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Ashland

Intercambio Bridges the Gap

Intercambio is a Spanish word meaning “exchange.” Intercambio often describes a hope that cultural exchange will bring intercultural understanding and friendship. In Oregon’s Rogue Valley, actor and activist Helena de Crespo saw the need to “bridge the gap” between the valley’s growing Hispanic community and the mainstream community. With a group of likeminded people, Helena launched Intercambio, a multicultural program that uses the arts to bridge cultural and social divides and to build community. Intercambio’s inaugural project was a hugely successful talent show held at Kids Unlimited in Medford. For the coming year, Intercambio has an impressive and ambitious agenda outlined, including working with the ESL department of a local community college to develop a multicultural theater project to build intercultural understanding and help students with everyday life situations; producing a recording by local artists; staging an original bicultural/bilingual play written specifically for Intercambio, and hosting another talent show. Bread for the Journey of Ashland awarded $1,000 for the talent show prize money and provides fiscal agent services to this valuable and uplifting program.

Helping Child Victims Become Children Again

To vulnerable children in southern Oregon, the Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) is truly a safe harbor in the storm. CAC provides a safe, home-like environment for children to disclose and heal from abuse. Their inspiration? “Healing at the Speed of Love.” Their vision? A community where children are safe, families are strong, and that child victims can become children again.

To fulfill this vision in their community, CAC also provides professional training throughout Jackson, Josephine, and Curry counties to help others prevent, treat, identify, investigate and prosecute child abuse. Last year, 900 children received services by the compassionate and specialized staff and volunteers, including the newest team member, Jack the Therapy Dog. Bread for the Journey of Ashland granted CAC $750 to assist this valuable work. Learn more at: www.cacjc.org.

Author, scholar, and religious teacher Matthew Fox has been renewing the ancient tradition of Creation Spirituality. This tradition is feminist, welcoming of the arts and artists, wisdom-centered, and committed to eco-justice, social justice and gender justice. As an expression of this inclusive tradition, Fox offers “The Cosmic Mass”, a new form of worship that invokes the sacred into the body, mind, heart, and spirit. The Cosmic Mass blends dance, music and contemporary art forms with the western liturgical tradition. People of diverse ages, faiths and cultures share prayer, honor differences and highlight common bonds in an effort to dissolve boundaries that divide humanity from one another. Bread for the Journey of Ashland was happy to award Nicole Porcaro $750 to host a Cosmic Mass in Ashland.

More Austin stories and contact information.

Berkeley

phi·lan·thro·py: active effort to promote human welfare

What could be more empowering? Village-Connect, a community-based non-profit agency, is undertaking a youth philanthropy project to empower racially diverse youth attending schools in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Bread for the Journey of Berkeley is excited to help with a $2,500 grant. Village Connect is committed to using the donated resources to train high school students in the elements of philanthropy and then support them as they become philanthropists themselves by providing micro-grants to younger children in their community. Together, the high school leaders and the K-8 peers they have selected will look at the needs they see in their community, and then plan and implement projects that encompass leadership, relationship-building, cultural relevancy, and environmental awareness and action. Through their efforts they will play a tangible part in creating the change they wish to see in their world. BFJ of Berkeley is proud to support this inspiring work and can hardly wait to see its effects in this dynamic youth community.

Berkeley contact information.

More Flagstaff stories and contact information.

Orange County

More Orange County stories and contact information.

Santa Cruz County, CA

Follow Your Heart on a Journey of Kindness

 “Hurricane Katrina was a wake up call for me,” says Curtis Reliford. Since that day, Curtis has dedicated his life to “helping people who are in need and not receiving proper help.” He formed the Follow Your Heart Action Network and has since delivered 37 truck and trailer loads of donated items to people in need in communities devastated by the hurricane. Curtis is motivated by a deep belief that America can do better by its less fortunate members, and invites others to join him on this “Journey of Kindness.” Recently, the grassroots Follow Your Heart Action Network is working closer to home, collecting more materials and delivering them locally to migrant farmworkers in Watsonville, CA who often lack the means for even basic necessities like food and clothing for their children. Members of the Santa Cruz and Watsonville community donate food, clothes, furniture and infant items like diapers and toys, which the Follow Your Heart Action Network picks up, sorts, launders if needed, and delivers to farmworker campsites. Bread for the Journey of Santa Cruz County was happy to give Curtis $1,800 toward repairing a broken axle on his delivery trailer and to help purchase a 40-foot container to store the donated times safely. To learn how you can help, visit: http://www.followyourheartactionnetwork.com/.

