May 25th, 2009
It’s been over two years since we started BasicNecessities. I am glad that 
we’ve been able to do so much for our clients. Hopefully we have made a difference in their lives. However, at this time in my life I find that it’s time for me to move on, and I have decided to resign from BasicNecessities. Although I like what we are doing for our clients, organizationally things are not going the direction that I want. The good news is that BasicNecessities will continue on, under the direction of Director Catherine (Suarez) Dunbar. Catherine is one of the original founders, and she has a passion for helping others and the Latino community in general.
As part of the new direction I’m heading, I am starting another non-profit charitable organization. We’re already incorporated and have our 501(c)3 determination letter from the IRS. We have a website set up at www.care4mylambs.org. At Care 4 My Lambs, we seek to help others in need or who are in impoverished situations, focusing on our local community where we can be directly involved, as well as in geographically diverse regions and foreign countries - and we ask for the Lord’s guidance in all we do. - Charlie
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April 18th, 2009
This week we had the opportunity to help a “graduate” of Shepherd’s Gate women’s shelter by providing part of her rental deposit. When the women finish Shepherd Gate’s program, taking anywhere from 6 months to a few years, they move into their own apartment. By the time they move out, they typically have a job and are earning enough to sustain themselves. Shepherd’s Gate is able to provide them with many of the things that they need, thanks to generous donors, including furniture and often a car. However, they typically need a little extra cash for rental deposits, tools for their job, or new clothes. This month we were able to provide a woman with part of her rental deposit. I thank you again for your generous donations that allow us to help the “graduates” get on their feet. - Charlie
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March 24th, 2009
We were able to provide a client with a computer! The client was a young lady who recently moved out of Shepherd’s Gate. I occasionally have 3 year old computers given to us from Northrop Grumman, along with monitors and keyboards, and an OS licenses. I loaded the operating system, and handed the computer over to Denise, who was able to install the open source versions of Word, Excel, Powerpoint, plus a virus checker. For a little bit of effort on our part, and a computer donated by Northrop Grumman, we were able to provide a client with a relatively fast (2.4 GHz) Dell GX 270 computer and 15″ monitor. By the way, she our client needed this for her studies at Las Positas College. The only thing we weren’t able to provide was a printer, but perhaps we can do this next time depending on our funding situation.
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March 14th, 2009
Just a quick thanks to Bank of America, Pleasanton Main Branch, for supporting us again this year. One of our goals is to apply 100% of your charitable donations directly towards the needs of our clients. Consequently, getting help with our infrastructure costs helps us achieve this goal.
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March 10th, 2009
Wow, it’s March already. There’s not much exciting happening, except that we have a good number of donations coming in. Northrop Grumman’s local ECHO (Employee’s Charity Organization) donated $1,740, from last year’s payroll collection. Surprisingly, we’re not seeing a huge ramp up of people in need, which I had expected due to the faltering economy. Maybe it’s the cold weather. In any case, we are off to what I consider a good start financially. We also just passed our 2 year anniversary as a corporation. Things are going pretty well, although we have some to-be-expected growing pains as a corporation. However, I have faith that God will lead me through all this, and I’m paying lots of attention to what He wants, rather than what I want. I love you all for your help and support.
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February 20th, 2009
This year we are off to a good start, thanks to Safeway Foundation. They have approved a $3,000 grant for the second year in a row. What an awesome organization they are, giving back to the local community (they are headquartered in Pleasanton, California). Last year we used the grant in the form of Safeway gift cards, so that our clients could use them to purchase necessities such as toiletries, baby formula, feminine products, food, or gas. This worked out really well, as we didn’t have to worry what they funds were being spent on.
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February 14th, 2009
I just spoke with Deb Bunk. She and her husband are missionaries in Belize, and they are also on the Board of Directors of Da Wata Fountin’. I think that we are so blessed to have people like Deb and Dave who are willing to be on the front lines spreading the word of Christ in other countries. Although I am not able to be on the front lines (although I do mission work in Ensenada once or twice a year), one thing God has given me is the ability to provide resources to the church and his ministries. Deb mentioned to me that finding financial support, particularly monthly supporters, is the hardest thing that missionaries have to do. I can imagine that it’s difficult in general, but it must be particularly difficult due to the economic situation that we have today. If you have it in your heart to share the word of Christ in Belize, where there are many people seeking the word on God in an area where voodoo is still practiced, send a check to Dave and Deb Bunk at the Philadelphia Church (their home Church), or you can send it to us at BasicNecessities.org and we will get the money to them.
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January 14th, 2009
I am very hopeful as we enter into the New Year. The good news is that we ended 2008 in an excellent financial position, due to some year-end donations as well as pledges for the New Year. Last year was a lot of work, but we were able to help more clients that I would have thought possible. We also made new relationships with community organizations, such as Shepherd’s Gate and Kaiser Permanente, which will help us in the coming year. I am particularly encouraged, because 2009 is likely to be a challenge as we go into this recession. Unfortunately, it is generally the people who are lowest on the economic scale who are the most hurt by economic downturns. We have noticed recently an increase in calls for financial assistance for items such as rent and PG&E bills. - Charlie
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December 17th, 2008
This past Friday we delivered 18 pairs of shoes to school children, grades K - 4, at Livermore’s Marylin Avenue Elementary School. We selected 18 of the children most in need, several of which were from the C.A.P.E. program. I don’t know who was more excited, the children or BasicNecessities’ director Catherine Suarez. I do know that the children were very happy with their new shoes. In a few cases in which the shoes didn’t fit, and we needed to exchange them, the children were reluctant to let them go, even though we would be back in less than an hour. In the photo, Catherine helps one of the children try on her new shoes and socks. The children were so grateful that santa brought presents early this year. Hum…, we forgot our santa hats. - Charlie
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December 7th, 2008
Tonight we participated in our first parade, the Pleasanton Hometown Holiday Parade. It was also a first parade ever for me. I didn’t realize how fun it would be. Main Street in Pleasanton was more crowded than I have ever seen it, and here we are driving down the middle of the street with our entourage. I was in the lead car, a 1967 Chevy Camaro convertible decorated with blue LED icicle lights. We had two ladies sitting on the back set waving (as you would expect), and wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. Next was a small group of people leading two miniature ponies. The two ponies were beautifully decorated with antlers, lights and presents on their backs. The 
ponies were really a hit with the kids. As we drove down the street, you could hear the excited children saying “look at the ponies!”. The last car was a SUV decked out with lights and a giant Santa. This parade was so much fun that we’re already thinking about what to do next year. You can see more photos on the BasicNecessities.org website at http://www.basicnecessities.org/proj/parade08/parade.html - Charlie
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