Thanks to the help of a couple of my friends out in Davis, California, we have a new fundraising event to look forward to! Check it out:
Woodstock's Pizza Davis Fundraiser: Tuesday, April 24, 6-9 p.m. 219 G St. Davis, CA 95616. Print out this flyer and bring it with you when you order from the bar or the front counter and 20-25% of the purchases will go toward the fundraising for the community center in Ecuador! How cool is that!! Check out the history of Woodstock's Pizza, which is pretty amazing story. Not only do they have gluten free crusts, they also pride themselves on being green and recycling whenever possible. So, check them out, and help support a local restaurant, as well as the mission of the Camarones Community down in Ecuador!!
As always, please see how you can help and please feel free to email me or post below if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions (or want to help organize a fundraiser for your neck of the woods)!
Showing posts with label donate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label donate. Show all posts
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Monday, March 26, 2012
Day 37: We now have official tax-exempt status!!
Today has been a great day already! I was able to talk on the phone to Paco, the President of Camarones, and I am gearing up to head back down to Ecuador for some on-the-ground planning with the community. I am also still working on organizing a few more fundraising events with the help of friends here in the US, and I am continuing to raise money for construction of the community center, as well as future programming and initiatives in the community.
AND, I received our official determination letter from the IRS in the mail, and the Camarones Community Coalition is now listed as a public charity with tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, effective September 26, 2011. So, all of your donations are considered tax deductible!
So, now is a great time to see how you can help!
Thanks again for your encouragement, energy, and enthusiasm in this initiative. As always, please feel free to email me or post below if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions!
AND, I received our official determination letter from the IRS in the mail, and the Camarones Community Coalition is now listed as a public charity with tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, effective September 26, 2011. So, all of your donations are considered tax deductible!
So, now is a great time to see how you can help!
Thanks again for your encouragement, energy, and enthusiasm in this initiative. As always, please feel free to email me or post below if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions!
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Day 33: Discussions of Neighborhood Centers
The session on neighborhood centers was lightly attended, but had an interesting mix of individuals providing input. I encourage you to attend one of the remaining sessions on the role of neighborhood centers and community needs here in Madison if you haven't already. This meeting allowed us to share our opinions on three questions:
1. List 3 things that you want or need from a neighborhood center
2. What difference does a community center make in a neighborhood?
3. Does it matter where the center is located?
For all of these questions we worked as a group to provide our input on giant post-it-note paper sheets that were then posted around the room. We were given three colored circle stickers that we were instructed to place on these "idea sheets" next to our top three choices for the wants/needs. These lists, collected from all of the sessions, are then going to be used to help with difficult funding decisions in the future. So, again, I encourage you to go to one of these listening sessions if you are interested in having a voice in some funding decisions affecting neighborhood centers, and, ultimately, your community.
This session, for me, was really energizing. I love hearing input on how people view the role of neighborhood centers, and, more generally, the overall idea of "community". This concept is something that I have been intrigued by for as long as I can remember, but, more "scientifically" when I started studying zoology and psychology here at University of Wisconsin-Madison for my undergraduate degree. I think the overlaps between non-human animals, and humans in their respective "communities" is important, interesting, and, to me, fascinating. So much so, that I will definitely write more on this at a later point, but for now I am tired, with ideas all over the board, and should be a little more focused before writing more on that topic.
1. List 3 things that you want or need from a neighborhood center
2. What difference does a community center make in a neighborhood?
3. Does it matter where the center is located?
For all of these questions we worked as a group to provide our input on giant post-it-note paper sheets that were then posted around the room. We were given three colored circle stickers that we were instructed to place on these "idea sheets" next to our top three choices for the wants/needs. These lists, collected from all of the sessions, are then going to be used to help with difficult funding decisions in the future. So, again, I encourage you to go to one of these listening sessions if you are interested in having a voice in some funding decisions affecting neighborhood centers, and, ultimately, your community.
This session, for me, was really energizing. I love hearing input on how people view the role of neighborhood centers, and, more generally, the overall idea of "community". This concept is something that I have been intrigued by for as long as I can remember, but, more "scientifically" when I started studying zoology and psychology here at University of Wisconsin-Madison for my undergraduate degree. I think the overlaps between non-human animals, and humans in their respective "communities" is important, interesting, and, to me, fascinating. So much so, that I will definitely write more on this at a later point, but for now I am tired, with ideas all over the board, and should be a little more focused before writing more on that topic.
