Dear All,

On behalf of CERDAS foundation we deeply apologize for the delay of this announcement. We also apologize if this publication is a bit long and overwhelming. However I will try with the best of my ability to make this publication short and concise. So let’s get started! 

First of all, the 2nd CERDAS fundraising dinner which was held on Saturday March 7th 2009 was a great success. The preparation was well prepared and the execution ran smoothly for the entire event. It was really an exciting event filled with amusing people, delicious food and fantastic performances, but above all else… we receive substantial donations and achieve our main objective. Congratulations to Ms. Fenty Muliadi and to all volunteers. We like to thank all of you for the hard work, donations, dedication and effort. The success of this event truly cannot be achieved without it. Big thanks to all sponsors; without your help we would not be able to completely cover our operating cost. Bottom line, we are deeply thankful to all of you!

Off course in any event off such caliber there were few moments that were a bit frightening; Such as selling tickets beyond the capacity of the venue and the unforeseeable Snowstorm which were worrisome at the time. With all the unexpected things that we had, many people still come and showed their support.

Unfortunately the event started not on scheduled, but it is understandable considering the amount of unexpected things that happened during that day. Besides people seems to be satisfied with the event and there are many that stayed till the end.

The entertainment was brought up by our two wonderful MC Disty and Niki. The performance of children of GEMAS and Qurrota Ayunn brought all parents attention. They standup, cheered, and photograph their children performances. I am sure their hearts were filled with pride and joy. Off course the performances did not stop there… There were mothers who performed beautiful Balinese and Malay dance complete with traditional attire.

There were great band performances from all youth and teenagers who packed the event with great Indonesian music. Congratulations to 9PM Band, Aurora Band and RADS Band! You all filled CERDAS dinner with entertaining performances.

If Music wasn’t enough! There were martial artist Sammamish, Faizal Daoed, Woody and Shabbit who performed traditional Silat martial art.

Other than wonderful performances and entertainment from our volunteers and sponsors, we were greeted by a special guest from General Consulate of Indonesia Mr. Yudhistiranto Sungadi. He fully supported CERDAS and hope that this foundation will continue to provide financial aid for more Indonesian children in need of an education. Following Mr. Yudhistiranto we were also greeted by our Chairman Pak Ismail and Pak Patriawan who both presented wonderful insight of current CERDAS achievement, future goals and a video explaining our Activities.

That night we raised around $4,500++ alone. The figure does not include ticket sales, raffles, and novelty items. We estimated that we raised about $7000-$8000 net. Overall this is a wonderful news since we were able to raise this much in difficult economic times. The donations received this year will be very helpful towards our mission and goals. We also received 5 supporters who are willing to donate us on a monthly basis. Hopefully this number will increase in the future.

Before I end this report, permit me to say thanks and appreciation to all the volunteers.  Thanks for the teenagers, who were patiently serving as receptionist, who still kept their enthusiasm in getting the donations from each table while dancing to the music played by the bands, and who are also ready to help with the cleaning.  Thanks for all the ladies who have sacrificed a lot; starting from cooking all the food, selling the raffle and other things, also making sure that their daughter and sons are ready for their performance, but also at the same time patting their husbands to encourage them to be enthusiastic in helping CERDAS.  Thanks you to all the performers, without them our event will not be a success.  Thank you to the coordinators in Indonesia taking care of the kids, and also to the kids who have worked very hard in getting the video ready for the presentation.  Thank you to the sponsors: PT. INA, Maya Suklan, OSS Integrators, Seattle Surabaya Sister City Association, Agung Soehedi & Jemmy Sulimdro, Indo Café, and Julia’s Kitchen.  Thank you to KJRI San Francisco who has been supporting CERDAS from the very beginning.  Thank you to all who have donated their time in helping CERDAS to make CERDAS a success.  Thank you to Mang Abu, Kang Rahmat and Danny for their documentation of the event.  Thank you to all of CERDAS supporters who have supported CERDAS in every way, be it by donations, moral support, or ideas.  Hopefully this support will continue on to the future.  Last but not least, of course thank you to all the volunteers in the committee.  You’re Awesome!

On behalf of CERDAS,

Ismail Budhiarso