From: Victor Guthrie [mailto:vguthrie@bigpond.net.au] 
Sent: Wednesday, 12 October 2005 7:22 PM
Subject: Seconds To Give

Hello everyone!

I hope you are well, healthy and in good spirit…

Some of you maybe wondering why you haven’t heard from me for over a month now. 
I normally send an occasional jokes, or those irritating “inspiring emails” :) 
or a phone call now and then. Well... I’d been busy and it looks like it ain’t 
slowing down either. I just got back from an overseas trip just over a week ago. 
Unfortunately, it was one of those “emergency” trip that had to be made. 
My dad had passed away and I had to go back to the Philippines. It was sudden 
and I was saddened but when this kind of things happens, I find that focusing on 
positive things and accepting that “death is just another path that we all must take” 
certainly helps. His life of almost 86 years was a great one and he certainly helped 
a lot of people. He was a farmer, a blacksmith, a carpenter, a medicine man – he had
10 kids who he all brought to this world, i.e. no hospital, no doctor - it was just him.
He had an amazing talent in healing people. He was very generous, loving and very strict 
when it comes to bring up kids – just look at me :)

Now let me share with you something more exciting… which have something to do 
with the subject of this email… 

Well.. as a result of my dad joining my mum in the place you know where, I thought 
of a project that would help and bring joy to the people in the village where my dad 
lived, in Bario Sinubsuban, Maasin, Iloilo. Every time I go back to the Philippines, 
I would bring second hand cloths and give them to my cousins. It always amazes me, 
where something so simple such as giving them my second hand cloths, which been worn 
more that its fair share, brings so much joy to them. 

So, the project I thought of, is extending this “joy” to the rest of the people in 
the village. I called it “Seconds To Give”. Its about giving second hand clothing to
all the people in the village. So, this is where you come in, this is where you can 
help me. If you have “seconds to give” – clothing that you wish to give away, then 
please let me know and I’ll arrange to pick them up – just clothing for now – kids 
and adults. If you could label them “mens”, “ladies”, “boys” and “girls” and most 
importantly – your name, that would help me a lot when sorting them out. I am hoping 
to send this early December, 2005, just in time for Christmas, so if you are willing 
to help, please let me know ASAP as I would like to collect them by mid November, 
which will give me a couple of weeks to sort them out and post them.

Now, you probably wondering – “cloths!!!.. for the whole village!” – yup!.. but 
it’s OK, I made some enquiries of how many people there are in the village, and 
I was told about 500, which is about 90 families. Now, you’re wondering, that’s a 
lot of cloths to send, would that cost heaps?.. well, maybe… so if you want, you 
can donate $10.00 bucks towards shipping – only if you want. Also, if you want to 
help out sorting the cloths, eg. Packing them – well.. there’s some vacancies :)

I know this is something simple and small, a drop in the ocean – giving what is 
going on in the rest of the world, but I also know that it will bring much joy to 
about 500 people, a gift that they otherwise will not receive and it’d be great for 
them to get something just before Christmas.

Anyway, that’s my project… Thank you for reading this and for listening (not that 
you had much choice :)) and I hope you can help me make 
this project a success. You may pass this on to your friends, maybe they 
have “seconds to give” too…

Thank you!

Victor


"In every community there is work to be done. In every nation there are wounds to heal. 
In every heart there is the power to do it." 
- Marianne Williamson.

Wellbeing, Friendship & Inspiration...

Victor Guthrie

Seconds To Give - An Update

_____________________________________________
From: Victor Guthrie [mailto:vguthrie@bigpond.net.au] 
Sent: Tuesday, 18 October 2005 1:02 AM
Subject: RE: Seconds To Give - An Update

Hello everyone…

Hope you had a great weekend… Mine was great!... busy…, I was cleaning my apartment
to make some room for sorting/packing of clothes… and in between, I did 
the JDRF – Walk to cure diabetes in Albert Park – I raised $110.00 – I thought 
it was a great effort, considering I only got the booklet last Thursday 
(late registration because I was away) – thank you to those who sponsored me – you 
know who you are :)

Just thought I send an update regarding my project – Seconds To Give.

