That’s what i, with the help of Victor, Simone, Cherie, Deodenne, Shehzia, Jian, Garry, Dave, and many others help get donated towards the katrina disaster relief. The participation wasn’t as much as we hoped, but i’m happy with the donations. It’s something I can handle too.
Deodenne let me borrow her Bravada and i was able to fill it well with the amount of food and other supplies we had donated.
In the morning i’m taking the stuff to Bangor early to drop the stuff off, then coming back and going to class.
Speaking of class, tommorrow i have class at 11:10 and 1:00. Native Empires to Nation States in the mornings, every monday and friday, the spanish in the afternoon. Latin America from and American perspective. Maya, Incas, Aztecs, and more. :-) There’s a girl in the class that is from mexico, she’s excited to get the history from our perspective here in the US. I am too, although history has never been my best subject.
Estoy muy contento porque puedo comenzar con clases de espanol otra vez. Lunes, Martes, Jueves, y Viernes. Tengo cuatro clases cada semana con Karla Pena. Cuando estoy con Karla o hago algo que puedo hablar en espanol, voy a hablar en espanol. Pues, no cada tiempo pero mas de no.
Then on tuesdays and fridays i have a class called applied community change. How appropriate, no? It’s interesting to think of a world which wasn’t consuming itself to extinction.
One blurb from LIVING ECONOMIES FOR A LIVING PLANET By David C. Korten, the first paper we were assigned to read for the class: (http://www.pcdf.org/Living_Economies/default.htm)
Download at Living Economies For Living Planet - David Korten
“The human future depends on moving beyond the self-limiting and ultimately self-destructive ways of Empire to live into being a new Era of Community in which life is the defining cultural value, cooperation and partnership are society’s organizing principles, and networking is the predominant organizational form. The culture and institutions of the global suicide economy must be replaced by the culture and institutions of a planetary system of living economies that mimic the behavior of healthy living organisms and ecosystems. ”
Interesting to say the least. I’m putting it up for download in the gallery page. Find it and just grab it for yourself to read if you want to see the rest.
Goodnight, i have a early wakeup call and a long drive ahead of me.
-Chris
Posted by drpoo as General, College Of The Atlantic, MDI Community Events, Peace Works!, Personal Endeveavors at 8:33 PM PDT
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Everything’s a go. Tommorrow from around 4 pm until sunday at 4 pm there will be a food and fund drive taking place at MDI Highschool, at the track. There should be quite a showing over the 24 hours.
I’m pretty organized…we’ll see when things get off the floor. I have boxes, an extra vehicle, a few volunteers, a table, chairs, some signs being made, a van to pick people up from the school campus, food to donate, and i think that’s it.
What i don’t have is a little speech to give at the end of the football game ends, right as our Food, Funds and Fun drive begins. I get a chance to speak over the microphone to all the audience at the game and tell them about the food drive. Unfortunatly i can’t be there for it. I have to work for a few hours during the time the event begins. Luckily i have good friends that are enthused to help. Simone is taking my place for me at the beginning. I need to write down what i need him to say. Plus i have 2 other of my good friends helping get things started too. I feel silly that i’m getting all this organized but i can’t even be there to see it begin. It kinda sucks, but whatever, these guys are awsome.
I might get an interview on tv channel number 5, but maybe not.
I’ve announce to the entire campus a number of times that this event is happening. I’ve encouraged people to come out and camp all night. Some have thought it to be a good idea and are seemingly going to do it. I have set up and van schedule to pick people up and bring them back to campus at certain times on saturday and sunday too.
College of The Atlantic, the staff, faculty and students have been a great help.
They helped raise something like one-hundred and fifty dollars to donate to the relief. Plus they’re letting me use the van for an outside of school activity when i’m not supposed to. And Cherrie Ford offered to donate what ever costs for gas herself.
Thanks to everyone who helped.
-Chris
Posted by drpoo as College Of The Atlantic, MDI Community Events, Peace Works!, Personal Endeveavors at 10:32 PM PDT
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Alright, so here’s the deal. I will be setting up shop on Saturday now, not friday. I have found that there is another drive happening on Saturday. I’m now coordinating my plans with the people running it so we can really make this drive effective as it possibly can be. The organizer of the drive is very excited about working with me. They were only origincally taking monetary donation because they had to way to move food and supplies….now they do!
