SWOP float in 16th of September Fiesta!

2009-09-14T11:54:00.000-07:00

Carlsbad-SWOP was invited by the local chapter of LULAC to be a participant in their 16th of September Fiesta Parade held on Sept 12, 2009 and we accepted! Mother Nature was gracious enough to hold off the rain until after the parade was over (thank you lady!) so we had a rather beautiful morning for this event. The turnout was great! There were citizens of all walks from Carlsbad in attendance. From the very young to the primed seniors and everyone in between. The SWOP float was based on the current Healthcare Reform issue. We used helium balloons with happy faces and stars and stripes. Each balloon had the word "yes" put on it in 15 different languages (and the country it represented), since the United States is made up of many diverse cultures,and a great majority of the people want Healthcare Reform NOW! We also made 50 grab bags(25 for the girls & 25 for the boys)that contained a pencil, candy, stickers, balloons, fake money and toys. They were randomly thrown to the little ones as we proceeded down the street. Needless to say it was a hit with the crowd! We had a couple of chants that were "favored" by some and "booed" by others. Using the classic "We will rock you", the words were changed to "We want, we want Healthecare" and the favorite What do we want? Healthcare! When do we want it? NOW, echoed the streets as the parade inched towards the San Jose Plaza!

After the parade was over, on Monday 9-14-09 the balloons were donated to a very special Headstart teacher, Miss Delane Hall who's 14 year old daughter, Shakiri, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 leukemia and had surgery on the 12th of September. Miss Hall reported that the surgery went really well and now they are waiting for the swelling to go down and pray that the surgery was a complete success. Her students plan to write Shakiri "Get Well Soon Cards" to be attached to each balloon and delivered in a bouquet to Shakiri this upcoming weekend!

A special thank you to Mr. Richard Korn who donated the use of his flat-bed trailer to Carlsbad-SWOP for the float. Mr. Garry Adams for the use of his truck to pull the float with. To the volunteers, Charfalla Smith, Lynnora and Angie Moore, the float could not have been done without you, so cudos to the three of you! Our sincere thanks goes out to SWOP member Linda Ramirez for asking SWOP to participate in the 16th of September Festival.

The SWOP float took third place in the group category so overall it was a big success and we had a blast being a part of this wonderful event!

LittleGlobe Visits Carlsbad

2009-06-12T09:53:00.000-07:00

Exciting news! Wednesday June 17, 2009 LittleGlobe will be in Carlsbad, NM for a gathering at the SWOP office located 509 W. Mermod St., suite F. We are so happy to have Val Martinez and Molly Martinez come to visit us here in Carlsbad. They will be given a tour of the city for most of the day and later in the evening we will host the gathering to give our locals a chance to meet, greet and get a chance to know LittleGlobe and what they are all about. LittleGlobe does Community Building Projects based off of the 'performing arts'. SWOP has been in negoiations with LittleGlobe over the last several months and they are showing great intrest in doing this project. We are anticipating a great turnout for this gathering and encourage everyone to attend!