The Wintercandlemakers Committee is proud to announce a charity for this year’s festivities:

 Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières

Donations received: $800.00
Letter sent to Doctors Without Borders

Doctors Without Borders (DWB) is an international independent medical humanitarian organization that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural and man-made disasters, or exclusion from health care in more than 70 countries.  

In 2005, our world was affected by a number of devastating natural disasters to add to the misery and suffering of a significant percentage of the world’s population who deal with malnutrition and other preventable diseases year-in, year-out, which made the selection of this charity especially compelling.

Each year DWB volunteer doctors, nurses, logisticians, water and sanitation experts and other professionals depart on more than 3,800 aid missions; working alongside more than 22,500 locally hired staff to provide medical care. DWB’s decision to intervene in any crisis is based solely on their assessment of people’s needs, not political, economic or religious interests - nor do they take sides between warring parties, but go where the medical needs are greatest. It’s often dangerous work, carried out in sometimes non-secure locations, often at great personal risk to the volunteers. We feel this organization fits well within our Tunnel philosophy and ethical framework, and is greatly deserving of contributions to aid its efforts in places we cannot easily go and with skills most of us do not possess.

DWB allows donors to designate how a contribution may be used. While we will highlight programs here to reflect the vast contribution DWB makes in assisting the world’s most vulnerable populations, we believe that our contribution should go to DWB without strings so that it may be used in the area of greatest need.

Here is a synopsis of what a modest contribution could provide to DWB:  


And when our contributions area added together, if we raise a specific amount, here's how it could be used:

To learn more about DWB, go to their website:

http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/

To read a fassinating article about how a nutrient-dense food called Plumpy Nut, which is distributed by DWB to famine-hit areas, is making a remarkable difference in the lives of previously malnourished children, go here:

http://www.bookofjoe.com/2005/09/plumpynut_episo.html

We sometimes say to ourselves: My contribution would be small; it can’t make much of a difference. Well, you can’t say that now! Even a $7.50 contribution would make an enormous, possibly lifesaving, difference to one child. Think about it. The price of a lunch at McDonald’s, if contributed instead to DWB, could save a life. You can’t say that doesn’t make much of a difference!  

The Wintercandlemakers Committee believes that even a celebration that contains a substantial amount of fun for its participants can also help do a little good in the world. That's why Beauty and the Beast fan clubs collect cans of food at meetings, and why Beauty and the Beast conventions select charities and hold auctions that benefit them - we carry the light, each in our own way, and try to make the world a little better for others as we celebrate amongst ourselves. That has always set our fandom apart, and is part of what continues to make us strong. So let’s carry on the tradition of giving!

Contributions will be accepted now and throughout Winterfest. It’s easy to contribute!

You can, of course, send funds directly to DWB. If that’s how you feel most comfortable contributing, we urge you to do so. But we’d really like to send one cashier’s check in the name of Winterfest to DBW, along with a letter explaining our efforts. If that appeals to you, please contribute by submitting a contribution via Paypal.

Here’s how to do it - it’s easy, we promise!

Go to http://www.paypal.com and click on "Send Money."  

This allows you to pay anyone with an email address in 55 countries and regions that accept PayPal. Just enter the recipient's email address (JoAnn Baca is collecting our contributions, so send to joannb2003@yahoo.com) and the amount you wish to send. You can pay with a bank card. You can use PayPal to send payments in any of these currencies: Canadian Dollar, Euro, Pound Sterling, U.S. Dollar, Yen, and Australian Dollar.

If you prefer to send a check, you can send it to

JoAnn Baca

6017 Franconia Forest Lane

Alexandria, VA 22310

You can make the check payable to "Doctors Without Borders" and JoAnn will include it in the envelope along with the Winterfest contributions.

There you have it - a worthy charity, easy ways to contribute, and a chance to feel good about doing good, no matter how much or how little you can contribute. Let’s make a difference in other people’s lives, one even more profound than the difference that Beauty and the Beast has made in our lives. Wouldn’t Vincent be proud of us!

 

 

 

 


Letter to Doctors Without Borders

Enclosed are several checks, for a total contribution of $800.00 for Doctors Without Borders. The Beauty and the Beast online community, a collection of fans from all over the world who gather online to relive the spirit of the 1980s television show "Beauty and the Beast," recently celebrated Winterfest. As part of our online festivities, we ran auctions and collected donations for Doctors Without Borders, our selected charity. Among many ethical, moral and philosophical underpinnings, "Beauty and the Beast" encouraged those within its scope of influence to assist those who need assistance, and every time we gather, online or in our communities, we strive to "carry the light" in this way. We are a relatively small online community, but there are many generous hearts among us. In this way, we Live the Dream of the principles practiced on "Beauty and the
Beast." We know that our donation will have a positive impact on people unknown to us, through your excellent work – and so you carry our light for us into the larger community of the world.

Thank you,
The Online Winterfest Committee, on behalf of the fans of "Beauty and
the Beast"