The people at Crow Athletics and MDI Marathon are putting together an amazing fund drive effort right here on the island! They will be attempting to organize enough people to run enough laps around the track to cover the same distance it would take to travel from here all the way down to Louisiana! Something like 1,800 miles! There plan is to start out on Saturday evening, around 5 PM, and run/walk all through the night and all through Sunday! probably until 5 PM again. So it’s going to be a 24 hour walkathon relief drive.
They’re getting heavy media coverage and lots of people are expected to show up all through the night and day. It’s hopefully going to be something like a festival…People are encouraged to bring their tents even and camp out over night! I might just do it! if of course i get a tent. :-) Or i might just sleep a bit in my car.
So this could turn out to be big! So now i need to focus more on finding places to store the boxes of food i get…until i can get them to where they need to be! (millinocket is 3 hours away…hopefully things will work out so i don’t have to go all the way there….but if i have to i’ll figure out a way!)
You can see more information about the walkathon here : www.crowathletics.com/node/4143 and here: www.mdimarathon.org/hurricane_mdi26.2.html
I’ll keep everyone updated still, as things happen.
-Chris
Posted by drpoo as College Of The Atlantic, MDI Community Events, Peace Works!, Personal Endeveavors at 5:12 PM PDT
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International Blogging for Disaster Relief Day
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This is an email i sent out to College of The Atlantic community, it details exactly where i’m at right now with this endeavor.
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Good afternoon friends, fellow students, faculty and staff.
It’s not much for me to say that there are many people in the Southern parts of the United States right now that desperately need all the help they can get. People are still dying everyday from starvation, dehydration and disease. Things still are not looking much better either.
If you have wanted to help but didn’t know what you could do, or didn’t trust simply giving your money to a big NGO like Red Cross or Salvation Army because of recent mis-uses and mis-handling of funds, or any other reason, look no further.
The Tri Town Food Pantry in East Millinocket has teamed up with ICare Ministries and other supporting organizations in what they have called the “Operation Love In Action” to bring as much relief to those affected as humanly possible. They have committed themselves to supporting the disaster relief efforts 110%.
It was only last Thursday that Pastor Dave Chicoine decided to see if there was anything he could do to support the cause, and already he has resources to provided thousands of meals per day to all affected areas. Within 2 days he had the use of over half a dozen 18-wheeler trailers donated to him and a driver with a truck-rig that volunteered to take the first load of supplies to Mississippi this coming Thursday. In just 2 more days Dave had enough food, supplies and funds donated to fill one entire trailer and start filling a second.
I found out about his project in the Bangor Daily News on Sunday afternoon and called him up that evening to see if I could work here in bar Harbor to add OUR support too. He was more than pleased to hear my enthusiasm, and told me exactly what was going on and what I could do to help.
I have decided that I will organize a Disaster Relief Food and Fund Drive right here in Bar Harbor. I know I am not the only one that wants to do anything possible to help those affected by the incredible distruction of Hurricane Katrina. Proof lies in efforts from Victor and those filling his buckets! This is your chance to make it really mean something!
I’m calling out to COA and the MDI community today and for how ever long it takes to continue to do everything we can to help relieve the suffering people in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. And also to help take some of the burden off the surrounding states such as Texas, which has accepted thousands and thousands of people already. The burden should be spread as thinly as possible. Since we are about as far away from the affected areas as we possibly could be up here in Maine, and will therefor likely get very few of the affected make it here, we should do what we can to send our support directly to those areas that are burdened the heaviest.
By working with those involved in the Operation Love In Action, any donations of supplies, food, or funds will be delievered directly to those areas I’m speaking of. The deliveries of all donations will go to a central food distribution network 3 hours North of Biloxi, which is right outside of the heart of destruction. It will then be split up and delievered to shelters, hospitals, and directly to where the people are at right now, where ever they are.
The Tri Town Food Pantry also has the ability to extend the value of your monetary donations 12 fold. Basically they have a seriously discounted purchas price for all food products and such. They pay only $0.16 cents per pound of food. When you do the math, paying this price means they can purchase appoximately $12.00 worth of food for every $1.00 we would spend at the retail price we pay at supermarkets.