I want to acknowledge and thank all of you for taking part and helping me
with my project. I didn’t think I would get such an overwhelming response. 
Your kind words, support and encouragements are just amazing. Thank you! 
It’s certainly helping me march along just nicely – for now :)

Just a few things to note, base on the feedback I got from you:
(a)	Yup, I agree! – “clothes” does have an “e”. Well.. I thought if there were 
    no spelling and/or grammar mistakes, then it would not be from me :) 
    - it’s becoming like my trademark :)
(b)	Type of clothes to donate – clothes for warmer weather would be 
    preferable as they will be light and can fit more in the box, and more 
    importantly, Philippines only have 2 seasons, sunny and rainy, and even 
    when it’s rainy, the temperature could still go above 30C. However, other 
    ones are OK too. I’m sure they would make use of it.
(c)	Size – small to medium would be preferable, but again, I’m sure they would do
    make use of any large one too, but they would benefit more with small to 
    medium sizes and please, only clean ones SYMBOL 74 \f "Wingdings" \s 10
(d)	Toys – a few asked if I am sending “kids” toys – emphasis on “kids” :) 
    Well, I didn’t thought of it initially, but the idea sounded good, there are 
    certainly a few kids in the village. So please, feel free to make it part of 
    your donations. I will be focusing on clothes on this shipment but if there 
    is room, I will send them along. If not, then I’ll send them 
    next year – via sea freight.

Update on the shipping cost. Here’s what I found out; I can send it via air 
or sea freight (stating the obvious):
(a)	Sea Freight – This takes about 6 weeks and the deadline to get to Iloilo 
    before Christmas (guarantee) is mid October. This cost about $135.00 per box 
    size of 24” x 24” x 20” (called Balik bayan Box). You can fit as much as you 
    can but not over stock it. So, sending it via sea freight will mean that the 
    packages may not arrive there until early 2006.
(b)	Air Freight – This is base on “per kilo”. The cost is, surprisingly reasonable, 
    $5.55 per kilo + $8.00 handling fee + $12.00 (Km fee – cost to deliver to Iloilo), 
    minimum is 20 kilos and will arrive 12-16 days to Iloilo. It’s very reasonable 
    and very doable and the clothes will arrive before Christmas – yeah! 

I am leaning towards the Air Freight, but I’ll see how many kilos I end up sending. 
I should confirm this by my next update.

Sorting/Packing – Thank you to all who volunteered with sorting/packing. The date 
I picked is 13-Nov-2005, it’s a Sunday, from 10:30am onwards, then a BBQ/drinks 
afterwards. I picked Sunday because this will give me time to organise my place 
and prepare for some nibbles for the BBQ. Please let me know if you can make this 
date so I can plan the day.

Clothes pick up/delivery – if you are ready now, please let me know and I’ll pick 
them up or organise a time for you to drop them off – I’m at Caulfield North. 
I will be bringing my car in the city on Thursday (20-Oct-2005), so if you want, 
I can pick them up then. I need to get them at my place by packing day (13-Nov-2005), 
unless you are coming to help me pack then you can bring it on the day.

Packing Boxes – I also need packing boxes. If you have packing boxes that are in good 
condition, please let me know as this will save me some cash.

That’s it for now… thanks again for your support and your offer of comfort. 

Here’s flyer that a work colleague put together – an example of the support 
I’m getting – I thought I’d share it with you. 
 
Have a great week and I look forward catching up with you…

Cheers…

Victor

		

Seconds To Give - Latest Update

_____________________________________________
From: Victor Guthrie [mailto:vguthrie@bigpond.net.au] 
Sent: Wednesday, 9 November 2005 12:09 AM
Subject: Seconds To Give - Latest Update


Hello all,

I hope you all had a great time during the spring racing last week. I went to 
Derby Day and had a pretty chill out time… and a picnic along the Yarra at 
Templestowe on cup day – very relaxing - didn’t win any though… 

I just thought I’d give you an update with my Seconds To Give project… 
well, here they are:

Your continuing response and support is amazing. My dining room is now full, 
the hallway is starting to get full too and I’m still waiting for others who 
are yet to donate clothes. I am very grateful with your generosity.

A friend of mine has shared my project to a teacher in Ivanhoe Girls Grammar School 
and I have now the support of about 400 students who will bring at least one t-shirt 
each. They have also invited me to attend their school assembly to talk about my project 
and the village, which I have humbly accepted. I’m doing this on 18-Nov-2005.

Others have also donated money to help with the shipping cost.

That’s just an example of how generous you lot are. Thank you!

