NEW COMPUTER FOR CV FUND

Thanks to an anonymous gift, the CV Fund has been able to order the computer we needed so desperately, and we now have it in hand.

The computer is an Acer "Travel Mate" 5530 laptop, wireless or it can be used with wire, and particularly suited for business computing.
Ed Black and Dave Israel are now working on installing the software we will need for our operations.
Very soon now, with the purchase of a printer, we will have an efficient means to write letters to local businesses and corporations, asking for contributions and applying for grants. We will also be better able to keep track of donations and donors, and print out labels and receipts.

Thank you to our anonymous donor, and thank you all for your interest.While waiting for the computer, we haven’t been idle. We have been sending letters to local businesses the old-fashioned way. These are businesses that have a stake in our well-being, because many Villagers are their customers.
We have been contacting plumbers and electricians, our maintenance companies, banks and insurance companies, doctors and rehab facilities, service stations, restaurants, grocery stores, pharmacies, beauty salons, real estate agencies, and others.

Already some money has begun to come in from these merchants. We are making it clear to them that we are not singling them out for a handout. We have told them we have been asking our own residents to contribute, as well as clubs and associations in the Village, and that we are gearing up to request funds and grants from foundations and large corporations—in short, that this is a multi-pronged effort.

Every little bit helps, whether you earmark a gift for an item such as a printer or postage or stationery, or you make a general donation to the Fund for the relief of our residents in need.

Donations should be sent to:

The CV Fund, Inc.,
207 Salisbury I,
West Palm Beach, FL 33417;

telephone 640-7606.
Thanks!

Posted by L N Howe at 8/07/2009 01:00:00 PM 0 comments

LAPTOP COMPUTER NEEDED

The CV Fund is badly in need of a computer on which to store our records and produce the correspondence required to obtain grants and funds from charitable organizations and individuals.

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Can anyone help?

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We are looking for a laptop with Windows XP. A laptop is needed, because the computer will need to be operated at different locations. A used machine would be fine so long as it is a laptop with Windows XP.

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Two hundred dollars ($200) has already been donated toward the cost. If you would like to make a monetary contribution toward the computer, please make your check out to, "CV Fund" and sent it to:

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CV Fund, 207 Salisbury I, West Palm Beach, FL 33417.

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Please note "for computer" on your check. If a machine is donated, so it turns out that we do not need the monetary contributions received, these will be put in the general fund used for relief of those in need, UNLESS you request we do otherwise. Thanks to any of you out there who can help us with this.

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If you have any questions, please call:

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the CV Fund at (561) 640-7606 and ask for Jean Dowling.

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Lanny Howe

CV FUND VIDEO UPLOADED TO YOUTUBE

Hi all,
Sue Cohen has made a wonderful video which we have uploaded

to YOUTUBE:




This gives us Global reach:

Dave Israel

WHO IS FRIEDA???

WHO IS FRIEDA????

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Freida, dear friends, is a representation of all of those in CV who are in financial need. These people passed the financial test to move here but through many different circumstances have lost part of their income.
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In these economic times, it could be any of us. If we can pay our bills at the end of the month and feed ourselves, we should feel lucky. ......Yes, we will make certain that each applicant needs the help we will provide and we will not hand out money but will pay either WPRF or Maintenance for them....depending on need, maybe both.
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We are also investigating the vehicle to reclaim monies advanced if the person leaves the Village and sells their property. One of the attorneys helping us is working on the best way to achieve this.
We hope to also help by directing the recipients to other services to help. If there is another need and there is a service in place already, we certainly will help them to receive that service.
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My heart warms by the people who have given their time or money and hurt by some who are hard hearted and criticize our efforts. One even wrote that she hopes that Freida dies.
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By-the-way, Freida does not exist, she is a face from an internet service. We would not embarrass anyone in the Village by publishing their story or face. Freida represents all of those real faces.
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We are an incorporated non-profit organization in the State of Florida. As for taxes, even though we are a non-profit, we had to pay internal revenue $300. We do have a Federal ID number so if you need it for deductions, please call and I will give it to you.
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If you have any other questions, please call and I will answer them.The last thing that I want you to know is that this help for individuals, will also help associations because if we help someone to pay their condo fees, then the condo does not have to go to lien or foreclosure.
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My phone number is 640-7606. Remember when we have enough money, we can start helping those who are in need so give what you can.
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Thank you.

