Dear Friends (including those I haven't been here to meet yet). I am writing this because you are my friends and I trust you enough to tell you the truth about where I have been in the last few weeks. I also have had time to think and plan a lot, and have made some decisions which may lose some members (I hope not). I made these decisions after much thought, and putting the whole thing on my own shoulders if anything goes wrong, so anyone currently involved with, or interested in becoming involved with (I've fixed up the overseas problem, I have several people willing to accept donations, and I'm sure that as I am joining BWC up as a Bearo (lifetime member) of GBW, and myself as a Sponsor, we will have access to bears. Karen (Sir Koff a lot and muffin enterprises) can you contact me please about getting t-shirts for Sir Koff and ribbon made up with the BWC logo and the new one. The new logo is still in my head, but it is CCC (Crafts, Computers and Crisis referral services for those in need Australia wide).CCC has a DGR pending and I am working on the paperwork for Income Tax exemption and deductible gift recipient status. The reason I have been offline is that the harassment I have been intermittently subjected to, the problems my daughter has, and the increased vulnerability caused by my own endogenous depression tipped me over the edge and I had a physical and mental breakdown. Fortunately I had all the medication to treat the depression so I was able to stay home, looked after by Ros. Rachel is in foster care with her foster family only ten minutes drive from here, so I can see her regularly. I do want to hear from anyone who cares to write. Jinx (my secret pal from the SMALL swap), your parcel arrived, and he and shrimp have kept me sane through this, along with Ted (made by Joan Farrelly) and my other adored bears.I have been totally housebound, my first trip outside the front door for over a week was to see my doctor before he went away on holidays, so I have not posted any mail. I have the customs forms and mailbags to post all my swaps. There is one I can't post, and that is the Recycle card game, (Nikki, please can I have the names I asked for months ago, I did get your last email, and they were posted by Ros on 14/7/2000). Fortunately after some of the horror stories I have heard over the years about Australia Post I ignored your demand and scanned them. The scans are still on Ros's hard disk, so I will upload them when I can. Bears who Care members, I need three volunteers for a committee meeting. As usual the Annual general meeting will take place on line, but after I have sent off the letters. It will be held over one week and all financial members are most welcome to attend. [EMAIL PROTECTED] is usually an open list, I will however be closing it for the week of the meeting. I need the committee members to be outside Victoria, either interstate or overseas, because of the nature of the ruling. As we don't have any official committee members for BWC (I have been over the minutes of the last AGM in careful detail), I could make this decision myself, but as we are being carefully watched by the Justice Dept and the Australian Taxation office, this has to be done by the book exactly. I am winding up the Incorporated in Victoria status of BWC, as it is an unnecessary drain on our resources,,as we have Australia wide tax status it is no longer needed, although the rules will be used as our rules for both BWC and CCC. CCC is the extension of the other work I have been doing on a very modest scale since I was 16 (I'm 41), and it gives me the ability to help more people, not just with toys but with clothes, furniture bedding and craft and computer tuition.. Roberta Fassina, could you please save me going through the thousands of email on my computer and email me. Your TWO parcels have turned into SIX ( all full of lovely material all ready to make into bears for kids in need. Sorry about the length of this, but it needed to be long. I want to expand our work with the refuges and crisis housing services to all disadvantaged people Australia wide. *** Bonus. If you send your lifetime membership of the amalgamated BWC/CCC you can have lifetime membership for your whole family for $10 instead of $!2. That is all the costs this year, after that it will be $10 a year to cover postage costs, and the newsletter will now be coming out more often, and at least the first page will be in colour. Anyone who wants to join us, could you please leave the subject line as it is and send me your postal address. Distance is not a problem, I have bought (with my own pension) souvenir envelopes to use for sending out the newsletter to our overseas friends. We need people who can do any craft, we can now supply patterns of all kinds, and anyone who would like to make something for us to sell on Ebay we would be delighted to receive it. Only the membership and annual renewal are subject to the GST, anything over that is a bonus. Keep your fingers crossed for me, I have a lot of work to do and little time to do it, Uni. first, and our BAS for the tax office (to get back some of the money I have spent) then the fun stuff, rewriting the entire site!! Anyone who would like to help with any aspect of this (except the Uni., that's my work) is most welcome, your assistance will be met with gratitude, no matter what your skill is. I am also looking into taking some of the sheltered workshop workers and helping them do something worthwhile and training them for a good paying job in the open market. I've spent two years working with people who work a full week for $20 more in their pension !! I'd rather go without something myself and give them a chance, one or two at a time, to work with us for decent pay, improve their skills and when they want to move on a great reference that says what they CAN do, not what they can't. Big plans, big dreams, my primary focus is still on the kids in most need, and in our Australian Indigenous people. I'm hoping to get contacts, prove what my heart already knows (that I am related to this land by roots going back before invasion), and hope to set up some rural people to help their own people with materials and information supplied from here. BWC was launched on the anniversary of my fathers death BWC and CCC will ensure that his memory lives on after I am dead.I will NOT rest until there is help for every person in crisis, especially the First Peoples of the world. BIG HUGS TO YOU ALL Sue Sue Maynard,Founder Bears who Care Inc. ABN 59 733 931 133 (Donations Tax Deductible) A cuddly friend for kids in crisis http://www.bearswhocare.au.com ------------------------------------------------------ RecOzNet2 has a page @ http://www.green.net.au/recoznet2 and is archived at http://www.mail-archive.com/ To unsubscribe from this list, mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], and in the body of the message, include the words: unsubscribe announce or click here mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20announce This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use." RecOzNet2 is archived for members @ http://www.mail-archive.com/recoznet2%40paradigm4.com.au/
