About the Sustainable Living Foundation

Obituary for Ellen Clark, Founder of the Sustainable Living Foundation

Ellen Clark, Founder of the Sustainable Living Foundation

After a long battle with primary progressive aphasia, Ellen Clark passed away peacefully on June 1, 2023 with friends and family near.

Ellen was born on February 20, 1947 in Denver, Colorado to loving parents Margerie and Walter Moranville and beloved brother John. Ellen graduated from Adams State College and while attending met her future husband Bill. Ellen and Bill were avid runners, and she went on to complete 13 marathons and innumerable road races. She was a loyal member of West Valley Track Club and the Stanford chip running group.

Ellen raised her two children while also tutoring at St. William’s school and directing the Willy’s Road Race. She became the PE teacher at St. Joseph’s Mountain View where she worked for 15 years, which was one of the great joys of her life.

Ellen was the founder and president of the Sustainable Living Foundation, which raised over six hundred thousand dollars to support Makumbi Orphanage in Zimbabwe as well as the community gardening network in Pilar, Paraguay. Ellen was the director of the Zimbabwe run and cultural fair, with its two-way philanthropy model of helping others while learning.

Ellen was an active community member in Los Altos, mentoring students who then became lifelong friends, meeting daily with her coffee klatch, volunteering at St. William’s church, and attending Spanish classes.

Ellen had a passion for children and working on projects that helped others, particularly the Zimbabwe run. She adored people and her warm and vibrant personality helped to create community.

Ellen is survived by her beloved husband Bill, daughter Teresa and son-in-law Dave, son Will and daughter-in-law Kristin, and granddaughters Antonia, Ellie, and Lucia. Ellen had so many connections that she also considered to be family.

The family welcomes donations in Ellen’s memory to Makumbi orphanage in Zimbabwe.

Our foundation supports AIDS orphans in Zimbabwe.

DONATE TO SUPPORT THE ZIMBABWE ORPHANS

Board Members: Ellen and Bill Clark; Teresa Clark and David Ruminski; Will and Kristin Clark; and Dee Gibson (not pictured)

DONATE TO SUPPORT THE ZIMBABWE ORPHANS

MISSION for Zimbabwe: The mission of the Sustainable Living Foundation is to inspire USA children to be fit, create art and help others and raise vital funds for Makumbi Childrens Home.
Motto: Be Fit, Create Art, Help Others

MISSION for Paraguay, completed: The mission of the Sustainable Living Foundation was to create family gardens, teach sustainable gardening and combat hunger and malnutrition.
Motto: Working and Learning Together

BRANCHES:  There are two branches in the foundation:  Zimbabwe and Paraguay.

PROJECTS:

• The Annual Run for Zimbabwe Orphans and Fair in Mountain View, CA See projects
• Red de Huerta Garden Project in Pilar Paraguay. Completed

PHILOSOPHY:  We believe that philanthropy should be active and two-way.

USA to and from Zimbabwe.   USA to and from Paraguay.   The people of The United States should benefit as well as the people of Zimbabwe & Paraguay.

THE PEOPLE OF THE SUSTAINABLE LIVING FOUNDATION:
The Sustainable Living Foundation is a public nonprofit charitable corporation. (501 C 3)
Date of corporation 10/21/03. Corporation #2562111. Tax I. D. 73-1676980
Board Members: Ellen and Bill Clark; Teresa Clark and David Ruminski; Will and Kristin Clark; and Dee Gibson
Web site: www.ZimbabweParaguay.net
Address: 156 Marvin Ave. Los Altos, Ca. 94022
e-mail:info@zimbabweparaguay.net

THE PEOPLE THAT COME TOGETHER TO SUPPORT THE ACTIVITIES OF THE SUSTAINABLE LIVING FOUNDATION INCLUDE Runners, Fundraisers, Volunteers and Artists

WHO WE ARE

The Sustainable Living Foundation was established in response to the great poverty and disease encountered by our son, Will Clark, in the countries of Zimbabwe and Paraguay. Will served as a teacher of “school leavers” in the village of Murombedzi Zimbabwe in 1997. Later on, from 2002 to 2004, Will served in the Peace Corps in Paraguay– primarily in the barrio of San Lorenzo in Pilar. Today, Will is a Speech Therapist with Pajaro Valley School District in Watsonville. Although our daughter, Teresa Clark, has not volunteered overseas, she has been instrumental to the success of the foundation and supports it in many ways. She is a physical therapist. Both Will and Teresa married in 2009 and their spouses are on the Board of the Foundation. Teresa’s husband is David Ruminski and Will’s wife is Kristin Clark. The other members of the board include Ellen Clark (President of SLF) and Bill Clark (Treasurer) and Dee Gibson.

The Clark family has been fortunate to visit both Zimbabwe and Paraguay and the friends we have made in both countries have enriched our lives beyond all measure.

The Sustainable Living Foundation guarantees that all activities conducted within the foundation are done with honesty and integrity. Money raised for the orphans of Makumbi goes to the orphans of Makumbi, not the government of Zimbabwe. Money raised for the gardeners of Pilar Paraguay goes to the gardeners in Pilar Paraguay. Here are some general facts about our operating procedures. Each year, after the Run for Zimbabwe Orphans has been completed, (usually within three weeks), the funds collected via donations are sent in a lump sum to the orphanage via electronic transfer of funds. The director of the orphanage draws on the funds for certain capital projects and for the care of the orphans. The Zimbabwe government currently uses the U.S. Dollar and the South African Rand for its currency.

Donations to S. L. F. are, of course, tax exempt. No one on the Board of Directors takes a salary. We are volunteers. As to the philosophy of the foundation, we invite you to read an article that was published March 2005 in the Mountain View Voice. The article is titled “Two Way Giving” (full article)
With regard to Paraguay, we operated in the same transparent way as with the Zimbabwe Run. The Paraguay and Zimbabwe run accounts were kept separate. We had a volunteer administrator in Paraguay who distributed $400 a month among five gardeners. The grants were used by the gardeners for their college education; to maintain the demonstration garden plot; and to sustain their families with produce.

To conclude, no funds collected by S. L. F. are channeled through the governments of Zimbabwe, Paraguay or the U. S. A. We have trust in Makumbi—a home which has been in existence since 1936—that it provides a loving home for the children.
Likewise, we have trust that the Paraguay garden grants are used for their intended purposes. We believe philanthropy that is active and two-way is inspired philanthropy.

For more information about our foundation contact:

Sustainable Living Foundation

156 Marvin Ave.
Los Altos, CA 94022
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