"We are in a world that is truly interconnected and we need to all realize that we play a role. No matter what we do, small or large, whether it's dramatic or not — all contributes." Lydia Pendley

Helping people was something Lydia Pendley was destined to do from the moment she was baptized in the Episcopalian Church.

"I feel it is something I just have to do in terms of a commitment I made when I was baptized as a baby," Pendley said. "The commitment we — I'm an Episcopalian — make is to respect the dignity of every human being and to work for peace and justice in the world."

That's why she worked for the New Mexico Department of Health for more than 20 years, helping to introduce legislation designed to give New Mexicans a higher quality of life — such as the Clean Indoor Air Act, which she had been working toward since the early 1980s that passed in 2006.

It's also the reason Pendley has celebrated her birthday a little bit differently than many others for the past two years. She has hosted a party where she has asked her guests not to bring gifts, but rather to donate to Results, an organization in which Pendley is active. The party was also a registered Stand Up Against Poverty event — designed to raise awareness about poverty and encourage people to become active in a solution.

"I did this last year because it was my 65th (birthday)," Pendley explained. "I thought, 'Oh, I'm going to have a party,' and then I realized that my birthday fell on the same weekend as the Stand Up Against Poverty."

Her birthday celebration in 2008 raised more than $2,100 for the cause. Pendley hasn't yet tallied up this year's total, but she hopes it surpasses last year.

"I think people gave very generously," Pendley said with a smile as she briefly rifled through opened birthday cards containing money and checks. "I'm excited to find out how much."

Easing poverty

Results is a national organization with a chapter in Santa Fe. Its mission is to help ease poverty by providing micro loans and educational programs both domestically and globally.

The organization also tries to help introduce legislation that will provide solutions to problems that continue to contribute to poverty.

Pendley became active in Results 12 years ago.

"The basic reason for my involvement in poverty and hunger-related advocacy is my community and through my faith," Pendley said. "I have to somehow be involved, whether it's locally or globally, in efforts to relieve poverty and to help those who are vulnerable. I think that was a really big part of my public health calling also."

The group meets the second Saturday of each month. The first part of the meeting is spent on a conference call with other Results chapters throughout the nation; and the second part is spent planning how members will influence legislators — specifically designating how many letters each person will write or who is going to call their legislators.

"We get a report immediately about what (a member's) commitment is to take action," Pendley said. "It's really quite motivating in terms of knowing that there are going to be 400 letters written."

Results Santa Fe is working on passing legislation to create stronger Head Start programs is focusing on health care reform.

Pendley noted that poverty is the root cause for many other problems include malnutrition, lack of education and lack of higher income.

Acting globally

Pendley does more than work with Results. For 10 years, excluding last year, Pendley has accompanied fellow congregation members of St. Bede's Episcopal Church to Ciudad Juárez to help build one home in three days.

They work with another program called Gateway Mission Training Center, based in El Paso, to build the home. The build usually takes place during the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

"In some small way, we hope this is contributing to the people and the neighborhoods in Juárez," Pendley said. "One new house can provide hope for a family but it also raises up people in all of that area."

Because of the violence in Juárez, St. Bede's did not travel last year and waited until Columbus Day weekend to send a team this year.

"I haven't talked to them yet, but we're hoping it went well," Pendley said. "They were determined to go in spite of the violence. I think many of us who are involved in this building work feel strongly that it's more important than ever to keep our commitment to the people of that city and not to back off unless it's so, so bad."

Get involved

Stand Up Against Poverty, a weekend to raise awareness across the world, fell on Oct. 16-18 this year. Pendley's Oct. 18 birthday was a perfect opportunity help out, she said.

According to the Stand Up Against Poverty Web site, this year there were more than 173 million people who participated in Stand Up events throughout the world.

Pendley encourages community members to get involved. If they'd like to send a donation to be counted toward her birthday fundraiser, they can visit www.results.org. If that isn't possible, she encourages people to take "whatever action" to help solve the problem.

"Poverty is not someone else's problem," Pendley said. "I'm a relatively well-off, middle-class person. I don't go hungry, I have a nice home to live in, but any person who in any way suffers because of hunger or suffers because of poverty — that affects me. We are in a world that is truly interconnected and we need to all realize that we play a role. No matter what we do, small or large, whether it's dramatic or not — all contributes."

Contact Ana Maria Trujillo at 986-3084 or atrujillo@sfnewmexican.com.