4th Quarter 2018 Update – November 2018

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Lots of news to share and our (almost) final fund-raising appeal of 2018,

A team of 7 Dutch volunteers spent a week working in Valea Screzii in early October, re-building an old house that had been moved to the Pro Vita compound but was uninhabitable.  They stabilized the exterior and interior, installed new floors, a staircase, caulked leaks and also repaired the lumber mill which had been inoperable for some time.  The house is now ready for the interior finishing and will be a much-needed addition to the housing available in Valea Screzii.  Many, many thanks to Jan, Jurgen, Peter, Arjan, Hans, Isabella, and Aschwin who took vacation from their jobs, paid their own ways to Romania and worked long hours to do so much in a short amount of time.  AFPVO funded the purchase of some badly needed tools to help with the effort.  The high-quality Western European-manufactured tools cost about $1000 and remained at Pro Vita after the Dutch team returned home. 

With the local government approvals finally in hand, the rehab of the 1910 police station is underway.  Once that is completed, demolition of the old wooden buildings on the site in Valenii de Munte can begin.  We have already forwarded most of the available AFPVO funds to ensure that Mihail can have all the necessary building materials on hand as construction proceeds.

Even with the incredible generosity of our sustaining donors, the entire project is still between$15,000 -$20,000 short of funds.  To encourage all of you to include AFPVO and Pro Vita in your personal end of year charitable giving, the Board will match all 4th quarter donations on a dollar for dollar basis up to $10,000.  To encourage more Newsletter readers to join our regular donors, we will match every NEW donor contribution on a 2 for 1 basis.  Turn on the magic and make every one of your dollars worth 2 or even 3 dollars for Pro Vita!

Some of our more mature donors may decide to take advantage of a tax saving feature in the law.  If you are over 70 1/2 and taking the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) from a traditional IRA, you can donate a portion of your RMD directly to AFPVO and avoid taxes on that amount.   This type of tax-free donation is called a Qualified Charitable Deduction (QCD).  You need to have the IRA custodian make the check out to AFPVO and have it sent directly to us.  Please consult the IRS regulations or your financial/tax advisor to see if this opportunity to DO BETTER WHILE DOING GOOD is right for you.

We recently experienced problems with the website — our web designer and technical guru, Taylor, came to our rescue once again and we’re back on-line.

New pictures have been loaded to the Gallery on the website.  Please check them out.

Mihail and Melanie continue to juggle all the daily responsibilities of providing  a safe and loving residential environment for all the beneficiaries.  They are attending numerous court hearings on guardianship, local government meetings, nurturing all the nascent enterprises to fulfill the requirements of the EU grant, and creating educational, training and income opportunities for the residents.