This is totally last minute, but I wanted to give an almost-Twitter-sized announcement about World Habitat Day, an event put on by Habitat for Humanity, one of the most profoundly committed and productive organizations I know. We utilized one of HfF’s local “recycling” stores for some of the parts to build our raised beds and clothesline. The stores receive various parts and supplies from contractors that they then sell at deeply discounted prices to budget-conscious DIYers like me. All proceeds go to local HfH projects. It’s a genius idea.
HfH has lots of other genius ideas, too, like World Habitat Day. Check out the announcement, get edumacated, and get involved!
Mention the word summit nowadays and most people will probably envision a meeting involving suits, cigars, old men (and a few women), lots of talk, copious amounts of hard alcohol, and piles of taxpayer money. And all for naught.
But there’s a different definition for summit, one that evokes images of impossibly high peaks rising black and vertical above the snowbound shoulders of mountains. This is the image I want you to see when I tell you that I went to the ECOSummit this weekend. It was a meeting, and it did have men and women present, but the similarities between this summit and the aforementioned cease there.
Because this meeting was about climbing mountains. Many of the speakers (and many of the audience, too) had experience facing the mountain. They had made attempts at the lofty goal, impossibly high. They had bruised themselves on it’s unyielding stones. They had become disoriented in the thin air and the heavy fog that swept in with no warning. They had been caught in sudden, sodden rainstorms, driven by icy winds that winnowed the cold into their bones and forced them back down to the shoulders of the mountain, their own shoulders slumped under the weight of defeat. And yet, once they had recovered, back up the mountain they trudged again. Ever hopeful; ever passionate; ever willing.
Others were on their first ascent, their packs and their smiles bright, their eyes wide open and expectant. They are beginning from the trailhead at the base of the hills, up the gentle path into the broad shoulders of the mountains. Through the glades of deep green grasses and yellow flowers. They move with vigor and the expectation of success. With clear eyes they regard the peak, high but possible. They also carry new gear and new knowledge. Perhaps the ascent will be easier for them. If so, it will be in part because they follow the path forged by their iron-willed predecessors.
A few who were there had reached the peak. You could see it in their eyes and in their bearing: the gleam of a knowledge that can’t be shared; the relaxed confidence of accomplishment. They know the way now. With their eyes closed they can recount each step, stumble, recovery, and, finally, the joy of looking down on the vast rolling shoulders that reached to the curve of the earth. They stood on the summit of the impossibly high peak and peered across impossible distances. They could and did kiss the sun. And now they watch, advise, and encourage others to do the same.
This event, this summit created the conditions for exposition, discussion, collaboration, and the opportunity to draw strength and sustenance from others who shared the same vision. As such, it was a success. And I’m glad I was part of it.
Habitat For Humanity Wins The Green Business Award!
San Luis Obispo County Green Award 2008
This is a great place to shop. I got a 12 foot metal pole for our clothesline for $4.30! Bathroom fixtures, lighting fixtures, paint, tools, hardware, nuts, bolts, screws, tile…oh my!
Even kitchen sinks.
Very helpful, friendly volunteers, and even customers, seem glad to help a damsel in distress, which would be me. I am trying to put together an outside antenna contraption and don’t know what the heck I am doing. So, if you are in the market for a project and need some materials I would give the ReStore a look see. I like to know where my money is going and this sure makes me feel good when I spend it here: all the proceeds go to building green Habitat for Humanity houses. They provide a great service to our community and, well, look they won the Green Business Award for goodness sakes. The press release is below (with links from lil’ ol’ me).
Habitat for Humanity is one of six businesses to win the Green Business Award from the Sustainability & Resources Committee of the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce, for the environmental benefits of our ReStores located in San Luis Obispo and in Templeton.
Criteria for selecting award finalists include long-term environmental benefits, project transferability, environmental leadership, creativity and other considerations. Members of the Green Awards Committee include individuals from the City of San Luis Obispo, SLO Air Pollution Control District, Ride-On, SLO Regional Rideshare, SLO County Agricultural Commission, The Environmental Center of San Luis Obispo County, Integrated Waste Management Authority and SLO Chamber of Commerce.
‘We are truly honored to win this years Green Award,’ states Penny Rappa, Executive Director of Habitat. ReStores help the environment by reducing the amount of usable building materials dumped into our local landfill. ‘Since the opening of the Templeton ReStore in January of 2005, and San Luis Obispo ReStore in October 2007, we estimate over two tons of materials have been diverted from the local landfills annually,’ states Rappa.
