Mailbag:

I was so delighted to read Jim Carnett’s column (“County welcomes Bowl teams,” Jan. 6) about my alma mater, the University of Michigan.

Cliff Travioli must have been a fantastic person, and it sounds like he was a very loyal Wolverine fan. And I am totally jealous that he personally knew the famous Michigan football Coach Bo Schembechler. While I have to endure and patiently suffer through the glory of all the local sports teams, my heart still belongs to the good old University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Go, Blue!

Susan Bershad

U. of Michigan Class of ’58

Newport Beach

Worthy column for worthy cause

Joseph N. Bell’s Thursday column (“Good causes deserve better marketing”) was a pleasant surprise, and a fine start to the new year. The thrust of the column was that many worthy nonprofit organizations appeal for donations by sending gifts in various unwanted forms.

In contrast, Bell singled out OxfamAmerica as an organization which takes a different approach and relies instead on simply delivering a clear message, setting out its structure and goals.

For a seven-year member of the OxfamAmerica Leadership Council, it was rewarding to see the organization receive Bell’s thumbs up. While Orange County donors are generous to a fault, their philanthropic interests tend to be local, and it is not easy to raise awareness of international needs here.

Kudos to Bell, who has helped in the effort.

OxfamAmerica takes no government funds and depends on private donations to support its work, which ranges from emergency disaster relief to long-term humanitarian work aimed at providing recipients the tools to help themselves.

In appreciation, we are sending Bell an OxfamAmerica mug, a notepad, a pen, a T-shirt, a lovely enameled pin, embossed mailing labels and a personalized plaque. Not really.

The start of a new decade is a fine time to remember that, even though our economy may be stressed, a fifth of the world’s population still lives on less than $1 a day.

Paul A. Moses

Newport Beach