Earlier this year a powerful volcano erupted in Guatemala, destroying many homes and villages. CoFiA quickly voted to send a financial donation to those affected, and a large number of Guatemalans in the Palisades Park area added to the gift. Together we decided to transfer the funds to the sister of one of the long-time members of CoFiA--she lives near the area that was hit. She carefully put the money in her personal bank account and sent us frequent updates on what was happening with the people in the local villages. Together we decided to hold off on distributing the money until the needs of the people became clear. We recently received word that the immediate needs had been met, and that it would be more helpful to ask our friend to distribute the money when there were longer-term issues ... Read more