A review of 2013

First off, I want to apologize for not getting updates out this past year.  I promise to do a better job in the future. Now I would like to start by reviewing what has gone on at PET Austin during 2013.

In 2013 seventy-one PETs were constructed.  Twenty of those PETs were sent to PET Rio Grande Valley to be distributed by the Lions Club in Mexico.  Twenty-seven PETs were sent to PET Brazos Valley to be included in their shipment to India.  We are currently preparing another shipment of twenty PETs to Rio Grande Valley. We are also planning a shipment of thirty-six PETs to Medical Bridges (a PET partner in Houston) to be included in their various shipments of medical supplies to missionaries around the world.

Our building campaign is going very well and we have raised $51,000+ of our $70,000 goal.  Bethany UMC included our building in their permit submitted to the city of Austin.  Once approved and we have our money in hand, we will begin moving forward with the construction of our new 3,000 sq. ft. home.

Also this year, Bethany UMC and PET Austin participated together in our fifth annual Lenten Challenge.  The membership at Bethany donated the funds and assisted in the assembly of forty PETs during the 2013 Lenten Season.  As always, the challenge was met and exceeded.  We are looking forward to the 2014 Challenge.

John Bosch Jr., founder and principle of the TyRex Group, Ltd., reached out to PET Austin to discuss a partnership.  Bosch had recently launched an intercompany bonding campaign called “2 Groups, 1 Family” within the iRex cable assembly and board design division, and believed that a community service project such as assembling PETs would provide the employees with a tangible experience in both volunteerism and team cooperation.  Details were discussed, a plan was put into place and TyRex agreed to an initial goal of assembling 10 PETs per month.

Today, the partnership between PET Austin and TyRex is strong and continues to grow stronger.  Sponsored by iRex’s “2 Groups, 1 Family” campaign, PET Austin has its own dedicated assembly and warehouse space, under the TyRex roof, where PETs are assembled and packed by TyRex business family volunteers.   TyRex employees have also found other ways to help out, from finding vendors and cutting material costs to assisting with PET Austin’s marketing efforts.

Finally we successfully launched our first newsletter in December.  To help keep our supporters informed, we are planning to issue a newsletter each quarter.  Be looking for future editions in February, May, August and November.  Those of you that received your newsletter in the mail and would like to receive it electronically, send your email address to info@petaustin.org to receive your newsletter electronically in the future.  For anyone that did not receive a copy of the December newsletter electronically or in the mail, please send your contact information to the same address and we will add you to the distribution list.

I would like to thank all of our supporters and volunteers that helped make 2013 a very successful year.

John Rudd