New things happening at Pearl S. Buck International

The new exhibit at the Pearl S. Buck House opened March1st.... "The Silver Screen at Green Hills Farm" which features the literature, radio, television, films and plays based on the work of Pearl S. Buck.  There is a beautiful booklet available in the Pearl S. Buck International Gift Shop or on line at http://www.pearlsbuck.org/ which features photographs of Pearl S. Buck that we have never seen before.  Again, the exhibit demonstrates how Pearl S. Buck lived a life ahead of her times.  (If only I could be as advanced with social networking as she was utilizing the various media outlets featured in the exhibit.)

It was GREAT to learn that Hines Ward is Dancing with the Stars this seasson.  The first show airs March 21st.  Stay tuned and please vote for Hines Ward.  The greater his visibility becomes on a national level, the more exposure and support he can bring to Pearl S. Buck International.  Very Exciting...  more blogs to follow on this topic.

I celebrated my 10th Anniversary at Pearl S. Buck International on February 5th, thanks to the outstanding support of our Board of Directors, staff, and volunteers. It is an honor and blessing to carryout such a meaningful mission.  I truly believe that the future of Pearl S. Buck International is brighter than ever before, thanks to our strong Board of Directors, amazing volunteers, and dedicated, capable staff.


Janet Mintzer
President & CEO
Pearl S. Buck International
http://www.pearlsbuck.org/

Apl.de.Ap of the Black Eyed Peas & Pearl S. Buck International

This is a great news story about Apl.de.Ap of the Black Eyed Peas and his relationship with Pearl S. Buck International.  http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/news_details/article/305/2011/february/04/pearl-s-buck-international-gets-a-helping-of-peas-from-apldeap.html 

Enjoy,
Janet L. Mintzer
President & CEO
Pearl S. Buck International
http://www.pearlsbuck.org/

Holiday Happenings already......

The Pearl S. Buck House Festival of Trees opened to the public on Tuesday, and it looks awesome!  Each room in the house has been decorated by a community group, business, or organizaiton.  The entire house was transformed and has a wonderful holiday feeling which put me in the mood for our Holiday Members' Event on Tuesday evening.  It was a nice evening with over 115 people attending.  The food was deliciously catered by Temperance House  (http://www.temperancehouse.com/) and our members seemed to enjoy the evening and even did a little Holiday shopping in our gift shop.  Our wonderful volunteers are now off getting ready for our annual juried craft show which opens the day after Thanksgiving for a 10 day period.  For the third year in a row, employees from Prodesco (http://www.prodesco.com/) spent the day with us yesterday helping to transform the cultural center into a winter wonderland for the craft show.  I am so grateful for the wonderful support of all of the men and women who help us carry out the dreams and legacy of Pearl S. Buck. I can't wait until the craft show opens and hope to do some holiday shopping before my upcoming trip to Korea and China on December 1st.  More on the trip in my next blog.
Janet L. Mintzer
President & CEO
http://www.pearlsbuck.org/

Lots of activity at Pearl S. Buck International today...

It was an incredible day!  Pearl S. Buck International was rocking with activity.  Reed Technology & Information Systems http://www.reedtech.com/ hosted a Fall Festival for their employees in our beautiful garden tent.  Their event started off with a guided tour of the Pearl Buck House www.psbi.org/house and included a delicious pig roast provided by All About Catering http://www.all-about-catering.com/.  At the same time, the Rotary Club of Doylestown http://www.doylestownrotary.org/ gathered for their board meeting on the first floor of the Cultural Center, and immediately after held their membership meeting and a buffet dinner on the 2nd floor. Concurrently, in our main office, our Welcome House program www.psbi.org/welcomehouse hosted an open house information meeting for families to learn about our adoption programs, while our weekly Yoga class met in another area of the building. 

It was great to see so much activity and the legacy of Pearl Buck reaching out to so many people at the same time. 
Janet Mintzer
President & CEO
Pearl S. Buck International
http://www.pearlsbuck.org/

Sherry Tinsman Pearl Buck Bracelet

I'm so excited that Sherry Tinsman, well-known Bucks County Metalsmith, has designed a beautiful new bracelet which is being sold in the Pearl S. Buck International Gift Shop.  It will be sold online on our website in a few days.  You can see the photographs to know that it is beautiful and describes so well the founder of Pearl S. Buck International.  Sherry has been a jeweler for 21 years working out of her Bucks County Studio.  You can visit her website at http://mysite.verizon.net/vze1slqm/sherry_frames.htm.  Most importantly, come and visit the Pearl Buck House and our renovated International Gift Shop.  It is the first place you enter when visiting our international headquarters and is filled with beautiful items from around the world. 

