From DA to the USA

Leeds, England registered UK Charity No.1087961
Kingsport, USA charitable non-profit # 86-0957704
Oradea, Romania registered Charity No.14839712

 
...making smiles in Romania

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A Brand New Journey Life is full of journeys, and I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am about the new adventure in my life. I am thrilled to be the new US Development Associate for Smiles. I know that there is much work to do and there will be many exciting days ahead. Let me tell you just a little bit about me. I live in Richmond, Virginia and I am leaving a 15 year career in corporate finance to embark on this new journey. In 2003, I participated in a Smiles mission trip and have followed the Foundation’s work since. I am a huge fan of every one at Smiles. I can not wait to meet the many new faces and get reacquainted with others. I am looking forward to getting to the UK and to Romania this fall. Kevin has been kind enough to include me in the UK DA Conference on October 17th and to then give me sometime in Romania to get fully acquainted with the people and the projects there. So, what will I be doing instead of Corporate Finance? Trust me - A lot of equally challenging things! I am currently training for a half marathon that I will be running on November 14. The 13 mile (21K) distance is quite a challenge for me. My longest race so far was 10K. I am running to raise support for Smiles. All of my friends in the US can contribute at http://www.firstgiving.com/gregwillis My friends in the UK can contribute at http://www.justgiving.com/Greg-Willis0. A few friends have suggested that they may double their donation if I beat a particular time. I am not a fast distance runner at all. I am built more like a rugby player than a marathon runner for sure. Beating the 2-hour 15 minute mark would be quite a reach for me. But, if I can get enough people interested in “encouraging” me to beat the 2:15 mark, I’ll happily go for it. If you would like to participate by challenging me on this time, e-mail me at greg@thesmilesfoundation.org As you get to know me, you will discover that one of my passion’s in life is baseball. I have been fortunate to play and coach baseball all of my life. I have coached at multiple levels in the US and abroad. This past winter, I spent a few weeks coaching for a club in New Zealand. I am in the process of developing plans to bring baseball to Romania. I truly believe that baseball could be a tremendous tool to bring attention to the terrific work that Smiles is doing in Romania. This is such an exciting opportunity. I know that many Americans will want to get involved. If you share my love for the game are interested in helping me, please e-mail me at greg@thesmilesfoundation.org and we’ll see what we can do together. Another pastime that I enjoy is bowling. I am not very good at it, but I do enjoy it. If you enjoy bowling, then I have an opportunity for you. You can start a Smiles Foundation bowling club at a bowling center in your local community. You will have a great time with friends and family while raising money for the Smiles Foundation. It is very easy to start a club and I will help you will all the details. Just send me an e-mail, I will help get you started and be there to guide along the way. The Smiles foundation is now on Facebook. If you are a Facebook user, please find us at Smiles Facebook. Click the link to become a fan. Encourage your friends on Facebook to become fans as well. Facebook is a tremendous way to invite people to follow the work that Smiles is doing. But we need your help. If you are not on Facebook, consider joining the Facebook community so that you can help us promote Smiles. Well, in the US there is so much work to do and I know that I can not do it alone. I know there are a number of people in the US who would love to help in so many different ways. Please contact me so we can work together for the benefit of the Romanian people. I leave you with this thought: One of my favorite stories in the Bible is from II Kings. The Israelites have been surrounded by Syrians and Elisha’s servant is afraid. But Elisha is not afraid. He prays and asked the Lord to open the eyes of his servant so the he can see what Elisha’s sees. The Lord answers his prayer. In fact, “the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (II Kings 6:17). He saw the invisible army that God had provided and was no longer afraid. I know that sometimes it may seem that for every need we meet in Romania, we learn of more and more needs still needing to be met. And in these times of financial turmoil, we may worry how God is going to provide for Smiles to be able to meet all of these needs. But just like God provided an invisible army for Israel, we can trust that God will provide everything that Smiles needs. We may not see it with our own eyes at this moment, but we can trust that His provision is there. Look forward to hearing from you and getting to know you. Have a great September. All My Best, Greg Willis USDA@thesmilesfoundation.org

 

 

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    Page last updated on 06/07/2010 11:50:17 AM
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