Dear Men,
I recently received a voice message: “David, this is Gail, I’m calling to thank you for the miracle, it is a miracle; miracles happen. 24 hours ago Ada was writhing in pain; they couldn’t give her enough morphine for the pain. It was horrible; the doctors lost hope. I thought I had lost her.”
Days later through her tears Gail told me that while dozing and holding 11 year old Ada, she suddenly awoke to the smell of sage. “Of course they don’t allow burning sage in the children’s hospital, BUT I SMELLED SAGE.” She felt washed, cleansed. Her daughter’s pain eased; she started improving. Ada is now back home and, though still in some pain, going to school.
So what does this have to do with the MKP USA Chairman’s Campaign?
A few days earlier Gail had called me from the back of an ambulance driving her and her daughter Ada to Children’s Hospital in Omaha where Ada was given a bleak chance of survival. After I hung up, I emailed several New Warrior listserves asking that men send energy and care to her and Ada. Responses came from men all over the world. I forwarded them all to her — over 400 by day’s end.
She read every one, and she is certain it is that energy that sustained her and her daughter. She is adamant that men, probably many, burned sage for her and Ada. She smelled sage when it seemed impossible that she could have. She believes that New Warriors sending their love and energy to her and Ada created a miracle.
Did it? I don’t know, but I do know I believe in the power of our circles. My guess is that you have heard similar stories about our work that have touched your heart and helped heal your soul in similar ways.
Like my request to our circles for support of Gail and Ada, this letter is a call to give.
Like most nonprofits and fraternal organizations, we depend on fundraising for much of our income – almost 20%. Your donations will enable us to improve our support for I Groups, create new ways to interest men in our work (especially younger men!) through open circles and social networking, improve our center and MKP websites, and find better ways to build relationships with our members. In addition, we’re pledging 2% of net donations to support 2011 as the Year of Mission for MKP. We are working hard to make certain we don’t lose the heart of the work we do in our circles as we grow into a more professional and effective organization. To succeed we need your help.
My Request
During the recent Sioux City phone-a-thon we raised approximately $85,000 calling men like you. I was brought to tears several times by men showing their soulful generosity. Now I’m asking every New Warrior in the US to donate at least $100 to our Campaign. I know many of you can and will give much more, and I know that this has been a rough year for many. Still, I ask that you be generous. Even if that means an offering of $10 or $10 a month for next year, MKP USA and I will be deeply grateful, and we will steward your donation with care. Please click here to donate on our secure server or send a check made payable to The ManKind Project USA to Trip Moulton, CFO, 27 Blue Bird Hollow, Eddyville, Kentucky 42038.
If you donate $250 or more, we’ll send you a copy of Journeyman, a film about Boys to Men (and their New Warrior mentors), the wonderful book The Good Men Project, or a coupon good for a 20% discount on all your purchases at the new MKP Store (https://store.mkp.org) through July 31, 2011.
As in prior years, I ask you to consider a contribution to the MKP Diversity Scholarship Fund, created to provide financial assistance to African American, Latino, and Native American men desiring to participate in the New Warrior Training Adventure.
Please join me in the spirit of generosity and vision. I thank you for your time, generosity and faith in our future.
Blessings to you all,
David Bauerly
Chairman
ManKind Project USA
PS: We paid a huge price for weak infrastructure and flawed data management with an email that went out after the Chairman’s phone-a-thon. https://mkpusa.org/help-us-communicate-better. I apologize to men who were inconvenienced by the email fiasco of November 23. This is not how I wanted to start our week after such a marvelous experience in Sioux City. And, I know the impact was big for some men. For that I am deeply sorry.
Carl has shared this with me more than once: “Keeping MKP alive and running on bailing wire, threads, and a shoestring from a sneaker left over from a training” is what we do. Now that I have 10 months under my belt I can speak to this first hand. We need to make serious changes and become more highly skilled and professional in order to avoid explosions like the one that took place this week. Help us make it happen!
The ManKind Project – USA is registered with the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation. Donations are tax deductible to the full extent of the law.