Gardens, Health, & Hunger. The Basics.

Food is big news. In the United States, whether its kids going hungry on weekends (illustrated by Community Cooperative Ministry's support of Backpack Food Programs), the high demand food pantries are observing for their services, or sustainable eating issues like recent campaigns to "Eat Fresh, Eat Local", food is the center of attention. Food has become complex. Sometimes going back to the basics is not such a bad idea. 

When I was a kid, we had a garden. We didn't spray it with chemicals to keep out the weeds, my brother and I got to pull the weeds out with our hands. We grew a variety of vegetables and ate them fresh over the summer and then canned or froze the excess for winter.  Probably due to all the pulling weeds out with my hands, I bought my food from a store when I became an adult. Although easier on the hands, I realized it was expensive and after having children of my own, realized more than ever how scary much of the food out there really is in terms of where it comes from and how it is grown.  Hence, my back to basics idea. Grow your own food. 

Not only families benefit from this idea, but some non-profit food pantries are realizing it is a great way to offer fresh fruit and vegetables to communities in need. It can be a source of food, learning, and volunteer opportunities for all. The Volunteer Way in New Port Richey, Fl uses a hydroponic garden to grow fresh vegetables to supplement their food bank. Organizations like

Sustainable Table offers an introduction into sustainability. There are also fantastic websites likeNoFearEntertaining offering healthy recipes for your new locally grown fruit and vegetable score. 

The number of ways gardening, sustainable living, and alleviating hunger can be partnered together are huge and exciting. Check out Oregon Food Bank's Learning Garden. Become empowered! Oh, and gardening gloves are recommended.

Bartering, Trade, & Recovery

    

An interesting story was reported on CNN about the comeback of one of the oldest means of exchange, bartering. Bartering groups, associations, communities whatever form they take are on the rise. The International Reciprocal Trade Association http://www.irta.com/ provides information regarding ethical standards and practices. Websites like Merchants Barter Exchange http://www.merchantsbarter.com/, OurSwaps http://www.ourswaps.com/, U-Exchange http://www.u-exchange.com/, and Swap Tree http://www.swaptree.com/ all offer a different spin on direct exchange of goods and services.

Not only individuals but businesses and non-profits can find this concept useful. Determine what you have to offer and what you need and go for it. Barter Notary Public services for some needed landscaping, etc. Be innovative and creative and you may find bartering is a really good deal.

In the meantime, Florida, like many states, is currently waiting for the stimulus money to reach the people who need it. Governor Crist has given the go-ahead and has stated the money should be available by the end of the month. Today it was announced that a website will be set up to track this money so taxpayers can see what and where projects are being funded. The website provides a map that will apparently allow you to click on each county to see specific details of the money trail. Go to http://www.flarecovery.com/. Non-profits need to be diligent about following these dollars to see if opportunities arise for assistance with programs. More to come on this topic.

Be Fearless Like The Homeless World Cup (Promote with Video!)

I know it is Friday the 13th but don't be afraid. In fact, take a lesson in fearlessness from the individuals in the above video. My husband and I were channel surfing not too long ago and came across a show on ESPN about the Homeless World Cup that this video highlights. We were blown away by this amazing event. The Homeless World Cup is an international soccer tournament held annually between teams of players who are homeless and excluded from society. The thing is, these people are unreal soccer players. They are destitute and living in extreme poverty and still play soccer with amazing passion and skill. Through this event, players get the opportunity to represent their country and change their lives and the lives of others forever. The project has inspired other soccer projects across the world with over 25,000 homeless individuals participating throughout the year. In 2008 the first Women's World Cup was held in Melbourne! Learn more at www.homelessworldcup.org.

Another great way to learn more about The Homeless World Cup is to view their YouTube page at http://www.youtube.com/user/HomelessWorldCup. Many videos like the one above are available to tell a firsthand, compelling story related to the event. They are inspirational to say the least. Using YouTube as a way to promote non-profit organizations and the cause they are supporting is an effective method of conveying your message to a large and diverse audience. YouTube offers a designated Non-profit Channel that provides a venue for delivering your non-profit's message to the world's largest online video community. This allows you to use your non-profit's branding, run video campaigns and offers several other innovative ways to spread awareness. Read more about this opportunity at http://www.youtube.com/nonprofits. Come on now, try it, be fearless!

Pledge To End Hunger

Hunger is affecting increasing numbers of individuals in our communities. We must continue to spread awareness of this issue to try and find solutions. A recent New York Times article highlighted a local town, Lehigh Acres, Fl, as one of the hardest hit areas in the country. In the article, Charlotte Rae Nicely, executive director of Lehigh Community Services discussed how more people were going hungry and demand for food assistance was increasing at her food pantry. Some food pantries report an increase in demand of up to 75% and requests are from people of all races, ages, and backgrounds: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/08/us/08lehigh.html?8br=&pagewanted=all. You can support a local southwest Florida foodbank like the Harry Chapin Food Bank at: http://www.harrychapinfoodbank.org/ or Southwest Florida Outreach Food Pantry at http://www.swfloutreach.com/Outreach.html.

Tyson Foods has started a website designed to shine a bright light on this issue of hunger in America. Click on Pledge to End Hunger on the left of this blog or go to http://www.pledgetoendhunger.com/ and take the pledge to end hunger. By making the pledge, Tyson will donate 35lbs of food product to those in need. This is an equivalent of 140 servings! This is such an easy way for individuals to make a difference so give it a try. Pledges are made online and you can share the link with others to help Tyson reach their goal of 1000 pledges. After the goal is met, a very LARGE truck will deliver 140,000 meals to the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas in Austin, TX! YeeHa!