Habitat for Humanity ReStores are building material thrift stores, receiving and selling new and used building items. ReStores provide an opportunity for the public to donate building materials and to buy quality building materials at very low costs. Doors, windows, cabinets, sinks, light fixtures and other building supplies are given a second life. All proceeds from the ReStores are then used to build new Habitat homes in San Luis Obispo County.
Habitat of San Luis Obispo is in the process of completing four homes within the City of Atascadero, with a home dedication planned for December 13, 2008. Plans are also in motion to build four similar homes within the City of Grover Beach in 2009.
Habitat for Humanity of San Luis Obispo County has built simple, decent housing in Paso Robles, Cambria and in Atascadero. HFHSLOCO was established in 1997, as a non-profit organization and an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International. All donations to the ReStore are tax-deductible.
The ReStores are open Thursday through Saturday from 9:00am to 3:00pm.
For more information on what building materials the ReStores accept and sells please call: Templeton 434-0486 OR in San Luis Obispo 546-8699.
I made a lot of money last year; I spent quite a bit of money, too. Around December I made a calculation of my finances to date:
A lot – quite a bit = not very much left over.
With this number in my head, I made a firm commitment to take stock of my finances and gain control of my expenditures. So the first thing I did was open a Mint account.
And I realized something almost immediately: I was spending a lot on self aggrandizement. Mint kindly pointed out to me that…
I like my expensive meals out (because Taco Bell just doesn’t cut it any more)
I like my Apple and related geeky electronic stuff
I like my outdoor gear
I really like food in general
Really, I should say we, because Denette and I both drink from the same fountain. But I’ll save that POV for her post. Anyway, I’ve been liking these things too much. Especially the expensive meals and the geeky electronic stuff.
As I started getting control of the expenditures a really interesting thing happened: most of the money I’ve started saving is, of course, going into the savings, but a larger percentage than I’ve ever spent before is going to causes Denette and I support, like One, the Sierra Club, Greenpeace, and St. Jude’s. I had been using it to buy things I wanted, but now that my spending habits were explicitly displayed for me, I knew that I could be giving a much larger portion of it to someone who actually needed it
Even more significantly, I’ve started volunteering again with groups and organizations who strive to make a difference, such as ECOSLO. Which is, quite simply, the most satisfying way of doing good. I feel again as if I am the change, instead of just a supporter of change. Doing pwns donating.
Oh, and it totally puts the self-aggrandizement in its place.
Which feels really, really good.
Which feels like my childhood, when I devoted a significant amount of my time to the community and learned much of what I know now but seemed to have forgotten a little over the years. Back then it was not about money; it was only about helping.
Today I went down to volunteer for a committee. I love being on committees: I feel so…official and important. Like I’m in charge. After all, I was the president of my 4-H chapter. I know Robert’s Rules of Order and everything. And I have a special fondness for officialspeak: “WHEREAS the party of the first part, blah blah blah…”
Sorry, got a little sidetracked…. Where was I? Oh yes, the group I’m volunteering with is planning to hold a summit. It’ll be their 8th. And I can already tell that it’s not my slice of cake. Seriously. I want to build movements, not piddle around and watch a bunch of eco-insiders pat each other on the back. Did I tell you this summit is invitation-only?
Maybe I’m being too critical…?
Maybe. But I can already see that the group is missing out on some serious marketing and outreach opportunities, here.
For outreach, in addition to the local non-profits, I would invite local for-profit companies that are geared toward sustainability. In my opinion, not including select members of the business community ignores an important part of the “change” equation. I think back to the triple bottom line philosophy (People, Planet, Profit), and it seems pivotal that we not ignore any of those bottom lines. After all, people have to make a living, so why not encourage those who already do so sustainably and compassionately? And the continued alignment of business and environmental needs can only be good.
As far as marketing is concerned, what an opportunity this presents to broaden the audience! Even if the organization can only manage logistics for a handful of people, it can utilize the event to generate enormous interest in their organization. The best way I can think of would be by filming the event and putting interesting snippets on Youtube or even the organization’s homepage.
And, in addition to inviting people it has had on its list for years, it could be proactive in finding and inviting new movers and shakers in the local community. C’mon guys, don’t make them find you, go find them.
This organization holds other, more inclusive events, and it does some great things for the community. But I think the way the summit is structured is indicative of an old-school us/them mindset that is no longer necessary or beneficial. There is an astonishing amount of consensus about sustainability now, and that consensus needs to be leveraged before it’s lost.
In my opinion, any organization that rests on its laurels and continues to engage select groups risks insularity and, ultimately, irrelevancy.
But that’s my opinion.
So…I have a poll for you. Check it out and let me know what you think. Maybe I’m crazy. Maybe I’m crazy smart. You decide.
Mom
Izik
Denette
samsonblackwell
Hole in the Fence 