Food! Now that I have your attention...

I am very excited for the next couple of months because I feel like I can contribute more with the things that I am best at.  I have been working in and around the food service for quite some time.  I have done everything from bar back to restaurant manager.  I have worked in every kind of restaurant from fast food to fine dining.
   The next couple of months will see us doing a lot of events to raise awareness for some really great causes.  This is what I do.  This is what I am trained in and is that not what it is all about?  It is about doing what you are best at in hopes that what you are best at, where you are able to contribute, is able to help out someone.

 

   So this month, we have a BBQ with the guys at Atlanta Pro Bicycle.  They are sponsoring our Nationwide Bike Ride and have been a tremendous help with our aluminum can drive.

  Next month, we are doing a wedding for one of our biggest supporter.  This includes the bike themed cake and a southern menu for dinner. 

   We will also be doing Brunches on the Beltline in March and April.  Atlanta is such a beautiful city this time of year and we are taking every opportunity to get out and enjoy the sun and all the hard work the city has put into creating a beautiful belt line for people to walk and ride comfortably in downtown Atlanta. 

   Finally (at least as of this writing, we would like to do so much more) we will sponsoring showings of Miss Representation.  This is such a powerful documentary about the media representation of women. 

   We need to see more positive roles for women in the media.  As the tag line says, "You can't be what you can't see".  We have decided that it is something that we have to spread it as much as we can,  so we are sponsoring showings in Atlanta, Seattle, and Clemson and doing yes, more food!

   These are some great events and we would love for people to attend.  The proceeds go to the Nationwide Bike Ride, supporting breast cancer awareness, alzheimers and diabetes research, as well as an end to homelessness and overall, the healthy lifestyle that comes with a life of cycling and just plain getting in shape.

   So what is it that you do?  How can you contribute?  We would love to have people volunteer their skills for our fundraising so please contact us if there is something that you would like to do.  Or just take a moment to make a donation.  Get involved! Contribute!

The long spaces...

On May 1, I am leaving for a nationwide bike ride that will take me and anyone else who wishes to join me across the United States, from Charleston, S.C. to Seattle, WA along the lower half of the U.S. for nearly 5000 miles.  My problem with long rides has always been the long spaces in between "things". 

   I was always fascinated with triathlons and especially the Iron Man, where they would have long stretches of riding where it is nothing but lava fields and baking sun.  Those times, I thought, would be the times when one would have to really be a competitor.  Those were the times when I thought that people would have to lock down and focus on where they were going and how fast they needed to get there.  Those times, were the times when it would have to be more mental and emotional than anything else.   It will be those long spaces, when we are separated from the pack and the only ones we are competing against are ourselves, that we will have to deal with and that we are dealing with now, in day to day life.

   That is what we are dealing with now...the long spaces.  These long spaces are the times that we have to do what needs to be done to get to the finish line.  So, I have not been posting for a couple of weeks, but rest assured this is in preparation for the things to come.  The compost is cooking, we are working out and getting in shape for the nationwide bike ride, the A.I.R. project with documentary  is underway...these are the lava fields before the finish line.

seattle bound...

In a couple of weeks, I will make my return to Seattle.  I have to admit that I consider Washington state my adopted home and I was sad to leave there a year or so ago.  When I left, Week on the Street and The Waiverly Projects were just a glimmer in the back of my mind, but I had put them aside for concerns of family and a new life in the south. 
I am going back for personal reasons, and I had debated about whether or not to address this, but those reasons tie into everything that we are trying to do with these projects.  My sister lives in Seattle.  She is the third oldest of my eight brothers and sisters and is mentally challenged.  For as long as I can remember, she has moved around on her own and done whatever she wanted.  She is a survivor and to be so given the physical and mental challenges she has faced is inspirational. 

So, because of her, we are going nationwide and tackling all new issues as well as the ones with which we started.  She has been homeless and lived on the streets of L.A. She has been immersed in a system that has warehoused the homeless and the mentally challenged. 

She is beginning a battle with breast cancer, something that I could not even imagine dealing with.  So how many people, homeless and otherwise have had to deal with all of these issues, all at once.  To imagine the strength and bravery that it takes to deal with one of these issues, let alone ALL of them, all at once. 

So while I am in Seattle, I will be doing a Week on the Street.  I will look at all of these issues, and most of all I will visit my sister and support her in any way that I can.

So please check in with this blog as we look at these issues and help us make a difference.

The A.I.R. Project

One of the things that we have tried to impress here is that there are very few differences among us.  We are all one and united by, as Kennedy said, the fact that we all breath the same air.  This past week we came across some amazingly talented individuals.  They reside at the shelter at Peachtree and Pine and spend their days creating great works of art.  There is no mistaking their talent and love for their craft.
  Gregory was painting at his station and took a few moments to talk to us about what he does. I was lost in his knowledge of printing and painting.  An older man, his knowledge of computers was phoenomenal and impressive.  More than his knowledge of computers, the calm measured meter of his voice and also of his painting was amazing.  He just sat there, talking.
   He let us know some of the things with which they were struggling at the shelter.  The problem, as I understood them, were that they were easy fixes.  We are going to take this on as a project, calling it the A.I.R. project.  The Artist In Residence program or A.I.R. is going to do one thing and one thing only, get some of those artists out there.  We are going to do what we can to get these people out there so that people can see there is no separation.  So, when you walk into the local Starbucks, you may see a painting there and I ask you to take a look.  You may see an artist there, painting, and without know his origins, see that he has created a thing of beauty.