Santa Fe

Leaving their Mark

Taos, New Mexico, is well known as a tourist destination for thousands of people, but it is just "home" for many teens in need of positive outlets for their talent and energy during the summer months. To step into this summer gap where youth can get waylaid on their journey, and to harness this incredible source of creativity, the City of Taos has given professional muralist, Lorrie Bortner, permission to mentor a group of teens as they design a mural and paint it on the front of the Taos Youth and Family Center. Bread for the Journey of Santa Fe was pleased to give Lorrie $1,500 to help with this project. In the years to come, these young artists will be able to look at their work with pride and tell others about how and when they painted the mural to strengthen their community. To see pictures of Lorrie’s murals with youth, visit: http://www.lorriebortner.com/.

A Song of Seed and Soil

In summer of 2010, high school students from Aztec, New Mexico will have the chance to explore their own creativity and their connection to the earth - specifically to soil, seeds, and plants. This innovative program, led by author and educator Trudi Pierce, will use art, stories, and hands-on experiences to help students explore the significance of seeds and soil as the foundation for the survival and future sustainability of our life and cultures. The youth will meet with a botany illustrator, visit a family-owned greenhouse, learn about straw bale house construction, discover the important work that worms do for the soil, spend time at an apple orchard, and meet with a Native American seed collector. A highlight of the program will be a two-day workshop in Taos on cultivation with former Bread for the Journey grantee Miguel Santistevan, including camping on land his family has been cultivating for generations. Bread for the Journey of Santa Fe has contributed $2,000 for what promises be a life-enriching experience for these young writers and artists.

The food pantry at Philadelphia Ministries in Albuquerque, New Mexico, has been able to accomplish a lot toward ending hunger in their community with very limited resources. However, as more and more people are struggling in this economy and need help to keep food on their table, the pantry is challenged to meet the growing need. The food pantry has never asked for outside financial support before, but to meet the growing need of their community, they need to increase cold storage capacity for meat, dairy, and fruits and vegetables. Bread for the Journey of Santa Fe was happy to give Philadelphia Ministries $1,000 to pour a cement slab foundation for their new walk-in coolers. Now more families will be able to receive a quality, nutritious food box to nourish them on their journey.

Bob Pedersen is concerned about the many people in northern New Mexico who are hungry and malnourished because they do not have money for food. Bob is putting his twenty years of farming and gardening experience to good work to make a difference. Bob and his organization, Tierra Lucero, plan to launch Thanksgiving Farms to demonstrate to the community at large how they can easily provide enough food for everyone through growing high quality produce and giving it away. At the same time, by producing food and fuel locally, Tierra Lucero is working toward its mission to create energy sovereignty and sustainability for our community. As money for Thanksgiving Farms comes in, 3,000 sq. foot gardening plots are being set up throughout the community. Each plot has a committed volunteer who oversees it, usually the property owner or a neighbor. Tierra Lucero team members provide three hours per month of on-site attention for each plot. They fully install, monitor, and repair the drip irrigation system, and provide initial soil preparation and bed shaping, soil amendments, fertility testing, organic pest control, and seeds and transplants. Ninety per cent of the food is contributed to local schools and hunger relief programs. Bread for the Journey of Santa Fe gave Bob $2,000 to help launch this innovative program to address hunger and sustainability in our community. http://tierralucero.org/

More Santa Fe stories and contact information.

