The Calvin Ayre Foundation built washrooms, changing rooms, restored the brick, covered the pool and installed solar heating, vertical and parallel bars to make the P.A.N.A.R.E. pool the only one of its kind in Costa Rica. Click on Link to View

The foundation had been looking for a project when they come across the rundown swimming pool at the P.A.N.A.R.E. hospital. Weeds overran the pool grounds, it had its brick crumbling into itself and without any walls, it was unprotected from the cool Santa Ana winds making it unusable for proper therapy.

The Calvin Ayre Foundation built washrooms, changing rooms, restored the brick, covered the pool and installed solar heating, vertical and parallel bars to make the P.A.N.A.R.E. pool the only one of its kind in Costa Rica.

At the ribbon cutting ceremony, Calvin Ayre talked about giving back to the community that has given him so much over the years. “I’m very happy to give something back to Costa Rica; I lived here for 10 years. Before leaving in 2006, Costa Rica was very good to me and I still consider it one of my homes, so the opportunity to give something back makes me feel really good.” Ayre continues, “I feel happy about this. I hope the good that comes out of this and the real work that gets done by the people who actually put this facility to into use will be a benefit to Costa Rica.”

The facility staff wasted no time putting the pool into use. During the ceremony, staff and patients were already utilizing the pool for exercises and therapy.

The Costa Rican vice Minister of Heath, Mauricio Vargas said that the pool is attracting attention from other hospitals in the country. “This pool will not only help the people of Santa Ana but help all of San Jose and all of Costa Rica, it will be part of a network where other facilities can send their patients here for treatment.”

The hospital administrators expect to help 400 patients a month in their recovery efforts. The Vice Minister said that by using a pool of this type, a patient is 30% more likely to achieve a full recovery.

Having better medical facilities will grow the local community as the Vice Mayor of Santa Ana said through a translator, “The pool will improve the lives of not only the children of Santa Ana but the country. People will relocate to Santa Ana so that they can be closer to this facility. Thank you to the Calvin Ayre Foundation for its gift.”

CEO of the Calvin Ayre Foundation, Anita Ayre talks about the project, “We were looking for a new project for the foundation, helping PANARE was an awesome opportunity to help those who need it most. I can’t help but smile seeing the smiles on the patient’s faces, they have a long road ahead but we hope this will ease their journey.”

View the pictures of the project here.

View the pictures of the project here.

View pictures from  the Awareness Campaign here

Nazanin Mahabad Fatehi was sentenced to death for murder by a court in Iran after she stabbed one of three men who attempted to rape her and her 16-year-old niece in a park in Karaj, a suburb of Tehran, in March 2005. She was 17 at the time. On June 1, 2006, the Head of Judiciary, Ayatollah Shahroudi, announced a stay of execution and the call for a retrial. Nazanin Fatehi’s retrial took place January 10, 2007.

The Bodog Music singer and songwriter Nazanin Afshin-Jam waged an international campaign to raise awareness about this human rights case. She created a petition that garnered over 350,000 signatures from around the world, and spoke to political leaders and international organizations and institutions, such as the United Nations.

To raise the level of awareness, the former beauty queen hosted a riveting documentary, produced and funded by the Calvin Ayre Foundation. The Tale of Two Nazanins, which can be viewed on Bodog TV, highlights short and candid interviews with politicians and human rights experts, and captures emotional footage of Nazanin Fatehi speaking to her mother and sister by phone from prison. Other footage includes a re-enactment of the attack and narration by Nazanin Afshin-Jam as she takes the audience through the emotional episode.

Following pressure from the international community, on June 1st 2006, the Head of Judiciary Ayatollah Shahroudi declared a stay of execution and the call for a complete new retrial. During the new trial on January 10, 2007, the five judges presiding over the case found inconsistencies with the testimonies of the male witnesses and unanimously ruled out premeditated murder and determined that the act was a case of self-defense. As a result Nazanin Fatehi was exonerated from the charge of murder.

Three of the judges ruled that disproportionate force was used and requested her to pay “diyeh” (blood money) to compensate the family of the deceased.

Although the Fatehi family is extremely poor and was unable to meet this payment, contributions came in from around the world, and full payment was made to the courts in Iran. A few days later, Nazanin was released from prison and had an emotional reunion with her family. She said: “The only thing I can say now is that I am extremely happy. It is as if I am born again. I want to thank everyone who helped make my freedom possible and I want to say that I love you all from the bottom of my heart.”

Following the biggest week of conferences, awards and parties for the iGaming industry in London (Jan 25th – 30th) which included ICE, The Betting Show, The International Gaming Awards (IGA), the iGB Affiliate Awards and Lyceum Media’s Fire & Ice Party, donations for Haiti have been coming in thick and fast…and the total will be matched by The Calvin Ayre Foundation.

