I'm writing to ask you to help the Meriwether Lewis Memorial Eisteddfod Foundation and the Left Coast Eisteddfod win a grant from the Chase Community Giving competition on Facebook to spend bring Welsh artists, musicians and culture to the US. The Chase Community Giving competition offers non-profits a chance at several levels of grants, based on how many Facebook users vote for them.

Our mission statement from the Chase Giving page :

"The Meriwether Lewis Memorial Eisteddfod Foundation (MLMEF) was organized to raise public awareness of Welsh heritage in North America, to celebrate Welsh-American culture and preserve its works and to foster and encourage art and creativity in the Welsh tradition. An Eisteddfod [eye-STETH-vod] is a Welsh performing arts festival, held in Wales since at least the 12th Century when bards competed for the favor of the Lord Rhys at his court in Cardigan. Today, the National Eisteddfod of Wales celebrates dance, poetry, music, theater, prose and visual arts. Eisteddfoddau are held all over the world, wherever Welsh people settled. The MLMEF organizes the Left Coast Eisteddfod, a modern eisteddfod for the west coast of North America. The Left Coast Eisteddfod includes live events and on line events and competitions on AmeriCymru, a Welsh social network."

We started the MLMEF to bring Welsh artists, Welsh authors and Welsh culture to western North America and to bring Welsh-American arts, culture and history to the notice of the general public, including those persons of Welsh ancestry who have no idea that Wales exists. Wales is full of creative, brilliant people with important and incredible things to say; let's bring them here and help people get to hear them. Please help us do that by voting for the MLMEF in the Chase Giving competition on Facebook.

Last year was our first year in operation, we brought Welsh authors Chris Keil and Niall Griffiths to the US, introduced audiences to Welsh-language poetry through performances by Oceans Apart and much, much more.

To vote, you have to have a Facebook account and then go to the Chase Community Giving page (search it or click below):

Follow the directions to start voting and if you're not on our page, search "Meriwether Lewis Memorial Eisteddfod" and you'll find our page, then click on the green "Vote Now" button. Clicking the "like" button is not voting, it's just liking the application so be sure to click the green "Vote Now" button!

I'll amend this page as I get new information. Thank you very much and we very much appreciate your help!