I am so excited about this project that I thought of actually being there during the 
distribution of the clothes. I thought – “I can’t miss out on all the fun…”, so I booked 
my flight and I’m leaving on the 08-Dec-2005 for 10 days. A friend of mine Craig is so 
inspired that he decided to join me and he also booked his flight. He is now the 
designated photographerSYMBOL 74 \f "Wingdings" \s 11. Just imagine, trip to the 
Philippines - $1600.00 dollars, seeing the joy on people’s faces of an entire village 
for receiving second hand clothes – PRICELESS… - and I think Craig pay for it with a 
Master Card :) I know this is a late notice but if you want to come along too, 
please let me know.

Just a reminder, you can still donate clothes until this Sunday morning. You may have 
to drop them off though as I am totally flat chat. We are sorting/packing them on 
Sunday, starting at 10:30am at my place – see details below. For those who are helping 
me with sorting/packing, can you please reply and confirm that you are coming, then I 
would know exactly how many helpers I have. We are also having BBQ/Drinks in the afternoon, 
there’ll be some nibbles but it’s BYO drinks as my credit card is running out of puff… :)

If all goes well, the clothes will be taken to the freight company first thing 
Monday morning (14-Nov-2005).

If you have any questions, please let me know. 

Once again, thank you for your support and generosity.

Cheers… 

Victor 

PS… please pass this to others as you see fit… thanks!


"In every community there is work to be done. In every nation there are wounds to heal. 
In every heart there is the power to do it." 
- Marianne Williamson.


Wellbeing, Friendship & Inspiration...

Victor Guthrie

		

Seconds To Give - last update for 2005

_____________________________________________
From: Victor Guthrie [mailto:vguthrie@bigpond.net.au] 
Sent: Sunday, 4 December 2005 1:15 PM
Subject: Seconds To Give - last update for 2005


Hello everyone,

If you are reading this, you must know by now about my “Seconds To Give” project. 
Well, here’s the latest update and will probably the last for 2005.

The sorting and packing day
====================
The packing on the 13-Nov-2005 went very well. There were 12 of us who sorted 
and packed the mountain of clothes in my living room, dining room, hallway, bedrooms, 
and pretty much wherever else they could find room in my apartment. I remember when 
I looked at them at the start, thinking “where we gonna start?”, but by about 1:00 pm, 
I heard a comment – “phew! – I can now see the light at the end of the tunnel”. 
We packed a total of 16 big boxes totalling to 485 kg. Great effort!

The shipping of clothes
=================
The 16 boxes were picked up from my apartment on 14-Nov-2005 by the shipping company. 
By the end of November, it arrived in the village. As mentioned before, cost of 
shipment was $5.55 per kg, but I had a 10 cents per kg discount and I didn’t have to 
pay as much to the agent. So, total cost was just over $2,500.00. The officials in the 
village now know about the project and they are excited about it and waiting for me to arrive.

The fundraising
===========
I need to raise money to cover the shipping cost and the fundraising is going well. 
Thanks to your generosity, I now have raised $1599.00 which will go towards the 
shipment of the clothes. 

Again, thank you very much for your donations and for trusting me ensuring that the 
funds rose will only go towards the Seconds To Give Project.

I am confident that I will raise the funds. I have the support of the department 
where I work who is helping me by donating their “kris kringle” money to my project. 
I’m also organising a wine trip to the 2006 Grape Grazing festival where money raise 
from that will go toward the shipment cost. CGU Social Club has also supported me on 
this and I’m organising 1 x 50seater bus for them. If you want more details about my 
wine trip, please let me know.

The talk to Ivanhoe Girls Grammar
=========================
I did the first public talked about Seconds To Give project to the 
Ivanhoe Girls Grammar on the 18-Nov-2005 which went well. I show some photos and 
talked a little bit about the village of Sinubsuban, where the clothes will be distributed. 
They were so intrigued and interested by the whole thing, they asked lots of questions, 
like – “do they have cars?” and “do they have TV?” and they were so surprised to hear 
that kids in the village have to walk about 4km just to get to school.  They have invited 
me again next year to show them more photos.


What’s next
=========
I fly out on the 8th of December, 2005 and will distribute the clothes 10th of December. 
I’m so exited just thinking about the whole day – to see the joy on people’s faces in the 
village receiving all the second hand clothes you gave generously. My brother has organised 
basketball matches to add more excitement and fun on the day. And how bizarre is this – 
the clothes will be distributed on the 10th of December, exactly 3 months since the 
passing of my dad, didn’t even know or planned it. The 10th of December is also the 
“Make Poverty History” day – it’s a global awareness about “this shameful situation”. 
Check it out - vertyhistory.com.au" www.makepovertyhistory.com.au – again, didn’t even 
know or planned it - very bizarre.

