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The Support Bonaire News - 2004-09-30
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Dear Friends of Support Bonaire,

Warm regards from the Board of Directors of Support Bonaire. We hope this year has brought you good health, happiness, and wonderful adventures on the beautiful island of Bonaire!

Here are this newsletter's topics:

- Thanks to Our Generous Donors
- On-line Donations Increase
- Look for Support Bonaire's New Brochure!
- Our Sponsored Projects
- Help Us With Content for our Newsletter
- Project Highlight: Bonaire Animal Shelter

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Thanks to Our Generous Donors

We want to extend our heartfelt thanks and gratitude to the many generous donors who have made contributions to Support Bonaire, Inc. over the last ten months. Since last November, when our Board launched a new fundraising effort, we have received and disbursed over $19,500.00 USD in donations to the charitable projects we sponsor on Bonaire! We’d like to gratefully acknowledge the generous donation of operating support from the Tom Bartikoski Memorial Fund at the end of last year.

These funds go to important projects that the charitable organizations we support need significant funds to support. For example, tents for the Bonaire Art & Culture Project’s annual fair cost $400.00 each; a ruggedized notebook computer for the Washington Park Rangers costs, $3,000; each hectare of land for the Bonaire Donkey Sanctuary costs $5,600 and a turtle transmitter for research being done by the Sea Turtle Club Bonaire costs $2,000. It’s hard to even think a price tag for support we provide for children and the animals of Bonaire!

Your contributions help make these important projects possible and we appreciate your support!

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On-line Donations Increase

Support Bonaire, Inc. has made it easier than ever to donate funds to one of the charitable projects we support. Earlier this year, we launched a redesigned, easy-to-use on-line donation link. Support Bonaire is automatically notified when a donation is made on-line and the funds are electronically transferred to our bank account. Upon confirmation of receipt, we send a personal letter of acknowledgement to each donor and disburse the funds to the designated charity. Not only does this provide a convenient ­ and secure ­ means to donate to your favorite charitable project, but it allows us to respond in a timely and cost-effective manner.

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Look for Support Bonaire’s New Brochure!

This summer, we launched a new brochure. Look for it next time you’re on the island ­ we have displays at some of your favorite hotels, restaurants, and the Cinnamon Art Gallery located right downtown on Kaya A.P.L. Brion #1. Our new brochure provides an overview of our purpose and highlights each of the charitable projects we support. And, it includes a convenient mail-in form for those who would like to send their contribution to our mail address in the United States. Or, visitors can easily drop it at the Cinnamon Art Gallery before leaving the island!

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Our Sponsored Projects

This year, we are sponsoring eight charitable projects on Bonaire:

Bonaire Animal Shelter Project
Bonaire Donkey Sanctuary Project
Marine Park Youth Education Project
Bonaire Coral Health Project
Maria Hoppner Foster Home Project
Bonaire Art & Culture Project
Klein Bonaire Preservation Project
Sea Turtle Conservation Project

In addition, donors can make contributions to Support Bonaire’s General Fund for disbursement by the Board of Directors or to fund our direct operating costs.

You can find our more about these projects on our website at www.SupportBonaire.org.

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Help Us With Content for our Newsletter

To support our fundraising efforts, we will be doing our newsletter on a more regular, quarterly basis and we’d like your input! We encourage anyone who has had a fun or educational experience working with one of these projects to submit a brief overview to ann@supportbonaire.org for inclusion in our quarterly newsletters. We’d like to hear from you and share your experiences with other Friends of Bonaire!

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Project Highlight: Bonaire Animal Shelter

The Bonaire Animal Shelter has an ambitious project planned for two weeks in October this year. Their goal? To sterilize hundreds of dogs on the island and make a drastic dent in the huge numbers of unwanted puppies born each year on Bonaire. Many tourists and Bonaireans alike have commented on the large number of dogs roaming the neighborhoods of Bonaire. Bonairean dogs are famous for their fence jumping and wall walking abilities! These dogs live with people who feed them, but they have never been neutered and produce litter after litter of puppies. Many of the puppies fall into poor health and don’t get the care and shelter they need.

The Shelter’s goal is to bring in up to 300 mostly females from this population, neuter them, and return them to their owners. In order to accomplish this, 6 veterinarians from 3 countries have generously volunteered their vacation time to come to Bonaire and perform the procedures. They are: Hans and Etty Lambek of Holland (who also serve as vets at the Animal Clinic next to the Shelter), Tom Nemetz and Trisha Durrence of the U.S., and Mary Lovie and Cheryl Yuill of Canada .

We are currently looking for hotel room and rental car assistance from some of the local resorts or private individuals to defray the vets’ costs of staying on Bonaire for the two weeks. But much more help is needed in the form of donations to pay for costs of surgical supplies and anesthetic. The Bonaire Animal Shelter are seeking donations to help us achieve a goal that will make Bonaire a better place for its animals as well for people to live and visit.

If you would like to support this important project and make a contribution to the health and welfare of the Bonaire’s animals, please visit us online at www.SupportBonaire,org. Or, mail your donation to our address in the United States:

Support Bonaire, Inc.
101 W. Main Street, Suite 820
Norfolk, Virginia 23510 USA

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Thank you for your support, and please let us know if you have any questions!

The Support Bonaire Board of Directors
news@supportbonaire.org

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