I have been given a list of items that are desperately needed too. Bottled Water–the bigger the containers the better (they pay $0.03/lb for water at their reduced price). Cleaning products like bleach, detergents, etc. Personal Hygine products like shampoo, soap, toothpaste, etc. CANNED FOODS! The bigger the cans the better (#10 sized restaraunt cans are requested mostly…because the majority of shelters are just making the foods they give out right there on the spot–the shelter that will be recieving the initial shipments for example has pumped out over 80,000 hot meals in just the past 2 days!) Canned Potates and Instant Potatoes. RICE! Diapers, Baby Food, and forumla, etc. Over the counter medicines, and clean undercloths (underwear, socks, etc).
So what then? What are MY plans? Well, they’re still in the works and i would love to hear some suggestions. I have never organized anything in my life like this, so it’s all new. But as of right now i can say what plans i do have already.
I have the connection with Tri Town and ICare Ministries. They will provide the transportation from Maine to Mississippi. The main coordinator for the project, Dave Chicoine, has told me that it would be very helpful if i could get the supplies as close to his location in Millinocket as I possibly can. But also that if I couldn’t get them to him directly, he would figure out a way to come here (or where ever i get them to) to get them. So the HARDEST part is already taken care of.
Now, my plan for raising the food and funds is this. Do as much ‘getting the word out’ as i possibly can (and anyone else can–any suggestions?) about the fund and food drive i will be having on Friday. I do not know RIGHT NOW where i will have the drive, but I am looking for a spot to park myself and some other volunteers (hint hint) to take donations. My initial thoughts are in the empty parking lot to the right of graves (if you are looking at graves from the road), the YMCA parking lot, the grass lawn of COA, or in front of the Firestation at Village Green. Unfortunately i have not had a chance yet to ask anyone from any of these places whether or not i can actually have the drive there, but I’m walking out the door to do that after i finish this email. And anyone at COA who can give me the OK for hosting it on the lawn (or give me a better idea) should email me or call me as soon as possible so i know i have secured a spot for friday (that would be GREAT!) or not and can start getting out the word with detailed and concrete information. (everything’s coming together so quick and i’m shuffling between full time work, school starting and just doing everything else in normal everyday life….calling me on my cell phone would be the best thing to do if you could give me advice or suggestions, or whatever info i could use. I will give my number at the end of the email). My plan is to have the drive last all day. I might miss one of my classes…but I’m sure Davis will understand, it’s about as close to applied community change as i can get :-) Right davis? So i’m going to say i’ll setup shop by 9 AM and run it until dark. That’ll give plenty of time for people to see what’s happening and donate whatever they possible can.
Then, depending on how much stuff is actually donated, I will store this stuff until i get the free time to take it to Millinocket myself, someone else volunteers to do it themselves, or the people at Tri Town Food Pantry can send a truck down to pick it up on their way to Mississippi. I have already secured a bit of space for some storage at the Bar harbor Food Pantry on Rt 3 in Town (in the basement of YWCA). They’ve opened up atleast enough space to fit 25 boxes of food and other supplies. They might have room for even just a tiny bit more. If i need more space (then this drive would really really really really be a success in my mind) i will have to search more space out, which i will be doing in the mean time anyway. They have given me permission to store the boxes of stuff with them for up to 5 to 7 days if need be, but I should not need even that much time to get it moved to where it needs to be.
Things I will need in order to get this done. Anyhelp is good, it’ll be appreciated by many more people than just myself.
Volunteers. Definately i will need some Volunteers. A couple or more to hang out and take donations (rotating throughout the day from 9 to 7 on friday). A couple with cars to put up fliers around Bar Harbor and other towns on MDI and in Elsworth TOMMORROW and THURSDAY! It has to happen quick or no one will know about what’s going on soon enough. And maybe a couple more for….i don’t know, but maybe a couple more. Wait, i know. Volunteer driver(s). We will need to move the boxes to storage, and possible to Millinocket.
That means too that I need access to a flat-bed truck or vehicle with a nice amount of storage capacity to move boxes from the drop off location to the storage location and also to move them to Millinocket if need-be. And access to a second as backup would be awsome too! I have a four-door Elantra myself. I plan to use it if i can’t get access to a truck, but it would certainly be nice to know if i needed a larger vehicle i could get my hands on it for a short while.
