Charity to help Children of Peru.

August 11, 2008

Dear Miss Winfrey,

My wife and I were walking in Palo Alto, California two days ago when we came across an elderly woman sitting on the floor with a sign that said: "Please help those with cancer". In addition to the shock of her message, I was devastated by the mere notion that she, at her age, was begging for what ever donation would happened to be released by random strangers walking by. Patricia (my wife) gave her some money and as she placed the money in this person's hand our humble petitioner kissed Patricia's hands. The overwhelming gratitude evoked such a feeling of sadness, one which I cannot begin to describe. Patricia told me that she said something in Russian before she turned away. As much as we felt helpless to attend to this person's needs we immediately decided that we had to attempt to help people at a greater scale.

A few years ago, Patricia was contacted by one of her classmates from high school requesting donations to help a priest (Padre Antonio Crespo Barboza) launch a dining facility for orphans and the elderly in Peru. Father Antonio lives in a province called Ayacucho in Peru. This province mentioned above was devastated by violence and destruction caused by the terrorist movement called "Sendero Luminoso" or Shining Path which was very active during the 80's and 90's in Peru. While this group delivered its message many innocent children and citizens were caught in their wave of destruction. Padre Antonio has been attempting to change this by reaching out to the poorest and most affected members of his community with a message of hope and re-construction.

I am contacting you because you have the network that is powerful to make a change in this world. There has to be a means, if it is through "O-Ambassadors, O-Angel Network, utilizing the popularity of the Oprah Winfrey Show or your Leadership Academy, to deliver our message to others and even the world. I am not asking for money. I am humbly requesting that I spend time with your network to launch this vision of ours. Much in the style of Paul Newman I want to sell a line of my family's juices and nectars called Del Prado to raise needed cash for this cause. My family had been producing Del Prado juices for the past 50 years. I have recently accepted a commission based brokerage position here in the United States. Ten percent of the net profits of my commission from these products would be donated to Padre Antonio in Peru. The monies raised would help build schools, dormitories for the orphans, after school program facilities and any other projects that this priest would see as necessary. Miss Winfrey, you yourself stated that one of the purposes for building the Leadership Academy was to educate women to use their power in service to their nation and the world. I see this vision of yours reflected on the work that Father Antonio could accomplish if we could assist him in a more financially meaningful way. Perhaps you would even consider as a topic for one of your shows-charities and their upstarts.

I in my own way believe that the Russian woman mentioned above was an angel sending us a message. To see Patricia and that poor woman together was, in some ways, the catalyst we needed to start this venture. Patricia has many times told me that it's okay to give more than we think we can afford because God will take care of us and we will have all we need. As I write this I also want to take a moment and acknowledge my wife and thank her for her strength and compassion for humanity. I truly believe that she is my own angel.

I have various forms of documentation for all this information if you need to verify anything. I can also provide you with our contact information in order to assist with any logistics you may need should you chose to help us.

As a side note we want to share with you that we've been raising extra cash to help this cause by selling a few of our son's baby items on Craig's List. It is refreshing to realize that most people are eager to contribute to a good cause when informed that the proceeds of a sale will be donated to charity. Although we, in our own small way, are attempting to do what we can, our dream is to have others realized that it is everyone's responsibility to help humanity any way they can. Fundamentally we want to help in a grander scale.

Finally I want to thank you for your time and possible interest. I hope God-willing this endeavor will blossom and we will be able to make more of a difference to those that do not expect it.

Our contact information:
Phone:
415-418-0951(cell)
E-mail: gallagherjohnjp@gmail.com

Thank you again.
At your service,

John J. P. Gallagher
WEB SITE: WWW.MAPAIMPORTS.COM
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Sept.30,2008- Contacted the Chicago tribune with the idea of posting our letter to Oprah in the newspaper.

Oct. 2,2008- Spoke with our representative from the tribune and they said they would print our letter.

Oct. 3,2008- Patricia and I are hard at work finalizing the details for the letter that has a projected launch date of October 8, 2008 in the 1st section of the Chicago Tribune....more news to follow

Oct. 6, 2008- After speaking with the creativity team at the Tribune we have moved the launch date to the 15th of October. Father Antonio is sending us some pictures to add to the page. If anyone is from Chicago and reading this today... please pass the word of our dream. I hope everyone is well. I am off ...as a good friend says Remember where ever you go that's where you are.

