Just returned from a quick trip to NYC, and what a week! The sign for Lehman Bro. was replaced overnight by a new Barclays Capital sign. The giant billboard for WaMu came down. And, strolling down 5th Ave, we saw a store selling Steve Madden shoes with its sign saying \"Sell stocks, Buy shoes!\"

We also visited Pro Mujer's offices on the lower east side and ate Thai food. We're planning a pre-Thanksgiving trip to Mexico to celebrate the launch of three new communal banks in Texcoco, a city located 30 miles east of Mexico City. The Rotary Club of Cupertino started this project with a challenge grant of $5K, and we successfully raised $5-6K from individual donors. Then, we wrote for another communal banking matching grant from The Rotary Foundation for $5K, so in total we now have $15K... magic! We expect this small project will impact 60+ women and their families, by helping them start or expand micro businesses with micro-credit loans of about $200 each.

See www.promujer.org for more info.