VOLUNTEER EFFORTS IN THAILAND 2014

As many of my friends know, over the past couple of years, I have made it a goal to return to Chiang Mai, Thailand to do service work for a number of NGO's in and around Northern Thailand, and most recently as part of a group of young Buddhist Monks to Laos as a loosely structured effort to visit the grade schools the young men had attended and offer financial support, meditation instruction and school supplies.

In the past, I have worked as part of the inaugural team for Volunteer Positive, a group founded by Carlton Rounds to help bridge the gaps between those currently surviving HIV in various cultures, age groups and socio-economic conditions. As a representative of Volunteer Positive, I worked directly with Art Relief International in which we participated in daily visits to local NGO's in Thailand using art as our medium for education, communication and a whole lot of fun.

Well, it should come as no surprise that I am returning again to Chiang Mai for an extended visit to continue learning and giving back to the folks in the region.

If you have donated at certain levels in the past, you would have likely received a limited edition hand-printed linocut print, (or in a few instances, the full set of images in the edition) from a series of images that were drawn on-site while a previous trip to Thailand.

Gifts will begin with a hand-printed postcard sent from Thailand. As the fees for these crowd sourcing sites can tend to be a bit steep, I will be starting my gift levels at $20.

As the donation goes up, the rewards, handprinted linos will increase. 1 print for each $100 donated, until $500. At $500 and up, you can choose whether you want a set of the Thai Lunar New Year Calendar images, or a set of the other prints created from the additional linocuts drawn on-site this past September-October.

I'll be posting scans here of the Lunar Animals that have already been printed in the proof stage, and I'll also be posting scans of the lino's in their drawn stage.

Your donations will help offset the cost of an extended stay in Chiang Mai as well as provide learning materials, and scholarships for children in grade schools in areas of Thailand and Laos who may need the help.

Thank you again in advance for taking the time to read this and hopefully help out.

If you have recieved prints in the past, feel free to leave a note on here as to what you thought of your gift.

-David Berube