Progress, progress, progress....Happy New Year!

I am happy that I could not post last week.  We have been doing so much and we have been working on so much for this coming year that I have been too busy to write.  I am glad not to have the time!

Over the holidays, we had our aluminum can drive.  I like the idea, the theater, so to speak, of using small things to do bigger things and we got what we wanted with this drive.  From Christmas eve until the day after New Year's, we collected over 200 pounds of cans. These are cans that will not go into landfills and proceeds are going towards all of the "housekeeping" measures for The Waiverly Projects, like printing and mailing.

Our next initiative is an Art Show, showcasing the talents of people who are dedicated to making a difference in the world and those talented homeless men and women of Atlanta.  It will be an opportunity for people to show that even though they are in different circumstances, they are still able to bring some beauty into the world.

Speaking of beauty, we are working very hard on the winter phase of the Art in Agriculture project.  We are converting an abandoned lot in Doraville, GA into beautiful art installation, with murals, decorated containers, and sculptures with a practical purpose as well.  The profits, proceeds, and produce will go to helping those in need!

The next "Week on the Street" will be during the final week of January.  The Month on the Street was exhausting, so this week will be a lot less taxing, but still hopefully we will be able to do some good.

We are all looking forward to a great 2011 and getting to know more people and doing more good things!

Now that we have the new year off and running, I will updating this page a lot more and I hope that you will check back often!

The unknown seeds

As we embark on a new year, we are getting a lot of questions about what we are doing. I can never give a simple explanation.  I think the reason that tend to be so long winded is that I do not want to be pigeon-holed into being just one thing.  I have said it before and I will say it again, the solutions to the world's problems will not come from one thing.  They will come from cooperation and unity.  They will come from the establishment of a foundation and building on that foundation, branching from it, and growing. 

I get a lot of joy from helping the homeless. I can do that because I use other likes and interests to help me help them.  I love to cook.  I love to garden.  I love working with the environment.  I like politics and meeting new people.   All of these things, and so many more tie into what The Waiverly Projects are.  They are me doing what I like doing, so that I can help others and teach things to my daughter.  What is it that you want to do?  Who are your projects for?

So now, these unknown seeds have been planted.  I am often out and about, meeting new people and doing new things, but most of all, I am both learning and teaching (more learning THAN teaching).  Recently, we began working on biochar expirements.  For those who do not know, Biochar is burning carbon based material (which comprises most of our waste) in a low oxygen environment.  The resulting blackened char (similar to charcoal) is ground up and added back to the soil.  It does nothing to the soil alone, but as an addition to the soil, it draws helpful nutrients and micro-organisms.  It also aids in water retention for the plants.  Most of all, it takes all that carbon that would otherwise go into the atmosphere and puts it back into the ground.  Forget reducing your carbon footprint, this process is carbon negative, so it theoretically erases your footprint altogether.

How does this help?  We are building a community garden with soil comprised mainly of sand and clay.  With Biochar and compost we are able to turn orange clay and sand into a nutrient rich growing medium.  It is very stable and has the same properties that most compost and petroleum based fertilizers use, but it is much better for the soil over time.

So, where there was nothing, we see that there is potential, with work and planning, for something.  Garbage becomes compost...An abandoned lot in Doraville, GA becomes a garden...wasted wood and carbon rich waste that would have gone into landfills, becomes biochar...seeds will become plants and plants will yield food for those who need it.

I said all of that to say this, once the seeds are planted we do not, in this case, know what will grow.  We know that with nurturing and loving care, something will emerge and we hope that something will be something positive and become the seeds again for something else to grow.  So when people ask me what The Waiverly Projects are all about, I can honestly say, I do not know...yet. 

Remix

I am truly happy about the way things have gone this year.  2010 has had some stops and starts, and things that have been good and bad, but overall, we have our foot in the door and things are moving!
So, when we look at what is going in in the next week (nothing for us) with the holidays, I think it is a good thing to look back at a few of the more salient occurances of the past year.  We started late in the year with all of the things that we are doing.  So as we approach the new year, we have a sort of a jumping off point, where the problems and goals are defined.  We have seen our limitations and we know where our skills are.  We are looking forward to a great 2011.

Somethings need to be remembered though.  For whatever milestones and dates we are marking, we should keep in mind that there are people for whom homelessness is a day in, day out toil.  So for all the things that we are doing, we see that one thing that someone said to me after Thanksgiving, "The next day, we were hungry again."  So, I think we need to keep that in mind while we go into our daily work.  Thank you all and may you all have a wonderful new year!