As always, feel free to email me or post below for questions, comments, or to help host a future fundraising event.
One thing this session really hit home is that it would be ideal if I could raise even more funds before returning to Ecuador, so that the center has more flexibility in the initial design and programming opportunities, however, the other thing this session helped me to see is that part of what makes an effective neighborhood center is the ability to grow and evolve as the community sees fit, but that the community being served by the center has input on the planning. So, again, please consider making a donation online or seeing how else you can help. Or, if you have already donated, consider passing on the word to those you think may share an interest.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
End of Day 14: $2225.00
In the mail today came another $35.00 in donations from a couple of generous donors- thanks!! I also appreciate receiving the notes that often come with the donations! I'm still waiting to hear the total from the bowling event, but my friend did mention to me that apparently there was some friendly betting going on that resulted in one individual agreeing to matching the amount raised that night- awesome! Which, brings up the subject of matching. For those of you that have already donated, you may want to check with your employers to see if they do any kind of matching for donations to charity. Or for those of you that are still planning to donate or are planning to attend fundraising event you may want to consider looking into employee matching to make your donation go even further!
Several of my friends and family members have heard me talk at length about why community driven development projects are so important (and I also wrote a little bit about it in an earlier post). Unfortunately, there are a lot of development projects that do not have the support or backing of a community both here in the US and across the globe. Take, for example, disagreements over proposed development in Madison, Wisconsin's downtown State Street area. A proposal to tear down several buildings along the 100 block of State Street was met with opposition voiced by local individuals and business owners over preservation of historic buildings on this block, and then led to some compromises being sought for preserving these landmarks (2-1-12 Channel 3000, Moisman, 10-2-2011). Or, check out one of the top stories from the local paper in Madison today, which talks about plans for redeveloping apartments near campus, and three different interest groups have plans that do not align. In communities the size of Madison (according to 2010 U.S. census data, Madison's population was 233,209), any development project will meet some opposition (though even small communities are not immune to these kinds of disputes, of course). But, it's the resulting discussions, and compromises, and communication between the "two sides" that can determine the "success" of the development. Pick any city or community and you'll find many similar examples.
The more disparate the perspectives of the groups involved in the development discussions, the more difficult it may be to reach a consensus. Or, if one group is largely at a political or economic advantage over the other group, this may result in a lack of participation in discussions, and these groups choosing, instead, to use political or economic will to determine what "should" happen. In these instances, resentment, or worse, "bad development" could result. So, how does "good development" occur? Or what constitutes "good development"? Very generally, "good development" results when interested parties work together and when communication and understanding are paramount. The outcome may include increased resilience and a resulting reduction in vulnerability and increased amount of security and adaptability. A synergy can result where there is the potential for individuals involved to see things from a different perspective. Information sharing and joint decision-making may also be key (DePaoli 2011).
As I've mentioned before, bottom-up development movements (i.e. community driven and directed), are likely to be much more successful than those being imposed by individuals with little direct experience in the community (Altieri & Masera, 1993). These types of bottom-up, or participatory development approaches, can include communities and/or individuals joining up with individuals that may be considered "outside" of the community and still be successful. The difference is, however, that these "outsiders" aren't really true "outsiders", as they act as facilitators of the process and active participants in a cooperative process of development. Examples of less successful top-down approaches to development projects are easier to find when individuals outside of the community are directing and implementing the project without consideration for, or with, the local community.
I feel very strongly that these types of bottom-up, participatory development models can be applied to an endless number of communities, though the recipe for success will vary. Of course, each community will have its own unique needs, interests, opinions, and expertise to go on, which needs to be incorporated.
Please feel free to post a comment or email me thoughts on this or any other topic you would like discussed or have questions about.