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Posted by Jean Dowling

WILL YOU HELP FRIEDA

click to supersize

Can you help Frieda?

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Frieda is a composite of some of our neighbors here in CV. If you can help with any amount, please print out the poster and send it along with your donation to the CV Fund.

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Dave Israel

CV UNIT OWNER ENDORSES FUND

By Lanny Howe:

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The following piece was written by a neighbor, Herbert Geller, one of our snowbirds, on reading and hearing about the CV Fund project:
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I am very impressed with what I have heard about the Century Village Fund (CV Fund) designed to help provide food, money and other assistance to poorer residents of Century Village. What can be more timely than this program with our country facing a severe Recession and maybe another Great Depression?
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Who knows how many elderly people here and and all over the country lost some or even all of their life savings in the financial calamities that are occurring in the United States and in many parts of the world? I hope no one here invested with Bernie Madoff or the other crooks who are coming out of the woodwork. Who knows how many of our neighbors need the help that the CV Fund is trying to provide? I have heard that there are a number of elderly and infirm people in Century Village who find it very difficult to support themselves and have no relatives who can help them. These are the people who can benefit from the CV Fund.
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I remember similar hard times during the Great Depression and what we did in those days to help our neighbors. I was just a little kid then but my family who had been prosperous in the 1920s was broke for 10 years until the 1940s when my father made a great comeback. I learned a lot of lessons then which I still remember. First you have to help your neighbor and maybe your neighbor can even help you. And I think that is what they hope to do with the CV Fund. Help people who need help.
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I can tell you some stories about that time long ago which illustrate the need for neighbor to neighbor cooperation which the founders of the CV Fund are advocating today.. My wife told me how her mother made corn muffins and corn bread for her neighbors by buying a 50 pound bag of surplus cornmeal at a Farmers Market. Some friends contributed eggs, milk and cooking oil and my wife and her sister made enough corn muffins for everyone they knew. My parents took in a homeless man in 1932 who my father's cousin met in the Subway. That's what people did in the Great Depression. We felt we were all involved in economic hard times and we were obligated to help our friends and neighbors.
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The CV Fund I have heard is setting up what seems to be a good program to provide the same kind of real help for neighbors today who are suffering economic hardship. This would include a Food Bank where people in need could get food at little or no cost. There are also other plans to provide some financial assistance and free handyman work for residents who need it. Volunteers and donations are needed to undertake this worthy program. I never met her but I would also like to commend Jean Dowling for setting up this great project. My wife and I are just "snowbirds" who fly down here with the cold winds in the winter and return home with the warm winds in the spring but we certainly will do what we can to help this worthy project..
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HERBERT AND GLORIA GELLER 329 SHEFFIELD N 429-3182

CV FUND CONTRIBUTION FORM

CV Fund

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Allow us to introduce our neighbor Frieda. She is 87 years old, quiet and unassuming. Thirty years ago, along with her late husband, Irvin, she fulfilled her American dream. They had worked hard and earned their retirement in Florida. It was a wonderful life back then and easy to manage the monthly bills, but then Irvin passed away.

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Frieda coped well with her grief, but the loss of her husband's Social Security dramatically reduced her income. Over time, she found it harder and harder to pay her bills. After the hurricanes drove up insurance rates, she found it impossible to manage.

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These days she eats little, can't afford the medications the doctor tells her she needs, and unaccustomed poverty has isolated her. Frieda's days are numbered—not only in the physical sense, but unless help arrives quickly, she will lose the condo she and Irvin worked so hard for.