It is no surprise that the biggest donator was from those both at, and watching, the iGB Affiliate Awards – the first industry event to be live-streamed on the internet at CalvinAyre.com. Given the global audience the awards received, with people watching from 16 different countries and a total unique audience of 1,834 people, the night raised £32,500 which will be equally matched. TOTAL £65,000

On Monday 25th January the IGA raised a further £16,600 for Leukemia which will be matched and also dispatched to Oxfam UK’s Haiti Fund. But that’s not all from their members; the IGA year round contribution to their online site was a further £12,800. TOTAL £42,200

Casinomeister.com also merit a special mention as they raised a fantastic £16,000 from all their clients and customers. TOTAL £32,000

Other iGaming industry contributors to date include:

GMX.net, KLS Betting, Top Affiliate Publishing ltd, EvolutionGaming.com, ClickBoss.co.uk & Simon Collins. TOTAL £16,116

The grand total including The Calvin Ayre Foundation match raised to date is now at: £155,316 but surely we’re not finished yet?

Calvin Ayre commented: “Its a great start but when Haiti starts to fall off the front pages is when they really need help the most – the country needs a total rebuild and so it’s a problem that will take years and years to heal. We all know the gaming industry is a profitable one so let’s give a little back and if that’s not an incentive then surely costing me $1,000,000 is!”

View Pictures of the Match for Haiti here

For the full story visit:
http://calvinayre.com/2010/01/14/lifestyle/calvin-ayre-challenges-industry-help-haiti/

Traditional Asian medicine has a long history of using bear bile for medicinal purposes, but bear farming is a relatively recent development.

Imagine the torture of two daily bile extractions, causing pain so intense that some bears chew their own limbs and hit themselves against the bars of their tiny cages. Some bears live in this horrific existence for more than 10 agonizing years.

According to the latest official government figures, the number of bears in China is 7,000 and in Vietnam 4,000. A further 1,500 bears are housed in bear farms in South Korea.

The Calvin Ayre Foundation has worked with governments and animal welfare organizations to expose the illegal trade of bear bile and other bear parts while educating the public that this activity is not only cruel but also completely unnecessary.

There are a number of alternatives to bear bile products and the Calvin Ayre Foundation will continue to work with the traditional medicine community to identify these practical alternatives in hopes to end the practice of bear farming.

The Calvin Ayre Foundation has funded the development of a bear product detection kit. The kit is currently being tested with select countries’ customs authorities. As well, Calvin has personally visited Vietnam bear farms to assess the current situation and continues to work with various organizations in Asia to accomplish common goals.

View Pictures for the Christmas Parties here

In its commitment to aid the Rafael Ángel Calderón School, and as part of the Adopt a School Program, the Calvin Ayre Foundation has made an effort to attend to all aspects of the school, including the celebration of as many important dates as possible. One of these important occasions, especially to small children, is Christmas time, which has been celebrated for four years in a row.

With each passing year, the Calvin Ayre Foundation is faced with the challenge of organizing better, bigger and more entertaining parties for the children. As a result, parties now include a clown show, bags full of candies, prizes, food, ice cream, and presents.

The improvements that have been achieved since the first party are clearly evident. For example, the first party was held in the open air out of the lack of a suitable roofed place for events, and the children were forced to sit through the show under direct sunlight. Today, there is a specially designed area for these events, as can be seen in the pictures below.

The smallest children are definitely the ones stealing the show. One cannot easily describe their excited and grateful faces when Santa Claus hands them their presents. The looks of joy on their faces justify our mission and give us the motivation to keep going.

The Calvin Ayre Foundation made it a huge part of its agenda to visit a group of low-income families and offer them assistance and consequently, the possibility of a much merrier Christmas.

The Foundation showed up at doorsteps of needy families in several marginal neighborhoods across the city, and made contributions to these families.

Many of these people were moved to tears by the unexpected gifts.

View Pictures Families Living in Poverty

Sharry is a little girl in the Philippines who has inborn acute pancreatitis. When her mother contacted us, Sharry was not expected to live much longer. For around a thousand dollars Sharry was able be taken to a private hospital, have the necessary testing done and receive the medication she needed to save her life.

Here’s the letter we received from Sharry’s mother after her daughter had made an amazing recovery…

To the staff at the Calvin Ayre Foundation

On behalf of my daughter Sharry, I would like to extend to extend my warmest gratitude for the help you have extended to us. We are fortunate that in spite of our troubles we are not alone in facing them. Your help has greatly helped my daughter’s recovery.

We just visited her doctor and so far she is in good health, hopefully she will be forever healthy. It was really hard seeing her in the hospital bed crying out when pain struck her. The harder part is that she developed self-pity, so now we are trying to help her become emotionally healthy as well.

I am hoping that we can meet in person so we can thank you personally.

God Bless,

Annalie Echavez