Several of my friends and family members have heard me talk at length about why community driven development projects are so important (and I also wrote a little bit about it in an earlier post). Unfortunately, there are a lot of development projects that do not have the support or backing of a community both here in the US and across the globe. Take, for example, disagreements over proposed development in Madison, Wisconsin's downtown State Street area. A proposal to tear down several buildings along the 100 block of State Street was met with opposition voiced by local individuals and business owners over preservation of historic buildings on this block, and then led to some compromises being sought for preserving these landmarks (2-1-12 Channel 3000, Moisman, 10-2-2011). Or, check out one of the top stories from the local paper in Madison today, which talks about plans for redeveloping apartments near campus, and three different interest groups have plans that do not align. In communities the size of Madison (according to 2010 U.S. census data, Madison's population was 233,209), any development project will meet some opposition (though even small communities are not immune to these kinds of disputes, of course). But, it's the resulting discussions, and compromises, and communication between the "two sides" that can determine the "success" of the development. Pick any city or community and you'll find many similar examples.
The more disparate the perspectives of the groups involved in the development discussions, the more difficult it may be to reach a consensus. Or, if one group is largely at a political or economic advantage over the other group, this may result in a lack of participation in discussions, and these groups choosing, instead, to use political or economic will to determine what "should" happen. In these instances, resentment, or worse, "bad development" could result. So, how does "good development" occur? Or what constitutes "good development"? Very generally, "good development" results when interested parties work together and when communication and understanding are paramount. The outcome may include increased resilience and a resulting reduction in vulnerability and increased amount of security and adaptability. A synergy can result where there is the potential for individuals involved to see things from a different perspective. Information sharing and joint decision-making may also be key (DePaoli 2011).
As I've mentioned before, bottom-up development movements (i.e. community driven and directed), are likely to be much more successful than those being imposed by individuals with little direct experience in the community (Altieri & Masera, 1993). These types of bottom-up, or participatory development approaches, can include communities and/or individuals joining up with individuals that may be considered "outside" of the community and still be successful. The difference is, however, that these "outsiders" aren't really true "outsiders", as they act as facilitators of the process and active participants in a cooperative process of development. Examples of less successful top-down approaches to development projects are easier to find when individuals outside of the community are directing and implementing the project without consideration for, or with, the local community.
I feel very strongly that these types of bottom-up, participatory development models can be applied to an endless number of communities, though the recipe for success will vary. Of course, each community will have its own unique needs, interests, opinions, and expertise to go on, which needs to be incorporated.
Please feel free to post a comment or email me thoughts on this or any other topic you would like discussed or have questions about.
Monday, February 27, 2012
End of Day 9: $1985.00
Thank you, thank you for your continued generous donations. We are so close to being over $2000.00 in donations. Please help however you can! Think $5 is too little? Think again! Every little bit helps get closer to the goal! Check out how you can donate too! Or, check out these upcoming fundraising events if you would like to help out by going to one (or more) of them. As always, please feel free to email me if you would like to help organize a fundraising event, have an idea, or just a question for me.
Exciting news today! This fundraiser was featured in the Wisconsin State Journal. Check out the article, if you haven't already! And, check out the "Press" tab for more stories or blurbs on this fundraiser.
The response to the article has been wonderful. Not only did several people step up and donate today ($120.00 donated- yay!), but several individuals reached out and offered help with fundraising, or collecting school supplies, or toys for sending down to Ecuador. Thank you all for your interest and enthusiasm! Please continue to pass along information about this fundraiser (and thank you to all of you that did that today, and have been doing that), and please help me reach this fundraising goal. I know that it is really hard right now, but even $5 can (and will) help out!
Look for Facebook event pages for some of the upcoming fundraisers, as well as posters, registration forms (for the Zumbathon), and more in the next couple of days.
Please also feel free to ask questions or post comments here on the blog.
Exciting news today! This fundraiser was featured in the Wisconsin State Journal. Check out the article, if you haven't already! And, check out the "Press" tab for more stories or blurbs on this fundraiser.
The response to the article has been wonderful. Not only did several people step up and donate today ($120.00 donated- yay!), but several individuals reached out and offered help with fundraising, or collecting school supplies, or toys for sending down to Ecuador. Thank you all for your interest and enthusiasm! Please continue to pass along information about this fundraiser (and thank you to all of you that did that today, and have been doing that), and please help me reach this fundraising goal. I know that it is really hard right now, but even $5 can (and will) help out!
Look for Facebook event pages for some of the upcoming fundraisers, as well as posters, registration forms (for the Zumbathon), and more in the next couple of days.
Please also feel free to ask questions or post comments here on the blog.
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