FirstFruits NEWS June 2016 Issue

FirstFruits NEWS

June 2016 Issue

"A Quality Fruit Company Committed To Bearing Fruit...Fruit That Will Last"  

(John 15:16)

Training Servant Leaders at Broetje Orchards At Broetje Orchards, our mission statement guides our work: to be both a quality supplier of apples and cherries while also providing opportunities for individuals to understand their purpose and live into God's dream.    In early 2016, As part of our on-going work to develop our organization's ability to raise the capacity of our employees, our new Human Resource team enrolled in our local leadership formation course in servant leadership   For 5 months this group met weekly to learn more about  themselves and each other. In so doing, they have deepened their understanding of how to come together as a team to better help individuals. This group  graduated that course on June 1!   People who participate in servant leadership development learn how to share their life stories, examine their personalities, explore their gifts and special interests and support one another through our hard times so that each can be their best to those served. Congratulations to our H.R team, for your commitment to this course and the powerful ways you invest yourselves in the work God has chosen us to do together!   For more information on Servant Leadership and Center for Sharing please visit: www.centerforsharing.org     For a short video link to see this class in session go to: Communities of Practice: Vista Hermosa Cheryl Broetje

Happy Father's Day  As Father's Day approaches on June 19th, we take this day to recognize every father out there for the hard work that goes into being a dad.   To pass on a message of thanks, this year we thought it best to ask our Vista Elementary  School students to give us some input. They were posed the question: "What does your dad mean to you?"  Here are some of their responses:   My dad is important to me because he teaches me to be responsible. -Miguel , Kindergarten   My dad is important to me because he helps me learn and teaches me to be nice. -Omar , 1st grade My dad is important to me because he takes care of me. -Valeria, 2nd grade   My dad is important to me because he help me on my homework and is always there for me when I get hurt and taught me how to ride my bike. He helps my mom cook. -Julieta , 3rd grade   My dad is important to me because he has taught me to always work hard. He also works very hard to provide things for us. -Maria , Director of Extended Programs   Happy Father's Day!

Community Service: Finding the Time Increasingly, our lives are becoming overloaded. Our days are filled with work, family life, and for some, school. It can be tough to juggle so much in one day, but we do it time and again.   It's important though, that we take a step back and reflect on other ways we can contribute to our communities. So what does it mean to give back to your community? To some, community service is simply picking up garbage or donating to a local charity. To others, it is an  opportunity to work along peers working towards a common good.   Our First Fruits Scholars, of the Vista Hermosa Scholarship Program, are all asked to fulfill 10 hours of community service for every month they are attending school. They are encouraged to commit this time to an organization or cause to which they are passionate. All of our scholarship students are doing great work, but for this article we'd like to introduce Diana Reyes.   Diana is a mother of four beautiful children working towards a degree in Nursing at Columbia Basin College. Although she is a very busy mom and student, Diana is finding time to help the Pasco School District in their afterschool Adult ESL program. Having previously been an ESL student herself, Diana is now using her gifts to help an underrepresented population find their voice. She understands that helping these individuals become stronger in their English skills will ultimately have remarkable impact at home and in their community. Diana says, "It's important that these parents understand and can effectively communicate in English so that they can help their children with homework, and are able to know their rights and con contribute their ideas with others". We are proud of the work that Diana Reyes is accomplishing and proud of all of our First Fruits Scholarship recipients.    Guadalupe Mendez, Scholarship Coordinator

Cherry Harvest Update Cherry season is here in both Prescott and Wallula orchard locations. The high temperatures of this past spring accelerated a lot of Washington State's crops. Cherries were 2 weeks ahead of schedule with Wallula beginning the last week of May and finishing the first week of June. Prescott Orchards began picking the first week of June and is expected to finish in the end of June.   The unpredictable weather of our Spring had both orchards face several obstacles including rain and high temperatures which can cause splits in the cherries. We would like to thank all the crews and Managers who endured late nights and early mornings to protect and harvest these First Fruits of the season.- Tyler Broetje, Communications

Supporting Communities around the Globe  

Broetje Orchards has a tradition of supporting employees as they give together to serve vulnerable communities in Mexico. Employee funding has made a difference providing housing, education and mentoring to vulnerable children.

 

In 2010, a group of employees formed Paisanos Unidos and focused their giving on Miramar, Oaxaca; supporting agriculture, livelihood and education projects. The group then decided to support the community of Nuevo Paraiso Tzotil in Chiapas, Mexico. 

 

Thanks to the generous support of 75 Broetje Orchard employees, Laura (pictured here) and 30 other young people from Nuevo Paraiso Tzotzil in Chiapas, Mexico will have the opportunity to go to school and have a safe place to learn and play. The community is so grateful for the support:  for 17 years this community had fled political violence and been living as refugees.  As a result, youth never had the opportunity to go to school and don't speak Spanish. This will change that! 

 

Together, employees raised $12,500 which will be matched by Broetje Orchards, for a combined donation of $25,000. These funds will go towards the construction of the school, equipment, and training costs. The community members will provide the labor for construction and have agreed to serve as volunteer teachers. Amextra, a nonprofit in Mexico, has committed to providing ongoing support to the project and wider community. We are thankful to partner with the people of Nuevo Paraiso as they work towards their goal of providing youth and children with education.

 

If you would like to learn more about this project or support Paisanos Unidos, please talk with Melanie Lopez in the office or call her at 509-749-8178. To learn more about Amextra, visit their website at www.amextra.org . 

 

Melanie Lopez-Grewal-  International Grants and Communications Coordinator