I will be taking lots of photos and there’ll be a presentation sometimes early next year.

With the support I am getting with this project, it’ll be shame not to do it again next year. 
So if you have “Seconds To Give”, please let me know.

That’s it for now! 

It’s certainly been an exciting time in my life over the last few months, and it would 
not been as exciting as it has been without your trust, generosity, help and support.  
And for that, I acknowledged and thank you.

I wish you, your family and love ones, a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Cheers..
Victor



"In every community there is work to be done. In every nation there are wounds to heal. 
In every heart there is the power to do it." 
- Marianne Williamson.


Wellbeing, Friendship & Inspiration...
Victor Guthrie
		
		

Seconds To Give - Trip update - The Giving

_____________________________________________
From: Victor Guthrie [mailto:vguthrie@bigpond.net.au] 
Sent: Wednesday, 8 February 2006 12:21 AM
Subject: Seconds To Give - Trip update - The giving


Hello everyone,

Hope you had a great Christmas and New Years Eve festivities, 
which includes Happy Chinese New Year! – Year of the Dog.

Well, I think it’s about time to send an update of my trip. 
I apologise for taking so long – my resting days went overtime.

The trip went very well; the whole project was very successful; 
the whole village was full of joy – it was amazing.

I will try to give you some sense of how the trip went, but even then, 
it’s certainly nothing compare to witnessing the whole village “smile”.

Craig and I got to the village of Sinubsuban in Maasin Iloilo on the late 
morning of the 9-Dec-05. It’s about an hour airplane ride south of Manila. 
We stayed in the house where my dad lived. The weather was – cloudy but warm, 
about 29 C. Craig didn’t acclimatise until about the 3rd day, by then, he must 
have lost a couple of kilos just from sweating – but somehow, he kept thanking 
me everyday for a great day he had, even when it’s raining.

In that afternoon, I spoke to the officials in the village – called the 
“Barangay” councils. I gave them a run down of the whole project – from 
its inception, to clothes collections, to fundraising for shipping and told 
them that their help was needed in the last leg of the project. They were very 
excited and eager to help. We planned how to distribute the clothes to 89 families, 
with two objectives: equally and as organised as possible. We even did a role play 
just to make sure that we get it right. Four teams were formed: 
(a) registration – where a designated person of the family came in and 
registered and was given the number of clothes they could collect, 

(b) clothes picking supervisor (Craig and I) – I created this roles :) – it was great 
to be at the front seats when they were picking the clothes as they could not hide the joy from their faces, 

(c) clothes checker – to ensure that they only collect what they were told and 

(d) rice section – each family were given “1 gantang” of rice. “Gantang” is 
their unit of measure when it comes to rice – it’s about 2.25 kg.

A game of basketball was played that evening – a little tournament that my brother organised. 
The price money was 1,000.00 peso (1st prize). It equates to about $25.00 AUS – it’s about 8 days 
salary of an average worker in the village (about $3 per day).

10-Dec-2005 – Saturday – The “Seconds To Give” day – The whole process went smoothly and as planned. 
It finished in the late afternoon. All the families in the village collected their share of clothing. 
People were coming to us all day – thanking us. They were very happy, grateful and proud – 
(a) very happy as they received something just before Christmas, 
(b) “grateful” that someone was thinking of them, it made it more special 
when they found out it’s from Australia, 
(c) proud of their village as it was their village was picked amongst others. 

At one stage – I heard a comment saying along the line of – with 
all this “giving” – that I must be running for Mayor or something.


Here are some priceless moments…

Priceless #1
--------------
Craig distributed some assorted lollies to the kids – you should have seen their faces. 
We got them to line up and as soon as Craig put the bowl down, there were kids everywhere. 
They were only getting two lollies each but they were so happy – priceless!

Priceless #2
--------------
I was washing my feet in the near by water pump the following day while waiting for the 
transportation to the airport when a guy was talking to me across the fence. I was trying to 
make up what he was saying as I could only understand a little bit of their dialect. I could see the 
big smile on his face and with the help of my cousin I finally understood what he was saying 
– he found a $5 note in the jeans pocket that he collected and you should have seen the joy in his face, 
it was like finding a million dollars. He thought that he must be the luckiest guy in 
there as no one else found what he found and he said that he is going to keep it just a 
reminder of the day and how lucky he is – priceless!

