#SaveDaraLuz Update! #3

October 8, 2023

#SaveDaraLuz Update!

Greetings Community!

We come to you first with some nostalgia: Abigail and Alisa founded and incorporated Dar a Luz (back then “Full Circle Midwifery Birth & Health Center”) in July 2007 and held our first fundraiser in June 2008. It was at Winnings Coffee in Nob Hill and we hosted a local midwife/singer/songwriter. We raised about $1500 to offset some basic start-up costs like filing our 501(c)(3) IRS paperwork. So to come full circle, 15 years later, to the kind of fundraising we are doing now, it has been a wild ride full of hope, love, humility and transformation. Here are two photos of Abigail and Alisa: one from that first fundraiser in 2008 and one from a fundraiser in April 2019. While these photos are silly and playful, we want you to appreciate the care and whimsy that we have for each other and those around us which is so important in heart-centered work. Let’s be honest: we put the FUN in FUNdraising!  

Fast forward to today, we have some really great updates to share with you. First of all, on September 20th, we rounded out our $30K in 30 days matching challenge: the entirety of the DaL staff and board pledged $15,000 and challenged YOU to match us 1:1 and… you met our challenge! In 30 days, we raised $15,643 for a grand total of $30,643. THANK YOU to all who contributed during that time to help us with this first challenge. 

The other exciting update is that we have raised just over $100,000 since mid-June when we first started this fundraising campaign! We are just so humbled and touched with this overwhelming community support. 

We are over 1/3 of the way to our goal of $300,000 by the end of this year. On some days, this feels insurmountable for our little non-profit. But our hopes are high and we have seen and felt such love from all over. We are getting ready to enter into the next big push for more contributions that will thrust us into the next phase of our work: moving forward with our plans for adding ultrasound and behavioral health. 

We just celebrated National Midwifery Week and honored each current DaL midwife on social media between September 29- October 5th. If you haven’t already seen our posts and commented on your favorite midwives on Instagram or Facebook, please do! We love hearing from you! You are the reason we do what we do. 

Thank you again for all who helped us achieve this challenge and for all who have contributed during our entire campaign! We are grateful for your support and are dedicated to continuing the important work that we are doing for maternal and newborn care in New Mexico. 

With gratitude, 

Abigail, Alisa, staff and board