Two More Opportunities for local giving on the North Shore

I am supposed to be working on my fellowship application for EchoingGreen, a wonderful organization that helps social entrepreneurs (me please!) at the seed funding level (me, me, me!) who have a truly original idea with the potential and intent to change the world for the better (me again – morphed into Time Well Spent!)…

BUT, I just thought it important to share these two posts from North Shore Cafe (this is the conversation board associated with the Beverly area freecycle group)… So, pardon me for not writing more on these wonderful organizations and making a point to include links directing to the particularly relevent pages on their websites…Goodness knows I could totally get into learning and sharing all the details of these mission-driven organizations and l Iook forward to getting to know them better in 2009.

For now, here’s the FYI (oh, yes, and I can help get donations where they need to be, as noted further down):

Continue Reading for the details on these two worthwhile efforts ~ Department of Mental Retardation STAR Project and Education Outbound Santa Helicopter Event…

Helping on the Local Level ~ Note From the Director of Ipswich Caring

This month’s DeClutter the Holidays For Good event has several target organizations we will be donating through… One stands out as being super local, right here in good old (and I do mean OLD) Ipswich, Massachusetts, home of the fried clam (I think Essex makes the same claim) and definitely home to the most First Period houses (50+) in the country… And, home of Ipswich Caring and lots of caring people.

Ipswich Caring strives to make Christmas brighter and happier for Ipswich children in need by providing toys, clothing and food for this holiday. They’ve got a brand new website you can check out by clicking here or read on for more details including a letter from Ipswich Caring Director Sheila Taylor…

The Salvation Army – How Donations to their Stores are Used

One could spend a great deal of time on the Salvation Army’s various regional websites and certainly  I recommend it. That said, I’d like to share right here the text from the webpage describing just how donations of goods to be sold at the Salvation Army’s thrift stores, aka Family Stores, are used to support their mission and help those in need in the local community (NOTE that I’ve added bold type to emphasize some key points that stood out to me.):

 

Shop America’s Favorite Family Store…
where your purchases always help us help others.

In a very real sense, The Salvation Army Family Stores are at the heart of the Adult Rehabilitation Center philosophy. These simple community stores serve several distinct purposes:

• Our Family Stores provide quality clothing, furniture and other goods to the community at bargain prices.

• 100% of the proceeds from our Family Stores go directly to the operation of The Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Centers, allowing them to be self-sustaining.

• A major part of the men’s and women’s involvement in their own rehabilitation is Work Therapy. Some of this is done in the Family Stores allowing them to regain self esteem and learn valuable vocational skills as well.

So you see, the Family Store is much more than meets the eye. It is an outlet for bargains, a donation center, a training site, and a place where neighbors can shop with dignity. So…

Shop America’s Favorite Family Store…
knowing you are helping yourself while helping others.

Chances are there is a Salvation Army Family Store near you. At your local Salvation Army Family Store you can find great deals and bargain prices on clothing, furniture, household goods, sporting equipment, books, electronics and much more.

Plus, your purchase directly funds The Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Centers. That means that the bargains you find for yourself also helps others by reclaiming lives and healing families.

Salvation Army Family Stores provide quality goods at reasonable prices. Follow this link to find a family store near you

So, I highly recommend that you consider the Salvation Army whenever you are trying to rid your home of extra “stuff” that could be sold at the Salvation Army. I’m happy to include items in this month’s holiday clutter drive in a special drop off to the Salvation Army. If you have more than a few items to bring, you may choose to plan your own trip to Saugus… Any questions, feel free to post them here.

November DeClutter For Good Announcement

Holiday Clothes, Clutter and Crafts…You know you have plenty of it taking up space in your attics, basements, even your closets and under your beds (guilty!). It’s just waiting patiently, as it does each year, to trip you up (literally, in some cases) as the holiday season hits! Here’s a chance to DeClutter For Good…

What?                  Holiday Clothes and Decorative Clutter &
                           Old Holiday Crafts, Books and Greeting Cards

With Whom?        Ipswich Caring, The Salvation Army,
                          Cradles to Crayons & Time Well Spent                            
When?                 Sunday, November 30th, 10am-4pm                         

                         (I know it’s not the third weekend…
                         I think this is better for the holiday season!)