Oct. 7, 2008- We are excited that Father Antonio sent us some photos. He mentioned that he only has enough funding for the end of this month. I told him that Patricia and I will help where we can and we would hopefully get some inspiration from the full page article we will submit to the Chicago Tribune.

Oct.10, 2008- Hello Margo...well here is the latest update--the letter will be published in the Chicago Tribune next Wednesday on the 15th of October. We are optimistic that this will catch some attention. We hope a lot of attention....more news to follow.

Oct.13,2008- Today the Chicago Tribune sent the final draft of the full page advetisment that will appear this Wednesday in the paper. Patricia and I are very excitted and hope that this will catch the eye of a few hundred employees of Harpo Studios. If there are any squidoo-ers from the Chicagoland area please add some extra promotion-you can even call the LOOP and ask them to call Oprah. Well wish us good luck. More pictures of Sean in the next couple of days.

Oct. 14th,2008- To say that we are a bit nervous is stating the obvious. For now we will say some paryers and hope they get answered.

Oct. 15, 2008- Sunrise and so far not much contact with anyone from Chicago. I have faith that something good will come out of this moment.....for now a smile and well wishes. John

Oct.16,2008- I refuse to believe that our article did not reach Miss Winfrey; perhaps she is vacationing in Europe as has not seen it yet. I should put a poll on the lense to get everyones opinion-- Is John crazy for placing this add?

Oct.20,2008- Well the editor of the Chicago Tribune called and gave me some good advice. She said that we should search for a sponsor that has Latin Roots so we are going to take a pole and let the public have some input as to whom we shall ask.This should be interesting. More news to follow.

December 24,2008- I know it has been a while since I have updated. I am sorry for keeping you out of the loop but there are very exciting times ahead. Today I met with 2 brokers that are very excited about our juices and nectars and we are drawing up contracts that will add them to the team. Please keep your fingers crossed. I hope everyone can enjoy their holidays.

December 26,2008- The very FIRST container has arrived in the port of Oakland but the offices for our broker Thorney & Pitt are closed. More news to follow.

December 29,2008- Our broker has informed us that the container has been tagged for inspection. He assures me that this is common especially with first time importers. This intensive inspection can take up to a week. ;0(

December 30,2008- I met with the Gene and Ken our new power brokers. We have signed a contract in principle that brings them on to our team. They have also very graciously stated/agreed to pay 1/2 of 1 % of their commisssions toward The Children of Ayacucho. What an amazing gesture. Thank you. I will let you know how we stand with the container being released.

December 31,2008- HAPPY NEW Year's Eve. Michael of Thornley and Pitt says I was born under a lucky star---- THE CONTAINER HAS BEEN RELEASED...Starting the 7th of January we start selling the juices and nectars. We have a meeting in Fresno on the 6th and I receive the 1st delivery of the juices on the 7th. Remember if you want to buy a case of juice direct from us please call 415-418-0951. Total expense would be the cost of the case plus shipping with ground services.

January 1, 2009- What a fantastic and wonderous journey this has been so far. I know that we are going to do more amazing things. Please feel free to be a part of it. We also have a blog on facebook that is called- Helping Others in an International Commitment. Please stop by and add you thoughts. Happy New Year.

February 1, 2009- What a great month of January. I retained the services of two new friends Ken Cohen and Gene Muzzio. They both have very extensive experience in the beverage sector and we look forward to raising the awareness of our charity and product. I also had the chance to attend the Fancy Food Show here in San Francisco. I was invited by Conservas Panamenas. Please see the pictures below.Thank you to them.

February 14,2009- Here is the most excitting news for this month. We have our first "big" account. For those who are local to the Bay Area we are launching in the BERKELEY BOWL as of next week(thank you to Terrance Yang of Golden Sweet Co.,Inc. for believing in our cause). The product will arrive this Wednesday and I hope it will hit the shelves the day after. Please stop by and ask for it. We also had the pleasure of speaking with Father Antonio and he mentioned that he is working hard on contructing a workshop for the children to build or carve figurines that will be sold to churches.