Seattle

Market Bucks Fight Hunger, Build Livelihoods

Third Place Commons, once a wasteland of unused parking lots, is now a bustling hub of community life in Lake Forest Park, a culturally diverse neighborhood located just north of Seattle. Three years ago, Friends of Third Place Commons was awarded a United Way venture grant to launch a pilot food assistance program through the Lake Forest Park Farmers Market. The Friends provided Market Bucks, which are $2 coupons, to its partner agencies in Seattle and nearby neighborhoods to distribute to their neediest clients. These coupons are redeemable at the Farmers Market for fresh, local vegetables and fruit.

The pilot was very successful and in 2009 the program served over 1,200 individuals with $9,132 worth of coupons. In 2010, the need among struggling families was anticipated to be even greater than the last two difficult years. That’s when Friends of Third Place Commons approached Bread for the Journey of Seattle to seek support. We were impressed by this creative multi-faceted program: it assists hungry families in eating healthy, fresh, local produce; it supports the livelihood of valuable local farmers; and it happily converges at the local farmer’s market, a place where community happens. In addition, it does it all with little to no overhead. Bread for the Journey of Seattle was delighted to support the Friends of Third Place Commons Market Bucks program with a grant of $750. http://www.thirdplacecommons.org/.

When Jasmine Gruenstein contacted BFJ of Seattle, we could hardly believe this articulate woman with a passion for AIDS education and service to the community was still a senior in high school! Jasmine has volunteered over 300 hours at her local AIDS Foundation and as a culmination of her senior project, plans to showcase a portion of the AIDS Memorial Quilt. The Quilt is the largest on-going community art project in the world, and every single square represents someone who was lost to AIDS. Jasmine wanted to give her community the opportunity to stand before this tragically beautiful piece of art and allow it to do its magical work: to foster healing, heighten awareness, and inspire action in the struggle against HIV and AIDS.

Bread for the Journey was excited to gift Jasmine $500, the cost to showcase a section of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, to support her senior project, and encourage her toward a future of making her community a better place. To learn about bringing the Quilt to your community, visit: http://www.aidsquilt.org/.

More Seattle stories and contact information.

Sebastopol

Free Books for All!

Glen Weaver, a single parent, and his young family love to read. Together, they have embarked on an adventure in community service to share this love. They have created the Sonoma County Free Bookmobile to promote literacy and love of reading by giving away high quality books to people throughout Sonoma County, CA. On a mission of outreach, the Free Bookmobile especially seeks to serve children and senior citizens living in rural and low-income areas. The Bookmobile just became a non-profit program in partnership with the Literary Arts Guild, Inc., producers of the annual Sonoma County Book Festival. Bread for the Journey of Sebastopol gave Glen and the Bookmobile a $1,000 matching grant to kick off a fundraising drive for a larger, enclosed walk-through bookmobile vehicle. The current trailer is labor-intensive and difficult for volunteers to wrangle. A box-style truck for volunteers to load and drive will enable the Bookmobile to dramatically expand their service with a much larger selection of books, indoor browsing on rainy days and evenings, a more frequent event schedule, and the ability to reach schools with closed libraries. Learn more at: http://www.sonomacountybookmobile.org.

Eco Workforce: Green Jobs for Hope!

Evelina Molina at the North Bay Institute for Green Technology is developing a new program, Eco Workforce to provide hands-on, pre-apprenticeship green collar training for local “at risk” Latino youth. Many of the participating youth are referred to the program by the Probation Department, and Eco Workforce will give them the skills and qualifications to enter and succeed in the growing green technology field. The trainees will become competent in constructing and installing custom storm windows, building rainwater catchments, and conducting household energy audits. Bread for the Journey of Sebastopol granted $1,000 to this inspiring group for educational materials and equipment (goggles, knee pads, flashlights, jumpsuits, etc.). We were pleased that La Tortilla Factory matched BFJ’s grant to help get this exciting new program off the ground. http://nbgreeninstitute.shutterfly.com/.