Where?               Time Well Spent Pre-Launch Office                          

                    Route 1 (89 Turnpike Drive), Ipswich, MA  

 
Transparency ~ Full Disclosure (a hallmark of doing business at Time Well Spent):  With the vast majority of donations being distributed to the Salvation Army, Ipswich Caring and Cradles to Crayons, I do want to point out that we may keep some of the donated holiday-related craft supplies to add to the materials for repurposing creativity and inspiration at Time Well Spent… The majority of those supplies will go to Ipswich Caring as I plan to meet with the director of that local organization and invite her to take what she needs for holiday crafting and gift-wrapping. A breakdown of donated items will be provided in next month’s newsletter. Check out the post below for the full October results of the Book Drive.

TOMS Shoes – Walking the Walk as they donate thousands of shoes

Much to do about business but I’ve been meaning to learn how to embed a video and finding this in my email inbox was all the motivation I needed to get it done today. The video speaks for itself though goodness knows, as do my regular readers, I could go on (and on)… Watch it! It’s 2 minutes very well spent, I promise.

Here’s the link to the TOMS Shoes website where they donate a pair of new shoes for every single pair purchased. And, while that’s plenty wonderful, they are offering free shipping as well as they strive to meet a goal of donating 30,000 shoes by Christmas…

NSWIB Business Showcase and Newburyport Green EXPO Follow-Up

Keeping the posts unusually brief (a good thing), I really would be remiss not to mention the two events I experienced this past week, one as a participant, one as a visitor, both time well spent.

The North Shore Women in Business Showcase

I actually had my own table at this wonderful event held at the Danversport Yacht Club one rainy afternoon last week. It was my first foray into a truly “business” setting and I couldn’t have been more pleased. The women I met were as warm and authentic as they were professional and knowledgeable in their field. I am buoyed yet again by the fact that there are so many folks out there who are interested and supportive of my mission. People are good and doing business in a way that takes social and environmental responsibility into consideration is good for the soul and for business! The warm welcome and wonderful words of wisdom (wow…7 News has nothing on me when it comes to alliteration) were, in a word…need a w adjective here, anybody?…heck, it was fabulous! So, a shout out to NSWIB (here’s the link to their mission statement page) and thanks for including me, a newbie member, in your Business Showcase!

Newburyport’s GREEN EXPO

First, I feel the need to confess that I told the family I was heading out to food shop and would be dropping in on a green event just up the road in Newburyport. That was at noon… I arrived home, in the dark (and the pouring rain, again) at 5pm, with the groceries, thank goodness, or I might have been locked out… 

As I shared with my 3 kids and husband, the event was just to great to leave! I met so many like-minded people, with so many different areas of expertise and inspiration, all working toward a more environmentally-conscious society. I left with an armful of literature and business cards, planning to add them to my LOCAL, LOCAL, LOCAL corner of the prototype office. I’ve mentioned it before but it bears repeating: I am so excited at the benefits to the local economy that many mission-driven businesses create. It makes so much sense, when you are doing business locally, it is with fellow community members and the sense of caring is authentic… and the benefits to the environment are built right in as we work to at least minimize our environmental impact by keeping it local. For many of the companies represented, of course, that’s the cornerstone of their business, and a worthwhile one at that.

Here’s the link to Nport’s Chamber of Commerce page highlighting the event and listing many of the participants and sponsors. Very impressive, Newburyport! I look forward to getting to know many of the active greenies as I work to bring my new triple-bottom-line business off the launching pad!

An email worth sharing – remembering our injured soldiers

I’ve gotten an email a couple of times about sending along Christmas cards to injured soldiers and thought it worth posting here, the more places the better… Then when my friend Kim sent along a corrected address, I thought all the more reason to spread the word about the appropriate address to use, lest the well-intended holiday wishes be thrown away…

Here’s the email followed by the correction:

GREAT IDEA!! When doing your Christmas cards this year, take one card
and send it to this address.  If we pass this on and everyone sends one
card, think of how many cards these wonderful special people who have
sacrificed so much would get.
 
When you are making out your Christmas card list this year, please include
the following:

 A Recovering American Soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue,NW
Washington,D.C. 20307-5001

And the correction:

Sorry about the previous email it had the wrong information. 

If you want a card to get to a soldier it is now through Red Cross, since
the other address was for a program that was 3 years ago.

Holiday Mail for Heroes
PO Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456

Mail sent directly to Walter Reed hospital, if not addressed to a patient by
name, is thrown away.

Thanks for the heads up, Kim!

