December 16, 2019
Himalayan Children’s Fund News Dear Friends, The positive responses to our new website, himalayanchildrensfund.org are very pleasing and encouraging. Please tour the site if you have not yet had a chance to see it. I would like to acknowledge and thank Mr. Lee Miracle who has managed rinpoche.com for many decades now along with our previous website. His work has been invaluable and we are forever grateful. The ‘torch’ has now passed to Mr. Andrew Spickert-Ammons (see our August newsletter) and we hope we do not overwork him! Rinpoche is doing well and was busy this fall with the annual Thrangu Tsedrup and groups visiting for retreat. He also spent some time in retreat himself and will head to Sarnath for Losar. Please enjoy and share the news. ~ Debra Ann
A SPECIAL STORY
A MESSAGE FROM THRANGU RINPOCHE
Thrangu Rinpoche has recorded a message of thanks in honor of the many HCF sponsors, donors and volunteers, past and present. View on the homepage of our website or use this YouTube link.
In October, former Professor Emerita of Longwood University, Rena Koesler, trekked Mt. Everest base camp (17,600 ft), climbed Mt. Kalapathar (18,500 ft), and summited Island Peak (20,300 ft) along with a former Longwood student and other companions. Since Rena had previously taken Longwood University students to visit SMD Boarding School and provide leadership programs for the children, she turned her challenging trip into a fundraising challenge on Facebook. Rena invited people to share and support her experience by donating to her cause ~ SUPPORT SMD SCHOOL. Her hopeful goal of $1,000.00 became a donation of $1,840.00 through the kindness and enthusiasm of many. We are grateful and celebrate Rena’s fortitude and humanitarian spirit. While you need not climb a mountain, you can easily create your own fundraiser on Facebook and invite friends to support your cause, whatever it may be. If you select HCF as the non-profit recipient we receive the funds free of charge.
TARA ABBEY HONORS SENIOR NUNS On the last day of the summer retreat, 16 nuns were very surprised and happy to find themselves being honored and acknowledged for having given 25 years of service to the monastery. In a lovely ceremony attended by the entire abbey community Khenpo Chonyi presented each nun with a certificate, khata and an honorarium. The small monthly stipend that elder nuns are now given allows them to prepare their own food as needed, and to provide other necessities. It may also serve as a reassurance to the younger nuns that it is fine to remain with the abbey as they age ~ the community will be able to take good care of ‘elderly seniors’!
SPONSORSHIP RATES SMD BOARDING SCHOOL Boarding Student $900.00* Day Student $420.00 FOR MONASTICS SMDBS or SMD Monk Shedra Monk Nun (base sponsorship) Additional for school nun Monk (base sponsorship)
$480.00 $600.00 $240.00 $240.00 $240.00
We will always accept any amount toward sponsorships and find additional sponsors to complete the full fee amount. * SMD calculates $935.00 as the actual cost for boarding students, however, HCF is reluctant to increase sponsor fees and will continue to raise additional funds for the support of the school.
Himalayan Children’s Fund P. O. Box 15644, Beverly Hills, CA 90209 USA 310.395.6616 himalayanchildrensfund.org