Happy shopping,
Janet Mintzer
President & CEO
http://www.pearlsbuck.org/

Trip to Vietnam

I had a wonderful 2 week trip to Vietnam. (And it has taken me two weeks to catch up!) It was vacation, actually, but I spent two days with Pearl Buck staff at our office in Vietnam. Currently staff in Vietnam consists of a Country Director, bookkeeper and sponsorship manager. In Vietnam, we primarily serve children living in 6 orphanages through our sponsorship program. The office moved to new quarters since my last visit, and I was happy to see the space was larger than I expected and in good condition. I also enjoyed lunch with two of our advisory board members who were talking about a fundraising dinner the board is organizing. It was great to see the board so engaged and committed to expanding our programs. I must confess, however, the highlight of the trip was meeting with my sponsored daughter, Loan, who I've been matched with since she was in ninth grade. (She is now married and pregnant.) After she graduated from the orphanage, she didn't have many options for the future. Her mother placed Loan and her four siblings in the orphanage when she was very young after her father passed away, because she worked on a silkworm farm earning very little money and couldn't afford to raise her children. Loan would have had a similar future if our program did not fund her tuition, room and board for two years so she could attend vocational school to become a seamstress. Loan and her husband took the day off from work for my visit. They met our car on a highway, and we followed her husband's motorbike down many small dirt roads to her modest home. I was the first "foreigner" in her "hamlet", so neighbors and family gathered around to see me. I entered Loan's house and sat on a small plastic chair. While we shared stories, everyone stood around and others poked their head in the door. It was funny to be the main attraction and a wonderful feeling to see Loan grown and employed as a seamstress. We drove back to the city and had lunch in an Italian restaurant, which was the second time Loan ever ate in a restaurant (the first time was my trip there 2 years ago), and first time she ever ate western food. When we hugged goodbye, it was with joy. Tears of happiness streamed down my face as I walked into my hotel. My husband gave me a big hug, understanding the emotion I was feeling. What an exhilarating experience to sponsor a child so many years and see her as a productive member of society, with a husband and a baby on the way. What a wonderful vacation!

Janet L. Mintzer, President & CEO
Pearl S. Buck International
http://www.pearlsbuck.org/
jmintzer@pearlsbuck.org

Delegation from Namdon, Republic of Korea Tours Pearl S. Buck House

On Tuesday, July 20th we received a phone call alerting us to the fact that a delegation from Namdong, Republic of Korea wanted to visit Pearl S. Buck International and tour the National Historic Landmark home of our founder, Pearl S. Buck at the end of the week.  While staff was aware of the delegations weeklong visit to Bucks County in honor of the First Anniversary of the signing of the "21st Century Alliance" agreement between Bucks County and Namdong, since Janet Mintzer served on the planning committee, the week long itinerary had not included a visit to our site.  We were honored and very happy to quickly make arrangements for the groups visit on Saturday, July 24th.

Accompanied by Donna Rhodes, Curator of the Pearl S. Buck House, and Elizabeth Mah  (Korean American high school student) our volunteer Docent for the group, I welcomed Hwang Heung Goo (Vice Mayor of Namdong District), Yoon Tae Jin (Former Mayor of Namdong District), and the other 8 members of their delegation, an interpreter and photographer to PSBI's new Welcome Center, Gift Shop and Awards Room prior to their tour of the Pearl S. Buck House.  While the visit was brisk (taking only 45 minutes in total), it was a very enjoyable visit and tour of the House as the delegation asked questions and expressed their appreciation by presenting us with a donation to PSBI.

Elizabeth did an outstanding job of engaging our visitors and interpreting the Awards Room and House in Korean.  Several members of the planning committee, including Tom Jennings (also a member of PSBI's Board of Directors), Vail Garvin (Executive Director of the Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce) and Beverly Miller accompanied the delegation and enjoyed shopping in our new gift shop while the group took its tour.

All in all, it was a whirlwind tour and much enjoyed by all involved.

Teri Mandic
Vice President of Operations
Pearl S. Buck International