Greetings, Dear Friend.
I hope this message finds you close with family and soaring with a heart at peace.
The purpose of my letter is to update you on our progress here at ANASAZI Foundation and invite your assistance—in the tradition of ANASAZI—via the Making of an Asking. If you are in a position to do so, or if you know someone who might be, I ask you to consider supporting ANASAZI’s annual scholarship fund. To maximize the funds available to families, ANASAZI has decided not to hold its annual Scholarship Dinner in 2009. Instead we invite you to make a contribution as if you were coming to the event. I make this asking on behalf of the families we serve.
As you might imagine, the need for our services has never been greater. Families contact us every day for help, but most—including middle-income families who can no longer obtain student loans—are unable to bear the financial burden of treatment. Today ANASAZI is the only nonprofit “wilderness program” remaining in existence. Our charitable mission is to make our services available to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay. In an effort to help families weather the 2008-2009 economic downturn, ANASAZI has lowered fees, exhausted its scholarship fund, cut salaries/costs, and tapped its operating reserves. Because there are few residential programs able to provide financial assistance, these sacrifices have allowed us to serve many families for whom ANASAZI was the only hope.
I was pondering all this earlier this summer, when I suddenly found myself filled with gratitude. As a particularly amazing group of parents left for the ANASAZI trail to reunite with their children, I was overcome by a deep sense of appreciation and humility. I realized that for whatever reason, my Creator had placed me at an intersection for miracles. I have been blessed to witness many during my 19 years at ANASAZI. To me the ANASAZI Trail is a place where Heaven meets Earth, where families find hope, where young people discover their greatness, and where changed parents create new and even stronger bonds with the children held so deeply in their hearts.
I wish to thank all who share in the ANASAZI Sunrise—the families who place in ANASAZI such a Sacred Trust, the staff members who put the needs of others before their own, and the generous donors who make this Sunrise possible for those less fortunate.
Our ANASAZI family has grown to almost 10,000 people (alumni, parents, friends, and staff) who have shared their hearts with us since we began our walking in 1988. As part of our 20-year anniversary, we undertook an effort to reconnect with as many as possible. Since we established our ANASAZI Tribe Facebook page early this year, messages from grateful alumni have been pouring in. Their love and kind words have lifted us as we work though this challenging financial year. The comments remind us of our reason for being…of the importance of family.
These comments also underscore the importance of the scholarship fund—which allows ANASAZI to be of service to those most in need. Many in our ANASAZI family have contributed to the fund this year. Some have made large gifts and some of our wonderful alumni have started smaller campaigns of their own. We invite you to get involved, and we are hopeful the combined efforts will help ANASAZI meet its 2009 fundraising objective of $500,000. Every dollar raised—especially in the current economic climate—is sacred. Although we will not be holding our scholarship dinner this year, we will still honor five ANASAZI alumni with our 2009 Young Leader awards. Each of the five will receive scholarships from NFL legend Steve Young in a presentation to be streamed later this year on the ANASAZI website. Rest assured, the Scholarship Dinner will return in 2010. Music legend Wynonna Judd has already agreed to participate.
I once again invite you to support (in whatever way possible) our scholarship fund. If you normally attend the Scholarship Dinner, we invite you to donate what you might have contributed via the event. If not, we invite you to make a monthly contribution or remember ANASAZI in your end-of-year giving. Whether you are in a position to donate $25 a month or $25,000, the families we serve will be eternally grateful for your assistance. Your help will allow many more to enjoy their own ANASAZI Sunrise.
Thank you for keeping the ANASAZI Way alive in your heart. I am Willachée, and I have spoken.
With Gratitude,
Michael J. Merchant
