Guest guest Posted May 5, 2006 Report Share Posted May 5, 2006 Count me in, Beloved Cosmic-Mother Sister. I can help organize,(my training as both a social worker and a Nurse practitioner may come in handy with this) and I will donate a percentage of all Saraswati's Sweets income to this effort, once we get going. Much Love in Her, Sanatani Sweta Mitzel <swetabc > wrote: Om Namah Shivaya everyone, Devotees responded positively to the idea of establishing an emergency fund.. Here is a summary of some pertinent points: When Amma directed the establishment of local satsangs, part of their purpose was to be of service to needy devotees & others locally. This sort of assistance is in alignment with what Amma tells us to do. Incorporate as a non-profit charitable group. Hold a meeting of people who are interested in establishing a fund. Involve a lawyer for advice & to assist in drawing up Articles of Incorporation. Needs be tax deductible. Needs clear eligibility guidelines. Should ask Amma if it can be established under umbrella of MA Center. Invest $200 in 2nd Harvest Food Bank membership, to obtain food for distribution to needy people. Even organizing food pick-ups, storage, delivery & record keeping, would still be easier than dealing with $. Fund raising linked to Amma's name in any way must be carefully administered by MA Center. (My experiences in consulting Sw. Dayamrita about fund raising, indicate this isn't necessarily the case.) Mention of a church model, which serves members by visiting & helping the sick & hospitalized, shopping, walking dogs, etc ... Could be difficult & time consuming to screen applicants. Must establish who would administer the fund. Must establish criteria for release of funds. Must determine best use for $. Other good comments: Anytime you are in a city or anywhere where there are homeless, it's good to have a few sandwiches which you can give. Peace pilgrim used to say "as you use what little light you have to always help someone, more and more light will be given to you." "God has no hands, legs, eyes or body other than our own. He moves through our hands, He walks with our legs, He sees through our eyes, and it is He who beats within the heart of each of us." Read that Amma said the bliss of meditation comes from selfless service. "The one whose legs rush to help the suffering ones, whose hands yearn to give solace to the sorrowful, whose eyes shed tears of compassion, whose ears listen to the woes of the distressed, and whose words bring solace to those in pain, that person is the true lover of God. Indeed, that person is God." ~ Amma Based on the responses, it seems like a good idea to have a meeting. Perhaps we could e-mail our ideas for a meeting agenda. Most responses came from across the country. In my region, responses were almost evenly split between the Monterey Bay & South Bay satsangs, with slightly more responses from the South Bay. Here are some questions & ideas: Since Amma is coming soon, would it be best to meet after the tour? Or, shall we incorporate discussion of this topic at a satsang(s) gathering before the tour? Any volunteers to ask Amma if this fund can be established under the MA Center's umbrella? Any volunteers for starting a to discuss this effort? Gather information & intake paperwork from various organizations to serve as models for guidelines. Seek out lawyers who are willing to denote time to this worthy cause. This sounds like a big project, but others have done it. After I sent out the initial e-mail inquiry, the devotee who is living in a car told me that about 1 month ago, they sent a letter to one of Amma's Swamis, writing that such a fund is needed. This devotee hadn't told me about the letter, before I brought up the idea. This makes me wonder if this idea is really ours, after all! With love, Sweta Love cheap thrills? Enjoy PC-to-Phone calls to 30+ countries for just 2¢/min with Messenger with Voice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 5, 2006 Report Share Posted May 5, 2006 Namah Shivaya Sweta, It seems to this child that you have organized this very well. In terms of helping people out per the church model, it may work well for some of the larger satsangs. I have known devotees who really needed the help and couldn't get it. There was one person who coordinated this project for the local church. It worked out quite well, and really wasn't all that much work. Wouldn't work via an eSatsang! :-) Love, Prasadini > > > Sweta Mitzel <swetabc > wrote: > Om Namah Shivaya everyone, > > Devotees responded positively to the idea of establishing an emergency > fund. Here is a summary of some pertinent points: > > > When Amma directed the establishment of local satsangs, part of their > purpose was to be of service to needy devotees & others locally. This > sort of assistance is in alignment with what Amma tells us to do. > > Incorporate as a non-profit charitable group. > > Hold a meeting of people who are interested in establishing a fund. > > Involve a lawyer for advice & to assist in drawing up Articles of > Incorporation. > > Needs be tax deductible. > > Needs clear eligibility guidelines. > Should ask Amma if it can be established under umbrella of MA Center. > Invest $200 in 2nd Harvest Food Bank membership, to obtain food for > distribution to needy people. Even organizing food pick-ups, storage, > delivery & record keeping, would still be easier than dealing with $. > > Fund raising linked to Amma's name in any way must be carefully > administered by MA Center. (My experiences in consulting Sw. Dayamrita > about fund raising, indicate this isn't necessarily the case.) > > Mention of a church model, which serves members by visiting & helping > the sick & hospitalized, shopping, walking dogs, etc ... > Could be difficult & time consuming to screen applicants. > Must establish who would administer the fund. > Must establish criteria for release of funds. > Must determine best use for $. > > Other good comments: > > Anytime you are in a city or anywhere where there are homeless, it's > good to have a few sandwiches which you can give. > > Peace pilgrim used to say "as you use what little light you have to > always help someone, more and more light will be given to you." > "God has no hands, legs, eyes or body other than our own. He moves > through our hands, He walks with our legs, He sees through our eyes, > and it is He who beats within the heart of each of us." > Read that Amma said the bliss of meditation comes from selfless service. > "The one whose legs rush to help the suffering ones, whose hands yearn > to give solace to the sorrowful, whose eyes shed tears of compassion, > whose ears listen to the woes of the distressed, and whose words bring > solace to those in pain, that person is the true lover of God. Indeed, > that person is God." ~ Amma > > Based on the responses, it seems like a good idea to have a meeting. > Perhaps we could e-mail our ideas for a meeting agenda. Most responses > came from across the country. In my region, responses were almost > evenly split between the Monterey Bay & South Bay satsangs, with > slightly more responses from the South Bay. Here are some questions & > ideas: > > > Since Amma is coming soon, would it be best to meet after the tour? > Or, shall we incorporate discussion of this topic at a satsang(s) > gathering before the tour? > > Any volunteers to ask Amma if this fund can be established under the > MA Center's umbrella? > Any volunteers for starting a to discuss this effort? > > Gather information & intake paperwork from various organizations to > serve as models for guidelines. > > Seek out lawyers who are willing to denote time to this worthy cause. > This sounds like a big project, but others have done it. After I sent > out the initial e-mail inquiry, the devotee who is living in a car > told me that about 1 month ago, they sent a letter to one of Amma's > Swamis, writing that such a fund is needed. This devotee hadn't told > me about the letter, before I brought up the idea. This makes me > wonder if this idea is really ours, after all! > > With love, > > Sweta > > > > Love cheap thrills? Enjoy PC-to-Phone calls to 30+ countries for just > 2¢/min with Messenger with Voice. > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.