July 4th,2009- Happy Independence Day... we have our official web site:
www.mapaimports.com.......please stop by and look around. We will also be seeling on AMAZON in a few weeks.

July 15, 2009- Tony's Fine Foods Show will be in Sacramento today with Del Prado Gourmet Nectars. Tony's will be one of our distributors here in California. Pleas stpo by the Arco Arena to say hello-booth 180.

July 21, 2009- International Delicacies will be our "master" distributor for the West Coast. They import gourmet products from Europe and now Panama(DEL PRADO). Please visit our web site: www.mapaimports.com to learn more about them, our launch with Amazon and most importantly our charity. In the next few days we will update everyone on our mid-summer contribution to Father Antonio.

July 28, 2009- OUR NEW WEB SITE: WWW.MAPAIMPORTS.COM You can visit and see all of our wonderful gourmet nectars and juices.

December of 2009- After many months we are PROUD to announce that we are a Sub-Fund. We are with the Resource Foundation of New York. Pls visit our web site to get the link.

January 22, 2010 - New one liter of Guava Nectar will be arriving at the end of February 2010. Please visit: WWW.MAPAIMPORTS.COM to get an update of the day it arrives to California. We will also have it available with our other nectars on AMAZON.COM . Cheers - John

May 24 2010, - Ok I know that we have not been here in a while but we have to announce that The Ellen Show is following us on @delprado on Twitter. Amazing news !!!! We will be back I promise to share our experience with @abolishcancer and @bradenshope from last Friday as we raises awareness for elliminating cancer.

May 26,2010- As previously promised we want to share our experience of our historic day last Friday 5-21-10. TO SET THE STAGE WE(@DELPRADO ON TWITTER AGREED TO SPONSOR @ABOLISHCANCER FOR THE DAY WITH THE PROCEED TO HELP @BRADENSHOPE- THE FAMILY THAT HAS A 5 YR OLD BOY AND MOTHER BOTH BATTLING CANCER). We can look back and remember this day for 3 reasons: 1st It is our wedding anniversary, my mother in law's birthday and the day Twitter was used to unite the world for a special cause(I say the world bc. we even received messages on Twitter from Brazil, The United Kingdom and Costa Rica). The morning started with a steady stream of people that sent messages. We were fortunate to get a few RTs from Erin Andrews and some of the other dancers from the very popular Dances with the Stars. From there it really snow-balled into a "Tweet" Frenzy. I think many people stayed and participated bc they wanted to see what stars stepped up to the plate next: well they did thanks to Alyssa Milano. <____ She saved the day bc others wanted to see if Lady Gaga was going to support our day(she followed abolishcancer and that is what started the entire chain of events). Just to give you a perspective of the power of RT from 8PM to 9PM PST I counted 140 messages. Celebrity names were flying left and right coming from "ordinary " people that were participating in an extra-ordinary event. At this point we want to take a moment and thank the following Superstar Tweeters at least from our account(to qualify you had to send well over 20-30 tweets: @cadjma @PattyALynch @PiedPiperInKC @Brandeshope @abolishcancer @UltVarietyRadio @MaggieGiamalvo @Michelle1958 @kbpkrissy @nrsnan123 @barefootglenda and finally @fgbfacebook each of these troopers were there for many hours sending out messages of hope and trying to attract one of the key celebrities to help our day. All in all we raised $3,226 dollars that will go to help this amazing and courageous family. Just as important though we are touched and have made many many new friends and or "relatives" as we spread our wonderful blanket of Social Responsibility across the USA. I am certain that Braden had no idea that he would be "adopting" some crazy Peruvian/Panamania/Irish folks, but that is what makes heart -felt deeds flourish....... True empathy of another person's dream is feeling it in your HEART!!!!.

June 1, 2010- We wanted to Thank Demi Moore for empathizing with us on Twitter - "Great! RT @delprado "What hurts the victim most is not the cruelty of the oppressor, but the silence of the bystander."-- Elie Wiesel #quote " In addition to our cause we have very powerful convictions of ending human trafficking.

