Dan Vos Construction Company sponsors the Vietnam Project

A pillar in the community, recently finishing their 150th church building, Dan Vos Construction knows the value of a good foundation. For families in Vietnam, a cow can be the foundation of a successful dairy business that will make the difference between struggling to survive and success. Dan Vos Construction's sponsorship will help us raise the necessary funds to offer these families fresh hope and a strong beginning.

Thank you, Dan Vos Construction, for continuing your commitment to community service in a way that will touch the world.

Grand River Physical Therapy sponsors the Goat Booth

We would like to thank Gail Braun of Grand River Physical Therapy for agreeing to sponsor our Goat Booth. Physical Therapists specialize in relieving stress and promoting success in overcoming obstacles. By sponsoring the Goat Booth they will be doing both for families in need.
Grand River Physical Therapists offers a comprehensive list of services in a beautiful and well-stocked facility.

Thank you, GRPTS for helping us get our goat!

You Really Got Our Goat, Trophies

We are excited to announce that the organization and the individual who bring in the most change for our Change for Kids Challenge will receive our fabulous--"You Really Got Our Goat!" Trophy.
The five inch trophy with gold-colored goat on a black and marble-grain base is sure to add a special something to any mantle.
Of course, anyone who helps change a child's future is a winner in our book. We hope you'll do your part to make sure that we really do "Get Our Goat!"

Our Guatemalan Project is the destination for our Change for Kids Goat

GUATEMALA Food Security/Q’eqchi
23-0102-02

A total of 112 Maya Q’eqchi families from the regions of Carcha, Chicojl, and Cojal in north-central Guatemala will participate in this project in partnership with FUNDAMENO (Q’eqchi’ Mennonite Foundation of Guatemala). It will improve the nutritional and economic situation of the participating families by providing rabbits, turkeys, and goats. Families will be trained in animal management and in the production of organic vegetables. This project will improve overall agricultural production by incorporating worm-composting and diversification of crops, while promoting the conservation of natural resources through the establishment of tree nurseries and sustainable agriculture practices.

This project is special because it is the destination of our "Change for Kids Challenge" goat. Kids from Grand Rapids will be raising funds to purchase a goat by saving their change in our special "Ark" banks. We need a business to sponsor this special project. If you like helping "kids," this could be the one for you. Contact us at heiferhappening@gmail.com.

Living Gift Markets: A Growing Phenomenon

Holding a Living Gift Market isn't limited to Grand Rapids, there are many gift markets held around the country. I've been doing a little research and here's a few I found online.
North Manchester, IN has held a LGM since 1988 and they have managed to raise 310,000 dollars in that time span. This year they raised over 20,000 dollars.
Wright County, MN holds a Baby Animal Fair each year. This year 3,000 people attended and 13,000 dollars were raised.
West Hartford, CT has a sixth grade class that raised 18,500 dollars at their Living Gift Market in 2006.
Our Living Gift Market is a growing event, each year we get a little bigger and we go a little further. Now is a great time to get involved.

Vietnamese Dairy Production in the Mekong Delta

VIETNAM Promotion of Dairy Production
22-0775-07

This project will provide 50 dairy cows to 40 families in the Mekong Delta to increase the project family's income. Four dairy cooperatives will be set up in four villages to promote small scale dairy production and to improve the animal health in these areas.

Heifer Viet Nam will implement this project through the four dairy cooperatives which will be set up in these four villages. The animals will be distributed through the cooperatives to individual families. Training and other technical services will also be arranged through the cooperatives. Men and women equally share the leadership roles and responsibilities in the cooperative groups. Passing on the Gift will be managed by the cooperatives and the groups will also assist individual members with milk marketing.

Grass seeds will be distributed to the farmers to grow feed for the cows. Families will receive young seedlings to build living fences, which are fences made by growing trees, especially nitrogen fixing trees. The living fences will provide shade, fencing, animal feed, firewood and also prevent soil erosion.

This project is sponsored by Dan Vos Construction. If your business would like to sponsor one of our remaining projects, please contact us through our email, heiferhappening@gmail.com.

Judy Huynh's Read to Feed Table for Teachers

Karen Merchant takes a moment to chat with Judy Huynh at our Read to Feed Booth.

Judy Huynh works at our Read to Feed table. When I asked her about Read to Feed her answers were so good I'm going to let her speak for herself.

Read to Feed is a curriculum developed by Heifer to teach young people about sustainable solutions toward ending poverty and hunger in the world and to help them learn that they can make a difference in the world.The curriculum integrates all content areas. Teachers can choose to do one lesson or all the lessons. They may choose to have students involved in gathering pledges for books read to raise money for Heifer, if they wish.
Read to Feed benefits children here because they become better readers and global citizens; they understand that they can make a difference in the world by how they live their lives, and they can help children around the world to have better lives. If they choose to collect pledges for the books they read and send it to Heifer, that money will help children in the places where the money is sent to have food to eat and the opportunity to get an education. Even if students don't participate in the collecting of money for books read, they learn about the causes of hunger and poverty in the world, and they learn to make better choices in their own lives, which will impact children all around the world.
I just received a letter last week notifying me that I have been selected to serve as a member of Heifer's new School Programs Advisory Council. As a member of this council, I will be providing comments, feedback and expertise on the development and implementation of the new elementary/primary grade program for Read to Feed. Our first meeting will be a conference call on June 18th. I'm really excited about participating in this.
I have done presentations on Heifer and Read to Feed at county, state, and national conferences for teachers. I have also done workshops on Heifer for 4-H. Lynda Richter, Olga Albert, Pam Trevan and I have presented twice together in Ionia County in costume! Pam has a chicken costume, Olga has a lamb costume, Lynda has a chicken costume, and I have a cow costume! It's really fun.
To learn more about Read to Feed visit Heifer's website, readtofeed.org.