Priceless #3
--------------
The next day, we flew to Angeles City (about 80 kms north of Manila) and 
stayed at my bother for a couple of days. As we were leaving, the “Baragay” captain 
gave me a Christmas card which I would like to share with you. 
It reads – “On behalf of the people in the barangay, we would like to express our 
warm gratitude for the blessing that you shared with each and everyone of us. 
Through those gifts, it really touched our hearts and made us feel your love. 
We really appreciate every single thing you have done for us. May the Lord shower 
more blessing to all of you and leads your way as you continue your good 
intentions not only to us but to other people as well. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”


I had an awesome experienced, seeing the excitement, the joy and the happy faces of the people in the 
village was just fantastic and just know that you have contributed 
putting joy to those faces. So, once again - Thank you! 

I have created a simple website so you can view some of the photos I took. It’s under construction, 
so there are only a few photos… but stay tune to w.secondstogive.org" www.secondstogive.org

That’s it for now.

Thank you and have a great day!

Cheers…

Victor



"In every community there is work to be done. In every nation there are wounds to heal. 
In every heart there is the power to do it." 
- Marianne Williamson.


Wellbeing, Friendship & Inspiration...

Victor Guthrie
		

Seconds To Give - 2006

______________________________________
From: Victor Guthrie [mailto:vguthrie@bigpond.net.au] 
Sent: Monday, 8 May 2006 12:05 AM
Subject: Seconds To Give -2006


Hello everyone,

As some of you will know, “Seconds To Give” was formed last year as a project to bring joy to a 
small village in the Philippines – Bario Sinubsuban – by giving them second hand clothes, 
through your donations and generosity, just before Christmas 2005.

The project was a great success. It was so successful that it is happening again this 
year and most likely, it will be an annual event.

This year is going to be a bigger campaign. To do this, a committee has been formed. Wooo... Hooo...! 

And we’re looking forward to your help and support by:
(a) Donating clothes, toys, towels & sheets 
(b) Donating money towards the shipping costs
(c) Sharing this with your family, friends, work colleagues, and whoever 
else who may have “Seconds To Give”

So what’s planned for this year?
Donation of clothing and other items
---------------------------------------
This year we will be collecting the following items:
•	Clothing for men, women, boys, girls, babies
•	Bed sheets
•	Towels
•	Caps
•	Children’s books, colouring books, crayons and pencils
•	Small and light non battery operated toys
•	Small stuffed toys and dolls

Given the climate in the Philippines we request that only light clothing be provided 
(ie. not woolen jumpers or heavy jackets). We also request that only small 
to medium items of clothing size be donated as large sizes won’t fit the villagers.

It would be great if you could label the clothing as “mens”, “ladies”, “boys” and “girls” 
as this would help us a lot when sorting them out. Please also label the other 
items you donate (eg. “toys”, “sheets” etc.).

We’d like to have all items ready for packing by the end of July 2006, so they can be shipped to 
the Philippines for distribution in December (just before Christmas). There will be three locations 
where clothes can be delivered: Caulfield North, Lilydale and Ivanhoe. Alternatively, 
we can organize for clothes to be collected. Please email secondstogive@gmail.com with your 
contact details and we’ll get back to you. 

Fundraising
------------
Like last year, we are also looking to raise money to cover the cost of shipping the 
items to the village in the Philippines. 

We’d be very grateful for any donations towards the shipping costs. We are also planning a 
number of fundraising events, so stay tuned for further details.

Shipping
---------
We are investigating a cost-efficient way to send the goods to the village. If anyone is able to help us 
with this (e.g. a freight company), please email us on secondstogive@gmail.com and we will promote your 
company through our activities. The donation of good quality large boxes would also be appreciated.

The Website
-------------
www.SecondsToGive.org
The website is still under construction but it’s worth visiting as we have added 
more photos from last year’s trip. 

So as you can see there’s a lot to do. But like last year, with your help, support, 
and generosity, we can again make a real difference. 

We know this is something simple and small – a drop in the ocean – but we also know 
that it will bring much joy to over 500 people by providing a gift that they would 
not otherwise receive, and all the more special coming just before Christmas.

Thank you for taking the time to read this email and we look forward to hearing from you. 


Seconds To Give Committee
Victor Guthrie, Jodie Mazzini, Craig Samson, Pam Wood, Liza Simpson, Debs McLean & Christine Oakley


"If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves."
- Thomas Edison