"Friday, June 4 was another amazing day with our familiar sponsors, @delprado. Once again, with their help, we raised $3,681 to support Shannon Tweed's @RallyForKids campaign. The amazing thing was, this was all done by getting new followers to @abolishcancer, for which Delprado agreed to pay $1 for each new person who "clicked" the follow button of our Twitter feed.

Who would have thought that we would be able to help fight cancer, simply by tweeting? At one point, prior to the midnight EST deadline, the mentioning of our campaign was so viral that it was difficult to keep up with all the tweets. Many influential people and celebrities helped our cause with tweets including Alyssa Milano, Russell Crowe, Erin Andrews, UK Coach Calipari, Nate Berkus, Anna Trebunskaya, Jessie Camacho, Julie Benz, Ben Lyons, Jason Kennedy, "Dog", Craig Bierko, Tina Stull, Alex McCord, Loni Love, & Victor Oliveira- just to name just a few.

But the power of the day started with our sponsor, and was fueled throughout by our followers who constantly tweeted to get others on board in our quest for more followers & $ to RallyForKids." The entire text we copied from @abolishcancer assisting us with our diary. Thanks Darah!

July 16,2010- we want to send out the most appreciative Thank you to Shannon Tweed. She has agreed to help sponsor @delprado on Twitter for our first ever Twitterthon. For every new follower the day of the telethon Miss Tweed has agreed to donate a dollar/new follower to our @delprado on Twitter to help The Children of Ayaucho Charity. We will be using that money to build a roof. Please note the roof-less structure in the picture above. More news to follow and of course a diary page the day of the Twitterthon. #Charity Cheers-! Please follow us on Twitter: @delprado and join us the day of our #twitterthon TBA...... you have to check back to find out the day of the telethon.

September 28, 2009
"Dear Mrs. Patricia,
I just received you mail with the news of your donation. Thank you very much on behalf of the children and elderly. Please extend my sincere greetings to you and your husband. Your idea of creating a fund is a wonderful one. I would humbly hope and request your help with the construction of our workshop that will sell traditional arts and crafts. We have broken ground yet we do not have enough money to finish this project. We have placed our confidence in God's grace. In the same manner in which we built the dining facility we will finish bit by bit. These workshops will also be used as classrooms for our school that will teach the most impoverished of our children. Next to the paved area used for sports we have additional land to continue building additional classrooms in the future. Our dream is to provide education, nourishment, health care, and religious and spiritual guidance. We currently have a dining facility, a chapel and we are getting close to finalizing the construction of the work-shop area. With 6,000 dollars we would have the money to build classrooms with bathrooms as well as windows. I will take photographs to show have far we have progressed. If we do not receive financial assistance we will have built walls without a roof. Since this is God's project, with the assistance of donors, we believe that it will become a reality just like the dining facility. I will be writing to you in greater detail of these projects.
With a sincere embrace,
Father Antonio Crespo-Barboza"

This is the original letter in Spanish:
"Querida Sra. Patricia:
Acabo de recibir su carta y el envio. Mil gracias en nombre de los comensales. Recibe mi má sincero saludo como también a su esposo. Me habla de una fundación. Es una hermosas idea. Yo quisiera suplicarles que nos ayuden en la construcción de los talleres de artesanías. Hemos comenzado a construir sin tener todo el dinero para terminar. He confiado en la providencia del Señor. Así hemos hecho con el comedor y la capila, hemos terminado poco a poco. Esos talleres serían también salones de clase para comenzar con una escuela para niños de extrema pobreza. Al otro lado de la loza deportiva tenemos más terreno para seguir construyendo más aulas de clase en el futuro. Nuestro sueño es atender en forma integral: educación, alimentación, salud y la parte espiritual, moral. Ya tenemos comedor, capila y nos falta poco para los talleres. Con 6 mil dólaes tendríamos ya los salones, con su baños y sus ventanas. Voy a tomar fotos, para que Ud. tenga idea de cómo está el avance de la construcción. Si es que no conseguimos ayuda se quedará un tiempo las paredes hechas, faltando el techo. Como esto es una obra de Dios con la ayuda de la parroquia, estoy seguro que se hará realidad, como es realidad el comedor. Le estaré escribiendo para explicar mejor estoy proyectos. Un abrazo.
Pbro. Antonio Crespo Barboza."