Napa Valley resident Marilyn Asmuth is just one of Clinica Verde’s great supporters. We are so grateful for the contribution of Marilyn and her husband Paul, who coached the U.S. Olympic open water swimmers last summer in Beijing! Here, Marilyn shares why she chose to give to Clinica Verde.

“Clínica Verde appeals to me because it provides hope and the possibility of health to a community in extreme need.  This vision is buoyed by a foundation of sustainability that is sensitive to the realities of the community it serves. Crafting a design for a clinic that can be mindfully and efficiently replicated in other places is brilliant stewardship.

“While it is true there are an abundance of worthy causes to support, to share in the early developmental side of Clinica Verde is high honor indeed. The children and families Clinica Verde will help are woven into our lives as the human family. As we care for them, they will have greater strength to continue their very important contribution to their community and to the world they grow up in.

“We receive a sacred gift when we witness with compassion someone’s desperate plight and convey that story to people who have the ability to help change those circumstances. Even a small gift will make a substantial difference and you will be richly blessed in the process.”

If you’re inspired by Marilyn’s example, you can donate to our cause: Make a Donation.

Today an article on our project ran in our hometown paper, The St. Helena Star. Writer David Stoneberg did a great job telling the story and providing local readers with an introduction to our work in Nicaragua.

You can read the article here:  Clínica Verde in the News

I’d also like to draw your attention to an exciting new partnership with family winery Clark~Claudon. Clark~Claudon has chosen Clínica Verde as one of three charitable nonprofits to benefit from their Making a Difference program. That means 50% of proceeds from the sale of their 2004 Estate Cabernet purchased by you (or your friends!) will go to the work we’re doing to build a prototype of an environmentally sustainable health clinic. This is superb wine, and we are honored to be a part of their charitable vision. Find out more at Clark~Claudon Vineyards Making a Difference.

OK, I’ll admit it. I’m a googlephile. I don’t want to sound too effusive, so I’ll let the magazine Fast Company provide the praise: Google is the #1 World’s Most Innovative Company. Who am I to argue with that? Despite Nicholas Carr’s recent article in The Atlantic exploring the question, Is Google Making Us Stupid? (in which Google is really just a proxy for the Internet at large), few will deny that the company is connecting the world of information in ways that are really, often, not short of dazzling. And, they’re doing good things.

Clínica Verde is a recent recipient of Google Grants, an in-kind text advertising program to which registered 501(c)(3) organizations can apply. Non-profits awarded Google Grants create AdWords campaigns to promote their charitable activity. Or, in the words of Google, the program “is designed to help organizations extend their public service messages to a global audience in an effort to make a greater impact on the world.”

It’s a great program. As a recipient of Google Grants, we can constantly adjust our keyword campaigns to make our search results more successful and analyze the activity of users in great detail. We can track where visitors to our site come from (including country of origin), how long they stay on each page, the number of impressions and click-throughs each keyword generates … To be honest, there’s so much information available through the program that I haven’t yet studied it all in full.

If you’re involved with a nonprofit, I would recommend you apply. The vetting period takes a number of months, but it’s worth the process. So, yeah, thanks Google! Even if it is “artificial intelligence,” it’s intelligence that advances the cause.

So, I’m guessing most of you have heard about the company Clif Bar, which makes natural and organic energy bars (including my favorite, the Mojo). Clif Bar is a very cool company, not just because they make great products, but because their values extend beyond their own brand and bottom line to the sustainability of the communities and world in which they live. They’re a very successful company that provides a progressive standard for how businesses can be both financially successful and socially responsible.

The company’s founder, Gary Erickson, wrote a book called Raising the Bar that tells the Clif story. (You can check it out on amazon: Raising the Bar.) I read the book with my husband when it was published in 2004.  

When we founded Clínica Verde in 2007, Clif Bar was our first choice in corporate sponsorship because we believed they were an example of the highest possible standard in corporate culture and responsibility. So, you can imagine how thrilled we were when the Clif Bar Family Foundation awarded us a grant. Clif Bar has issued a Matching Grant Challenge of $25,000 – that means every dollar you donate to Clínica Verde up to $25,000 will be matched by them. We are truly humbled and honored to call such a company a partner in our work!

So, go to the home page of our website and join the Clif challenge by making a donation – and tell your friends! We’re very grateful for any and all support. Donate now!