As of this post, 439 pledges have been made securing 61,460 meals. Help Tyson share the wealth by sharing this blog and encouraging everyone to help end hunger now.

Running Wild.

My post today was (and partly still is) going to be about my little fundraiser that I put together for a local food pantry and outreach center using FirstGiving.org. This is a great fundraising tool so click on my fundraising page at: http://www.firstgiving.com/swfloutreach or my FirstGiving.org button on the left and check it out. If you feel like making a donation to a wonderful cause, that's cool too. The Southwest Florida Outreach Center provides emergency help in the form of food, clothing, rent, utility, & medical bill assistance to hundreds of people each week. They also operate an addiction recovery program called the House of Hope. This is a small, faith-based operation that works diligently and deals with individuals and families in crisis on a daily basis in Fort Myers, Fl, an area hit especially hard with the housing and economic downturn. I have partnered this great cause of fighting hunger, homelessness, & substance abuse with my recent challenge to myself of running the Tampa Bay Gasparilla Marathon on March 1st. So far we have raised $315 on the way to a goal of $500 that will be spent on food for the food pantry. Check out their good works at http://southwestfloridaoutreachministry.blogspot.com/.

Well, I came up with this idea and now I'm a little embarrassed. Yesterday I saw the headline for another marathon. This marathon is called The Sahara Marathon. Yeah, A MARATHON ACROSS THE SAHARA DESERT! Suddenly, jogging through the beautiful city of Tampa along gulf coast beaches, savoring the nice ocean breeze doesn't sound quite as challenging as it used too...

This Sahara Marathon is an extraordinary event. Not just because it is a 26.2 mile run across the desert either. Insane people-I mean runners-from around the world participate. The event is organized within the saharwi refugee camps. These people have been touched by tragedy and unfair treatment for 30 years as victims of brutal repression and little acknowledgement from the international community. The event aims to bring solidarity to the people in hopes that freedom and sovereignty will follow. Capturing the world's attention and focusing it not just on a crazy race, but on the oppression of the sahawari people and their desire to decide their future through a free democratic referendum is a central goal of this running event. Several improvement projects within the refugee camps are also supported through this marathon. So this isn't a bad little fundraiser either. Definitely adding it to my to-do list. This way I can feel less embarrassed. Learn more at http://www.saharamarathon.org/.

Evolve or Die.

Evolve or Die. Ah yes, this quote-which of course I can take no credit for-touches many aspects of life and none more than my blog. After a year of working as a freelance grant writer and non-profit consultant during one of the worst years of economic turmoil the United States has ever encountered, I learned a few things. For instance, finding a forgotten, crumpled up $1 bill in an old jean's pocket can really put a smile on a girl's face. I digress. As a result, my work took many twists and turns and ups and downs too. I learned once and for all that many working together is the key to lasting success. Lao Tzu knew this a long time ago, "Succeeding is the coming together of all that is beautiful. Furtherance is the agreement of all that is just." He must be astounded that something so full of common sense is still so often overlooked.

Fortunately, the opportunities for partnership and collaboration through social networking are more abundant than ever increasing a collective strength and optimism. So part of my evolution is making technology more useful to my clients. I will continue to provide grant writing and all the other non-profit assistance services as before but with an additional focus on connecting and marketing their organizations through means such as blogs, websites, twitter, and other social networking sites. My blog will still provide non-profit information but also emphasize making connections and establishing collaborations. I believe the coming together of individuals and organizations all over the world to address a common cause can be quite effective-and beautiful.

School Choice Proves Educational

Well, I have decided to enter the world of the blog. Here we go. My life the past two weeks has involved shopping for elementary schools for my five year old daughter who will be starting kindergarten next fall. What a learning experience it has been! First off, let me just say, I am officially old. No smart boards or document cameras or multiple computer stations in my elementary school classrooms. At least the alphabet still looked familiar. I did happily discover there are many great public schools in my area to choose from. In Lee County, Florida, School Choice allows me to rank order the schools that I want my child to attend, giving me some say in the process. So far, I really like it. I was very encouraged to see how excited and proud the majority of the school teachers and staff were about their schools.

Due to my interest in fundraising, all the school touring brought to my attention the varied implementation of grant writing among the different schools both public and private. It appeared to me that much of the grant writing responsibility was given to teachers or assigned to various administrative positions and some schools put more emphasis on it than others. Obviously, the school's main goal being educating children, in many cases, grant writing must be squeezed in wherever it can be squeezed. I am more impressed than ever with the teachers and administrators who do take it upon themselves to write that grant for special projects or programming or whatever it may be so that the students get something much needed or something unique and extra!

That being said-I want to share two grant opportunities that are fairly basic to complete but might be a good fit for a particular school or teacher's needs. The Airborne Teacher Trust Fund provides small grants to teachers with program ideas in art, music, and drama. More information can be found at www.airbornetrustfund.com. Also www.intel.com/education/schoolsofdistinction will provide information about Intel's grant for school's of distinction. This grant is for schools excelling in math and science. Check it out if you are in need of the type of school funding these grants provide. The cool thing about both of these opportunities are that public, private, parochial, and charter schools are all eligible. Good luck and please feel free to email me with questions or if you would like assistance with a project.

And this is the end of my first blog.