The Merida Foundation
Here’s a charitable organization we support that I thought I’d bring to your attention. It’s the Merida Foundation. At Mass this morning Rudy gave me their current update letter to save postage. That shows you how committed they are to using donations carefully! Rudy and Dorothy just got back from a trip to Mexico and had a good trip with Fr. Fred Elskamp, who has been a Pastor at our church. They make about 3 trips a year and bring about 1,200 pairs of eye glasses with them to distribute to the poor with vision problems. That’s just part of the good work they’re doing. Here’s a description:
The Merida Foundation is a charitable corporation originally founded and funded by Dorothy and Rudy Lemke in December 2003 to benefit the descendants of the ancient Mayan people of Mexican’s Yucatan Peninsula. Since 1982, now retired optician, Dorothy Lemke has been providing eye glasses to the poor, visually impaired people in the rural villages surrounding the city of Merida.
Since its inception, the Merida Foundation has also funded nutrition projects for undernourished school children in the region. Today, the foundation is feeding approximately 350 hungry children at six nutrition sites.
Here’s where you can find information about making a donation.