“I cannot quantify what is lost when one endures domestic violence, but accounts I’ve read, and the research suggests, one’s self-esteem crumbles under the burden of depression and regret. We want to lift their spirits, and let the creative process we use to create music, begin to manifest itself in other parts of their lives. We want to provide them with…a way out to a place where they can look back and see how good they really are, and how noble they’ve always been.” These are the words of Brian Miller, singer, songwriter and founder of Chords for Change, a community-based music program, established in Sonoma County in 2009. Chords for Change uses music and the proven techniques of Music Therapy to help women and children recover from the adverse effects of homelessness, poverty, and domestic abuse. They aim to use the healing power of music to promote empowerment, alleviate pain, reduce anxiety, boost self-esteem, elevate mood, express feelings, enhance coping skills, improve communication, and decrease feelings of isolation.

A $1,000 grant from Bread for the Journey of Sebastopol will be used to fund the First Annual Empowering Voices Benefit Concert, to be held on May 8, 2010 at the Sebastopol Community Center. The Empowering Voices Benefit Concert features a keynote address and performance by professional musician and domestic violence survivor Kathryn Keats and her band of world-class musicians. The event will raise funds to enable Chords for Change to sustain professional music therapy services for those affected by domestic violence in our community. Visit: http://www.chordsforchange.org/.

Our Kids Sake

More than 1,000 children in Sonoma County, California are homeless, through no fault of their own. Our Kids Sake is a nonprofit organization whose sole purpose is to help each one of them escape poverty and hopelessness. Our Kids Sake provides these children with bare essentials like clothing, diapers, food, hygiene products, vitamins and educational materials. They are also currently in the process of gathering a group of diverse volunteers that will work closely with homeless children on their math, science, reading skills, environmental awareness, meditation, yoga classes, and other offerings. Our Kids Sake uses creative fundraising techniques, funding their efforts through proceeds from the sale of their premium multi-vitamin that is specially formulated to support a child’s healthy development, as well as from generous contributions. Bread for the Journey of Sebastopol was happy to make a grant of $1,100 for newspaper advertising and reusable banners and materials for their upcoming fundraising event in May 2010. To learn more, or to purchase vitamins for your kids, visit: http://www.ourkidssake.org/.

More Sebastopol stories and contact information.

Southwest Michigan

Ka’desh Community Garden: Land comes full circle

David Jones’ grandmother once owned land on the north side of Kalamazoo. After his grandmother’s death, the family lost the land. Habitat for Humanity now owns the land, and David, inspired to start a community garden, contacted Habitat and they agreed to allow him to start the Ka’desh Community Garden there. Habitat is also willing to help with the project as needed and may either sell or donate the land to establish a permanent garden site. “Ka’desh” is a Hebrew word meaning “cycle of growth,” and David’s plan is to foster community through gardening and to reclaim the neighborhood as a friendly location where community members can meet and work together, while growing food that is good for them. David has received a lot of support from the community for the garden project, including a grant from the Kalamazoo Community Foundation. Bread for the Journey of Southwest Michigan was impressed with David’s passion for and commitment to his project and were pleased to grant him $600 toward the installation of water lines on the property.

Food Pantry and Garden a Boon for Diabetics

Many of the people in Michelle Aldaeri’s family are diabetic and she recently discovered that she is as well. Michelle’s diagnosis inspired her to learn more about nutrition and what she can and can’t eat. While diabetes is on the rise in the population as a whole, low-income communities experience much higher rates of the disease. In her quest to learn about diabetes, Michelle discovered that most of the foods available in food pantries are not suitable for people with diabetes. Michelle talked with a nurse at the Family Health Center and other community members and determined that there is a great need for a food pantry that can serve diabetics that need food assistance. Michelle is moving ahead with her vision and is starting a diabetic food pantry. The Creekside Community House in Battle Creek, MI has offered space for the pantry, and the nurse Michelle has been working with will help with the project. The Creekside Community Garden will give them a spot to plant fresh fruits and vegetables and local businesses have committed to donate produce and meat. Bread for the Journey of Southwest Michigan was impressed with Michelle’s desire to help the community, and the work she has done on the project thus far. We were pleased to donate $400 toward the purchase of a refrigerator or freezer.