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There is a way we can help....

We care about the ever-increasing numbers of Friedas—some of them right among us in Century Village, West Palm Beach. There are a number of elderly and infirm who often through no fault of their own can no longer make ends meet. CV Fund, a volunteer, nonprofit organization, for long a vision of Jean Dowling, has been formed to meet this need in the Village. Our mission is to provide assistance in the form of money, goods, and advice to those in the Village in poorer circumstances.

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Already, about 25 of us have met and formed committees for fundraising (we hope to raise $2-3 million and from the interest on this help people financially), advertising, and the technical support needed. A food committee will be pursuing the purchase from food banks of top-quality foods in bulk, which we will break down and residents can buy for about one-quarter of market price. To raise the needed money, we will be applying for grants and gifts from associations. We are hoping also that individuals, our vendors, our clubs, and our condo associations will contribute.

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If you would like to contribute to this worthy cause, please complete the form below, detach and send it with your donation. Thank you for your kind support.

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__________________________________________________
CV Fund Donation
Name______________________________________ Amount__________ Check Cash (circle one)Street____________________________________________________
City/Town__________________________________ State______ Zip_______________
Telephone: (_______ )_________________ Date_______________________________

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Mail to: CV Fund, 207 Salisbury I, West Palm Beach, FL 33417; Tel. (561) 640-7606

CV FUND

CV Fund

BY: Lanny Howe

Lending a hand to those in need

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There is a blank spot in Century Village which a small group of people, now formed into a committee, want to fill.

Most of us, whether year-rounder’s or snowbirds, are fortunate (and know it) to have a place to live here. The Village is the best buy in town for the money. It's not a fancy place, but it is safe, there are nice apartments, and we have a beautiful clubhouse and state-of-the-art health club. There are swimming pools, a host of activities, a free bus service second to none, and many other amenities.

For some of our folk, though, life in the Village is hard. These are neighbors we all know, some the elderly and infirm, who, often through no fault of their own, cannot make ends meet. Many have no relatives who stand ready to help. Many are lonely and isolated, don't have friends, and don't know the places one can turn for assistance. We would like to help them.

An organization, made up of Village residents and outsiders, that might secure the financial backing and expertise to provide help for these people has long been in the heart of Jean Dowling. A few years ago, she and WPRF's Mark Levy, who contributed $60,000 to the cause, were able to arrange for financial assistance to a number of our poorer residents. This was done quietly, discreetly, and as anonymously as possible. In time, the money simply ran out.

Jean and the committee envision something broader and self-sustaining now, a not-for-profit organization called CV Fund. We hope to raise 2-3 million dollars, and with the interest on this assist people financially.

But this is only one thing we will be doing. We hope to be able, perhaps once a month, to buy food from a food bank, bring this back to the Village, and break it down for individuals who have placed orders. By paying $18, an individual can get $60 worth of Publix-quality foodstuffs.

We hope also, through our own research, to be able to connect people with organizations and government agencies that can help and give advice on a variety of topics.

To raise the needed money, we will seek donations from foundations and apply for grants. We will also ask for donations from within the Village—from individuals, from our condo associations ($100 a year has been suggested), from our clubs, from vendors, and others.

We are hoping everyone will pitch in. The money received will be used wisely and well. Our plan is to keep administrative expenses down to a bare minimum.

What else might be done through this program? Much, which we will share with you later. Right now we are getting our sea legs. Details about the various facets of the program will be forthcoming.

In the meantime, if you feel you might be able to assist us or donate to the cause, this would be most welcome. If you think you could help in any way, please call Jean Dowling at 640-7606.

The CV Fund is about lending a hand to those in need. These are tough economic times. Our hope and our purpose is to make life in the Village a little happier for our less fortunate residents by removing some of the financial stress in their lives.