Advice! Help! Encouragment! Support! DONATIONS! Deodorant for myself!? :-) J/K I think i’m just going to sweat this one out! hehe.
And for now, that’s where i’m at. Maybe i’ve forgotten a thing or two, let me know PLEASE if
i have.
Thanks for your support already, just having read this means a lot!
You can contact me anytime (i mean that) at by calling my cell: 2.8.1-7.8.5-4.6.5.1. Or my home number is 2.8.8-0.5.54. Leave me a voicemail if i am do not answer at either of the numbers and i will call you back as soon as i am able.
You can also keep up with some of the things i’m doing and thinking by reading my blog at www.drpooville.org I will be trying to keep it updated as to what i am doing with this project.
See you all soon!
-Chris
Posted by drpoo as College Of The Atlantic, MDI Community Events, Peace Works!, Personal Endeveavors at 4:15 PM PDT
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International Blogging for Disaster Relief Day
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Wasn’t it? The hurricane Katrina was a crazy one.
The news about the damage in its’ wake is hard to read sometimes. It is even harder even to believing any of it is real.
It took a couple days for the impact to really sink in. When my mom told me my grandfather Papa Bob was taking a flight to live with her, my dad and my little sister, that’s when I realized how bad things really were. Bob has to stay until he can move back into his condo in Beau Chene, which is near Slidel. It could be weeks, or even months maybe before moving in will be possible.
Plus my brother Kyle was sending out all sorts of news articles and links online about Katrina’s destruction. I saw that so many people were stranded, and the destruction the winds, rain ocean and flooding caused.
I wish I could do something to help.
…..
I think I can. Yes.
I hope to successfully organize a food and fund drive in Bar Harbor Maine to send to help support the feeding, clothing and protection of the people in the affected areas.
I will be working closly with Tri Town Baptist Church Food Pantries in East Millenocket and Icare Ministries to get the food to Mississippi Louisiana, and all other of those affected.
“Operation Love in Action”
They have recieved a half dozen full size eighteen-wheeler trailers and a truck driver volunteering to drive the supplies to the Network Distributor in Mississippi. In MI they have a shelter that also acts a Food Pantry that has dished out over eighty thousand cooked meals in the past few days. And it’s also sending food out to the hundreds of other shelters just like it. It is a disaster down there.
Imagine just for a moment if you were one of those who has to be doing the cooking. Or even more, the one needing the cooking to be done for.
I think the least I can do to help, since i’m not the one doing the cooking, is to make sure there is food for the eating.
I have some preliminary ideas about how to organize a food drive.
On Monday I should draw up more plans and organize my thoughts. It’s late now, and i’m just writing them out.
Tuesday talk to PEOPLE, coa–Davis Taylor, for his Applied Community Change ideas– Wednesdays ACM??, real pizza–video ad, speech before movie–, criterion, Island Connections–know of a volunteer that drives a big rig truck or truck with a bed?–.
Make fliers.
Figure out how to spread the word of my donation spots to the people of maine. Using blogs. Using News Paper. Using phone. Using ‘the word of mouth’. WERU. Other radio stations. YMCA. Local churches. Local businesses. DDN.
I might need BOXES.
The drivers will be able to pick up supplies on the way from people along the way to the disaster site, until it could hold no more.
This could be a good new disaster relief plan to use in the future. A realtime web system would have to be created for anything really serious.
For now though we can simply use some pingbacks or trackbacks to let people know what we are doing and follow the updates. (blog terms…i don’t really know what they mean, yet. I will learn soon, they’ll help me spread the word.)
The Food Pantry Tri Town Batrist Church gets an unbelievable discount on the food it buys. Their going rate on one pound of any consumable product was at sixteen cents to the pound.
Meaning if you yourself bought a one-hundred pound bag of rice for one-hundred and twenty dollars, the Tri Town Pantry would pay only twelve dollars (If the math is right). So it’s about twelve to one ratio.
Practicaly one-hundred percent of the donations will go directly to those affected, plus some. The volunteering of peoples time isn’t being included.
……..
I must go to bed. I will edit and update the happenings soon. Hopfully something cool happens.
These are only primliminary ideas. I only began thinking about this a few hours ago. We’ll see how it goes.
Posted by drpoo as College Of The Atlantic, MDI Community Events, Peace Works!, Personal Endeveavors at 12:05 AM PDT
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