Aug. 2012 to July 2014- Women's Coffee/cocktail Klatch of Salinas

Almost two years ago, my good friend Connie decided to meet a few of her friends for coffee to chat and enjoy some female companionship. This Coffee Klatch has since grown into a group of +60 women –both expats and Ecuadorians- with new members welcomed every week and old ones dropping out as people move on to other places.

 We now meet every Wednesday- one Wednesday at 10AM for coffee and the next one at 4PM for cocktails. Another good friend, Cathy, sends out a notice to everyone as to where this week’s get together is, usually one of our local restaurants or bars. Needless to say, not everyone on our distribution list attends each and every time but a small core of us do seem to always be there-LOL

                               One of our many Cocktail Klatches at Sin bar

Now the best part of the Coffee/Cocktail Klatches- aside from solving all the world’s problems, the fun chats and the sharing of useful information( names & location of seamstresses, where best to buy what, new restaurants etc) and introducing new members to our existing community- is that we help and organize charitable activities.

For instance, last Christmas we bought presents (and brought  Santa Claus) and served a lunch for an entire school. This was initiated by one of our members Babs. Not only did she organize a fund raiser to raise money for this event, but also did most of the gift shopping and had a fun gift wrapping party that many of us attended.

 We also gave presents and food items to a family of 49 from one of our neighborhoods in Salinas. 
See older Blog post about some of our charitable events. 

http://uwepetrastravelyear.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2013-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2014-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=30

This spring , two of our members Randy and Susana bought with donated funds by the group and delivered  supply items for another school in a village close to Salinas.

 Last month we bought, cooked and helped serve food along with the Airforce wives at the ‘Happy Wings’ celebration at the poorest school in Salinas.

This winter we also had a wonderful party at the Sin bar along with food, music and a silent auction in order to raise funds to help out one of our expat friends in need of a costly operation.

We also have had two clothing exchanges to raise money for the next charitable activity. These consist of a cocktail hour at one of our member’s homes where anyone can bring gently used clothes they no longer want or that no longer fit and others buy whatever catches their eye for $1-$2 and the proceeds go into a jar for the next need. We all have a good time including the fun of trying on and buying new outfits. I know, I know- it’s a ‘women’ thing.

                        Buying & trying on at our Clothes Exchange Cocktail hour

Our hosts- Cathy & Gwen

Our newest endeavor involves doing volunteer work in many capacities for the local Red Cross ‘Cruz Roja’. One of our members, Susana, has just been voted into the position of president of the Salinas’ Red Cross.

                             Susana's Inauguration in the Role of President

We had a wonderful turnout at one of our 10AM Coffee Klatches held this time at the Cruz Roja building.

Susana explained the Red Cross duties and where she needed help. 

She asked for the names and email addresses of those of us willing to donate some of our time and which projects we would be interested in helping with- youth activities, emergency response, medical aid etc.

We were also given a tour of the office facilities and treated to coffee, empanadas, humidas and cake. She also introduced everyone to the existing volunteers of the Ecuadorian community.

                                  Susana at her desk in the Cruz Roja building

We look forward to our involvement with her group.