose hearts to serve others led to their very own love story.
Matt and Jess met for the very first time at the Plant With Purpose Gala in 2007. They had a mutual friend who worked for Plant With Purpose at the time and had recruited them to volunteer at the banquet. Their heart to serve others brought them together, but their light-hearted sense of humor and contagious laughter really caused a spark between them. Unfortunately, Jess had plans of leaving in a few short months for Africa and wasn’t sure if or when she would return to the U.S.
But Matt was determined in pursuing her. They spent as many days together as possible while in the same country and then once Jess left for Africa they emailed every day. Eventually, it became evident that Jess would no longer be staying in Africa, and in 2008 she returned to San Diego. The rest is really just history. A year later Matt took Jess for a walk on the beach in Encinitas during sunset…and asked her to spend the rest of her life with him. They were married on November 27th, 2009 in Jess’ home state of Colorado. It’s a true Plant With Purpose volunteer love story! Congratulations Matt and Jess!
For those of you looking to get involved with Plant With Purpose (no promises on meeting the love of your life), we are looking for volunteers for some upcoming events:
- the Earth Fair at Balboa Park on April 18th
- the SDSU Earth Fair on April 22nd
- Encinitas Environment Day on June 10th
Thanks again to our faithful volunteers, interns, and advocates. You’re truly making a remarkable difference in the lives of the rural poor!
