2019 Annual Meeting: Celebrating another year of grant-making

On the evening of April 7th, the Pangea Giving community gathered to celebrate another successful year of grant-making. The Mount Baker Community Club provided a lovely venue for members and friends to reconnect over glasses of Washington wine and dishes of Syrian appetizers. In keeping with Pangea’s concern for immigrants and displaced people, the event was catered by Project Feast, a local non-profit that provides pathways for refugees and immigrants to careers in the food industry.

Board President Maryann Ness and Treasurer Mary Williamson reviewed 2018 and looked ahead to what 2019 will bring. Many of these details are reviewed in the newly released 2018/2019 Annual Report.

Member Nathan Rosenbaum announced the kick-off of the Pangea Giving Endowment Fund. This endowment will provide Pangea Giving with an annual fund for educational events in the Seattle area and other outreach activities. More on the endowment is coming soon.

For more photos, check out our Flickr album.

Several members shared vignettes of their Pangea experiences from the last year:

• Diane Logan highlighted the exciting work of our new partner in Guatemala, Taa’pi’t. Taa’pi’t has a variety of programs that support indigenous communities near Lake Atitlán. They received a project grant to launch a culinary school that trains parents in the preparation of nutritious, traditional foods.
• Janet Pearson led other members of the East Africa site visit team in explaining their journey from skepticism to excitement around another new Pangea partner—Playmakers Theatre in Nakuru, Kenya. Playmakers uses community-theater productions to empower women, promote HIV awareness, and address environmental challenges.
• New Pangea member Emily Ho took the attendees on another voyage as she retraced the steps of the Myanmar site visit team through villages of internally displaced ethnic minorities in Shan State and communities were threats to local ecosystems and livelihoods go hand-in-hand near Inle Lake and Taunggyi.

Finally, Pangea Giving bid adieu and offered heartfelt thanks to three longtime Pangea Giving board members who are retiring this year: Betsy Hale, Patti Kilpatrick, and Jill Marsden.