Happy news!
It’s Birthday Project time again! One of the Zone’s most cherished traditions is our annual birthday gift for Johnny Depp.
Each year we choose a charity which is connected to Johnny’s philanthropic interests and his most recent work. We pool our modest contributions
and make a Zone donation to a worthy cause in honor of Johnny, as a way of celebrating and thanking Johnny for all the joy he has given us over the year. For this year’s project, we are doing something unprecedented: instead of selecting a new charity, we are returning to partner with
Project Pueblo to bring water systems to Navajo families!
We had such a marvelous experience with Project Pueblo last year that we wanted to do it again. Being able to follow the project every step of the way as the volunteers traveled to the Navajo reservation and installed the water tanks, pipes, and sinks really showed us what our donations could accomplish. And our hearts were deeply moved when we saw the beautiful smiles of our Navajo friends as they used their new sinks for the first time.
But there are still many families who need our help. There is much work to do.
Project Pueblo, our charity partner, is a 100% student and volunteer-led 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that conducts short-term, low-cost service trips to impoverished areas while raising money and awareness for relevant projects and issues. Project Pueblo is currently focusing on improving living conditions for the Navajo people in the area known as the former Bennett Freeze, a 2 million acre region within the Navajo Indian reservation of 8000+ families where only 25% have adequate shelter, only 10% have running water, and only 3% have electricity. In addition, this area heavily suffers from issues relating to uranium contamination stemming from mining during the Cold War. Project Pueblo partners with various organizations including Forgotten People, a grassroots, community-based Navajo nonprofit organization that has been fighting injustice and poverty for over 20 years.
Sean Wycliffe, the president of Project Pueblo, is a Zone member who keeps us in the loop as the project goes forward. He and his group of volunteers couldn’t be kinder or more cooperative or hard-working, and the pictures from last year’s construction make the case for generous donations far better than I ever could. We know that Johnny was delighted with our choice of Project Pueblo last year, and I’m sure that he will be pleased to know that we have helped some more Navajo families get “Johnny Depp water systems” this year.
You can read more about Project Pueblo here:
In his thank-you letter to the Zone for last year's gift, Johnny wrote, “You guys make the world a better place.” Let’s try to live up to that compliment by giving all we can to help Navajo families.
We will be accepting donations through Johnny’s birthday, June 9, 2013.
In these tough financial times, we know that it is a challenge to find money in your budget to donate to charity. But we also know that Zoners have very generous hearts,
and somehow we always find a way to say “Happy Birthday” and “Thank You” to Johnny, and to help people whose need is far greater than our own. When we pool our small gifts together, we can do a lot of good for others. We saw the proof of that last year, as we witnessed the water systems being installed for our Navajo sisters and brothers. But more families need our help.
Won’t you join us in wishing Johnny Depp a very happy birthday, and in saying
for all the joy he has given us, by donating to the 2013 Birthday Project?
Part-Time Poet[/n]
I was just telling some friends about that project last week, and I'm thrilled that we're continuing to partner with Project Navajo! 
I won a bet with myself, I just knew we would be, once again, donating to such a worthy cause. Last year's project was such a huge success despite the financial hardship everyone is facing and I hope we can equal or surpass what was amassed last year.
