Brods,
 

As some of you already know, Brod Mel Gulfin, UPLB’65, his wife Beybs and son Miguel have been detained since October 3 at the Elizabeth Detention Facility in New Jersey for “overstaying”.  Mel has been in the US for about 15 years and apparently his legal status had not been expeditiously or judiciously attended to by his former lawyer.  Tito de Santos just talked to Gem, Mel’s daughter, in NY and she had confided that their new lawyer is appealing the case but only if approved by the judge will they become bailable, i.e. may be released upon posting a bail bond.  Until such time, they’re locked in detention.  For more info, Gem may be reached at her email ‘gperkins76@aol.com’; tel# 609-731-3112 (work), 609-712-1036 (cell).
 
It is during these difficult times that our goodwill and compassion for our brothers can be best expressed.  For those who had known Mel and Beybs in college and at work, they were one of the friendliest and warmest couples.  Mel was an agriculturist-cum-folksinger who brought his guitar and music at Butterfly Club near UP Diliman, and Beybs worked at the Responsible Parenthood Council (RPC) with the Betans in the ’70’s.  
 
We take this opportunity then to do our share of "brotherly love" by coordinating a fund-raising for Mel and his family.  For $20 per ticket or $50 for 3 tickets, we will raffle either a 5 megapixel or 7 megapixel Sony digital camera (depending on how much proceeds we generate).   There is no limit to the number of tickets you may buy.  Remember: the more tickets you buy, the more you help Mel and his family, and the bigger your chance of winning.  If we can get the maximum participation from the brods, it will be the Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-W7 with 7 megapixel resolution and a big 2.5” LCD screen.  We will drop your ticket stubs with your name in our raffle box, and email you your ticket number or numbers.  
 
Please send your check payable to UPBSFI to our treasurer at this address:  
           Brod Edsel Arceo
           22374 Lavender Bell Lane
           Woodland Hills, CA 91367
 
Unless requested for more time, we will do the drawing at the UP Beta Sigma SoCal Christmas party on December 10 and announce the winner soon thereafter.  We will pool all the checks/cash and issue our collections to Brod Joe Llames in New Jersey who will forward it to Brod Mel's family.  
 
On this coming Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons, let’s count our blessings and extend our hearts and our spirit to our fellow brothers in need.  I thank you in advance and may you all have wonderful holidays ahead!
 
 
Fraternally,
 
 
Norman, UPD’65