Philippine Islands Disaster Relief Fund Birthday Party Fundraiser in Bucerias Alison Normanton - Bucerias Bilingual Community Center
November 18, 2013

In exchange for your donation of 50 pesos, you will get a cocktail or beverage and a slice of the birthday cake. I will be singing your favorite jazz standards and will share anecdotes and stories about the time when I was growing up in the Philippines.

I am sending this to you so that you can know of Armi's plans to celebrate her birthday on November 21 and help her home country with a disaster relief fund which she explains in more detail below.

If you are unable to attend Armi's birthday party on the 21st, it is hoped that you will come to the new Oasis at Encore market on Wednesday, November 20th, from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm, and make a small donation (or even a big one!) to help support the innocent victims of this terrible tragedy. They do great breakfasts during the market so perhaps you can combine the 2. Armi's message is below.  

Dear Friends and Supporters,

It will be my 55th birthday on November 21. My girlfriend said that I should celebrate this big milestone ???. I can’t really think of anything to do that I would consider “big” for this day. I have a blessed life and I feel lucky that I am healthy and able to do what I love to do.

For over a week now, I’ve been following the news about the super typhoon “Haiyan” or “Yolanda” that hit the Philippine islands, which destroyed cities and towns, displacing hundreds of thousands of people. As of this writing, there are almost 4,000 dead and 600,000 homeless.

My sister who lives in Manila gave me the idea to collect donations for this cause. So I am inviting everyone to come to Encore Restaurant & Jazz Lounge on my birthday, November 21, starting at 6:00 pm. There will be tickets for sale for 50 pesos each. All of the money collected will be donated to Humanitarian Coalition, an umbrella group for several charities that co-ordinate their international relief efforts to reduce duplication. The group includes Oxfam Canada, Oxfam-Québec, CARE Canada, Save the Children Canada and Plan Canada.

In exchange for your donation of 50 pesos, you will get a cocktail or beverage and a slice of the birthday cake. I will be singing your favorite jazz standards and will share anecdotes and stories about the time when I was growing up in the Philippines. Regular Menu will be available.

I was born in the Philippines, in an island called Masbate. It is the island very close to Leyte, where Tacloban City is located. I did not grow up there but in Manila, but I can still remember my visits with relatives and has experienced some big typhoons first hand. There is an average of 20 typhoons that hit the Philippine islands every year and to have the biggest and most devastating one last week seems to be too much to fathom for a lot of poor people living there.

Thank you for reading this letter and hope to see you November 21 at Encore.
 
Sincerely,
Armi Grano
for Encore Restaurant and Jazz Lounge
Lazaro Cardenas & Abasolo
(329) 298-0140
email: info@encoreonthebeach.com
www.encoreonthebeach.com

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