Since sending out the call to action on March 29, we have received over $6,000 in donations. With the Summer National Gathering service program being cancelled, the $1000 allotted for it was given to the Meals for ER workers project. With these funds, we have provided nutritious snacks from Costco to over 100 people on the ER/ICU unit at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, lunch from Old Jerusalem restaurant to 60 ER/ICU staff members at Illinois Masonic Hospital in Chicago, 100 dinners from a local Middle Eastern restaurant to ICU unit at UCLA medical center in Santa Monica California. And next week will have meals from a local restaurant going to a hospital in Seattle, Washington. One of the hardest hit states. As soon as we get photos, we will post them here.

We cannot thank you enough for the support you have provided. If you haven’t yet given, please consider donating $15.00 or more to sponsor a meal or two for a healthcare worker in the ER. Every coordinator we have talked to from the hospital says the staff are overwhelmed at the generosity shown. This project has been instrumental in letting those on the frontline that we are thinking about them. Let us continue to show our support! [node:read-more:link]

We thought we would take the opportunity to let you know what the TOS has been doing in the last nine months. As many of you know, our fiscal year runs from April 1 to March 31. Our budgetary meeting this year was done in April. We disbursed over $15,000 in grants to various projects that fell into line with the objects of the TOS. More information about those grants will be in our annual appeal letter. The sum of $5,000 was kept aside to help in our outreach program so that the TOS can visit various lodges and study centers in the US without the financial burden being placed on them. [node:read-more:link]

Nelson Mandela is quoted as saying that education is the most powerful way to change the world. Such a statement cannot be truer. Education changes the way we think and has the potential to change the way we live. However, education that helps a child to have a healthy loving relationship with themselves and the world around them, in other words, a theosophical education, can do nothing but change the world for the better. One of the greatest challenges we have today on the planet is humankind’s inability to understand the need for relationship. [node:read-more:link]

As was mentioned in our last newsletter, way back in April (a lifetime ago!), the TS and TOS had decided to collaborate on a half day of service. Participants were allowed to choose from four different projects: a world peace meditation, working in the peace garden, bagging groceries at the Humanitarian Service Project, or packaging socks and underwear for homeless men, women, and children. Needless to say, many members took up the effort to serve, choosing one of the events. The photos below can give you an idea of how the day went. [node:read-more:link]