Growing Community in the Garden

Deacon Cara Weiler of Sunnyside United Methodist Church in Kalamazoo feels called to be a bridge of love between her church and the world. One of the ways Cara puts this into practice is through the church’s new Growing Community Garden. Cara’s vision is to use the garden to build community in the neighborhood around the church and to educate community members on issues surrounding food production and food justice. The Growing Community Garden is open to the public, offering 18 individual plots for families and groups, and a community garden with a walk-through area where people can harvest whatever is ripe. Twenty-five percent of the produce grown will be donated to local food pantries. A master gardener has committed to help with planning and preparation for 2010 and several local businesses and organizations have donated seeds or supplies. Many of the people in the neighborhood have expressed an interest in participating in the garden. Bread for the Journey of Southwest Michigan was impressed with Cara’s commitment and organization and was happy to grant her $500 toward the garden project.

Janice Marsh-Preslesnik has a heart to bring healing relaxation to people who are recovering or declining from illness or surgery, frail, or in hospice care. Janice is finishing a master’s degree in expressive arts therapy with a focus on music. She is using these skills to create and direct a Vigil Choir to sing, chant, and play music at the bedsides of people who are experiencing illness and end-of-life transition. Singing vigils at bedsides can bring deep relaxation and peace to the person receiving as well as to family members and care providers. For those healing from surgeries or illness, this deep relaxation aids in the healing process. For those transitioning through the dying process, singing vigils aids in moving between worlds. Families and caregivers may join in the singing or simply participate by listening. Songs are chosen to respond to musical taste, spiritual direction, and physical capacity. The songs sung may include rounds, chants, lullabies, hymns, spirituals, choral music, circle singing (improvisational singing), and singing along with instruments such as singing bowls, reverie harp, and rain drums. Bread for the Journey of Southwest Michigan was very pleased to provide $1,289 to help Janice purchase Tibetan singing bowls, a reverie harp, and song books, and to design and print promotional brochures for the Vigil Choir.

In 2005, Michelle Johnson and Denise Miller created Fire Historical and Arts Collaborative to foster cultural and economic development through the arts and to help diverse youth and emerging cultural leaders to develop their confidence, strengths and skills. Participating in Fire has been life-changing for many creative young people – “It keeps people like me doing positive things instead of running the streets.” “Fire has changed my life! My confidence helped me find my passion and allowed me to help others pursue theirs.” 

Now Michelle and Denise are working with youth from Kalamazoo’s diverse Edison Neighborhood to create WFCR, Fire CommUNITY Radio. WFCR will empower youth by giving them experience in broadcasting. The station will serve a broad base of cultures and musical tastes that are often neglected by traditional high power radio stations, but which reflect the diversity of Kalamazoo, and the Edison Neighborhood specifically. WFCR expects to have shows in genres as diverse as Ranchero, Salsa, Merengue, Middle Eastern, Bachata, Reggaeton, Banda, Bhangra, Hip Hop, Reggae, Oldies, Old School Soul, and Jazz. Through live broadcasts of local musical and poetic performances, interviews and public service announcements, WFCR will help more youth find their passion and build their strengths, and will strengthen relationships in our community by sharing information about community events, services, and offerings. WFCR will also broadcast through the Internet, which will expand their listenership beyond the half-mile radius available to the low power FM station. Through other grants, sponsorship and underwriting, and marketing and sales efforts, the station is expected to be self-sustaining once underway. Bread for the Journey of Southwest Michigan is inspired by Michelle and Denise’s passion to grow Fire to support the Edison neighborhood and the local arts community in this creative new way, and granted them $1500, contingent on a 3-to-1 match. Once they have received $4500 from other sources, we will grant them $1500, which will get them very close to the $8000 necessary to start the radio station. http://www.thisisfire.com/

More Southwest Michigan stories and contact information.

More Stories of Community Support (2009)

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This page updated by Brandy Sacks. For more information, please email breadjourney@gmail.com