Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Dear LOLA Extended Family & Friends:
For the past 17 years, we have lived, laughed, loved, suffered, cried, hoped, dreamed, and worked together as members, parents, siblings, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, and significant others – to overcome the challenges of liver disease, organ donation, Hepatitis C and most importantly – to win in our choice for a healthier life.
In these many years, we have won great victories and sadly we have also lost many of our members, friends and/or loved ones. Through it all, we have borne personal witness to the power of God’s love to transform us, and help us overcome our personal struggles. We have seen that when we come together - and stand united by sharing the power of his love with each other - the result has been wonderful miracles that continue to happen among us. That, my brothers and sisters, is the story that we share together and it is called LOLA.
And that is why this letter had to be written. As the LOLA Extended Family, we face a situation today like one we’ve never witnessed before. Despite our endless efforts in these past two years to raise new funds, the current national economic crisis particularly here in New York City has hit our funding partners, supporters, individuals, donors and those with whom we have worked so closely with over the past 17 years especially hard. Other crucial viral hepatitis community organizations or programs are also in desperate need of funding for their own clients/members. Unfortunately for them and for us there is no federal bailout money that has been promised – or is being sent - to save the day.
As many of you have witnessed, LOLA worked hard and thrived over the past 17 years by living within our means. When LOLA was founded in the early 1990s, our programs broke new ground and opened doors within our community and government in terms of hepatitis C awareness and prevention. Since then, our research and the great strides that have been made in awareness, prevention, and treatment has demonstrated we made a huge impact. In truth, most of our achievements could not have happened without your strong support. Our past successes allowed us as good shepherds to save wisely for a rainy day and when it came to last year with the Great Wall Street Meltdown of 2008 we were ready.
What was then a rainy day then has now turned into the Great Recession. We are extremely proud that throughout all the years of LOLA’s existence, the Better Business Bureau has certified that nearly 88 percent of our funding went directly to programs. It wasn’t nor has it been without LOLA’s strong ability to reserve surplus funds, through hard sacrifice, wise stewardship and our endless /continuous effort that we have been able to operate until now. However, these savings today are almost all gone.
As sad and uncomfortable as it is for all of us we have to make a major decision that will immediately impact the delivery of our programs and services to our members and public we have so faithfully served.
LOLA will cease all active operations effective December 31, 2009.
We remain committed to our faith, hope and love in LOLA’s continuing mission and are hopeful that in the future we can form a renewed main steam model program. In the interim we will keep our web site up which has been updated for all those who wish to visit and download information or links as needed.
The bonds that we built together as an extended family continue to change our lives for the better each and every day. We have seen only but miracles happen at LOLA and we’ve always relied on them as we continue to see them in our members time and time again.
For us, this is not a goodbye. It is a sincere message of deep gratitude from the bottom of our hearts with a promise to see you again or as we say in our hearts and in our native tongue “hasta la vista ” with hopes for a better tomorrow for you and for us.
We prefer you write us with your personal note and/or comment at mdlola@aol.com, as we anticipate a high volume of calls which we may not be able to reply to in a timely manner due to our transition.
On behalf of the LOLA Board of Directors, staff and I, may God continue to guide you and bless your health- you remain our extended family, always and forevermore.
Debbie Delgado-Vega
Founder and Executive Directork
LOLA Board of Directors
Olga Alvarez
Jose Nicot
Catherine Paykin
Miriam Perez
Dr. Lewis Teperman
