We have been very busy with several fund-raising activities in the Washington, D.C. area.  A very generous and anonymous donor contributed $1000 in response to a “cold call” letter we sent.  Several supportive parents at St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School contributed $700.00.  We thank all our donors, large and small.

AFPVO has joined Macy’s National Shop for a Cause campaign and Board members are selling discount shopping passes for $5.00 each to be used at any Macy’s in the U.S. on Saturday, Aug. 29 which Macy’s has designated “National Shop for a Cause Day”.  AFPVO keeps 100% of the money; buyers get a generous discount; and Macy’s gets a lot of customers — a win-win-win.  We have raised $350 in the first week and will be continuing this effort through Aug 25.  If any of you want to purchase 1 or more passes, please contact me at [email protected].

We met with the congregation of Holy Cross Church on May 31, a Romanian Orthodox parish in Northern Virginia and spoke to many of the parishioners about AFPVO and our mission to support Pro Vita. Although many of them were aware of Pro Vita, they did not know about AFPVO.

We are preparing to transfer another $5000 to Mihail Tanase, Director of Pro Vita, to apply to the purchase of the exterior fire doors for the new teenage home in Valenii de Munte.  Thanks to everyone’s continuing generosity, it looks like we will be able to fulfill our promise to “Open the Doors to a Brighter Future” by paying for all the interior and exterior doors for this 40+ person house.

There are a number of  relevant videos about Pro Vita you may find interesting.  Google ‘Pro vita Orphanage, Romania” or “Asociatia Pro Vita’ to bring up the choices.

Mihail Tanase is busy organizing the 2015 Ultramarathon — a 100 kilometer run — to take place in June.  You can see the video of the 2014 run on YouTube.

There are a number of new pictures in the Gallery of the AFPVO website, posted by Ashley Stone, one of the chaperones of the 2015 Spring Break trip taken by students at St. Stephen’s and St Agnes School in Alexandria, VA.  In 2014 the SSSAS team helped mix and pour concrete for the house in Valenii de Munte.  This year, they planted 300 saplings in the fields behind the housing in Valea Screzii.  Way to go, Saints!

Once the Teen home is complete (estimated Aug 2015), we will discuss Pro Vita’s next priority building effort, and that will become the focus of our 2015-2016 campaign.  Please continue to keep AFPVO in your personal charitable giving plan as Pro Vita’s needs continue to grow along with the Pro Vita community.