Attending the North Shore Women in Business Annual Business Showcase

No time to go into the details, but I wanted to mention that I’ll be at this event at the Danversport Yacht Club Thursday, 11/13, from 4 to 8. It’s open to the public, free admission… My friend (and TWS cheerleader) Ginny Maglio is heading up the showcase and I just know it’s going to be great. There will be mini workshops, food, and a cash bar! Participants will have tables selling their wares or sharing information about their service. Almost forgot…there will be a gift-wrapping station, too! Whether you want to start your holiday shopping, are looking for some business opportunities or just want to see what the local business women are up to, it may just be time well spent for you, too!

Personally, I’m looking forward to the opportunity for networking and finding other do-gooders, something I expect will be pretty easy to do. Why am I so positive? I just really believe it is in our nature to be helpful and kind once we’ve opened our eyes to the possibilities and the emotional payback that comes from giving. It really is better to give than to receive! What goes around comes around… Insert your own overused but true saying here…because I have to get my display boards ready! Hope to see some familiar faces there!

October’s DeClutter For Good Book Drive for More Than Words – Measuring the Results

Before I move on to the events and activities of November…  Oops! Too late, I’m already over my head into November’s busy pre-launch activities…

Still, I want to share the results of October’s DeClutter For Good Book Drive. (To learn more about More Than Words, the great mission-driven organization to which we donated books, you can read the original post about MTW by clicking here.)

In fact, it’s more than just a matter of wanting to report the results. Remember, the business I’m starting is a social enterprise ~ say it with me now ~ a business that is focused on serving a financial mission and an environmental mission in a financially-self sustaining business model… And, as a business, it’s really important to be able to measure and track results in a way that is meaningful, helping to assess the success (or room for improvement) of the effort…

In traditional terms, business measurements sooner or later boil down to return on investment…What’s in it for the owners, the partners, the investors or the shareholders? For folks who are driven by money, whether it’s the desire to accumulate it, what you can buy with it, or even the fear of not having enough of it, working toward financial goals is a real motivator…

But… While I understand money, I like to spend money, I prefer to get a good deal, a bargain, good value for my money, I can read a P&L statement, cash flow analysis, a balance sheet… The truth is money keeps my attention for only so long (which might explain how I opted for volunteer work and community service for the last decade). And, I’m not the only one who feels this way… In fact, there’s an awakening that is taking place that is being shared by increasingly more people (I blogged about some successful business people ~ does the name Bill Gates ring a bell? ~  People who have turned their attention to using their accumulated wealth and their problem-solving minds and challenge-loving, entrepreneurial spirit for the greater good. Click here if you want to read the post).

Rather than a focus on money as the “ultimate bottom line,” I have really found my place in social enterprise, where there truly is a “triple-bottom-line” and the impact of the business’ activities and undertakings on all stakeholders come into play and measurements are discussed in terms of social return on investment… What’s more, I’ve found like-minded people who share the same values-based, mission-driven pathway to a career that is fulfilling in a way that is measurable, and satisfying, in more meaningful terms… For me, it’s a heck of a lot easier to get my head and my heart, my passion and my mind, around the interest of a group of stakeholders rather than a concern that doesn’t go any deeper than 2 decimal points…The funny thing is, when you know the money is serving a mission, it takes on so much more meaning, for the change and potential for good that it represents…The significance of money suddenly takes on a greater importance to me when considered in the context of doing good…

Read on for the stakeholders and results of our More Than Words book drive…

A moment of gratitude can put the whole day in perspective!

In my October newsletter, I offered readers the chance to earn 20 clutter credits just for taking a moment to share one thing for which they are grateful… Taking time each day to think about something, anything, for which you are grateful really does help keep things in perspective… Here are the replies…

I am grateful that my husband, through his unmatched work ethic, has afforded me the opportunity to be an at-home mom so I can enjoy the early years with my wonderful kids and be more involved with my community.   ~ Tanya

…  All kidding aside, I am extremely grateful for my family’s health …  ~Kathy

… I’m grateful that even though I didn’t have a car for three weeks I had two legs, a healthy heart and a safe town to walk around in.  ~Maura

Well, when I wrote the newsletter, it was a particularly crazy week (I am trying not to apply that designation to every week of my life but it just was)…  Anyway, I was chatting with my father and sister, telling them the latest about Time Well Spent, and I just had to laugh as I told them that I was grateful that day for finding 4 quarters in the car with which to buy probably the equivalent of a cup of gas… I had run out last minute to a doctor’s appointment sans any money, driver’s license (don’t tell my husband the state trooper!), nothing… My eldest had left the tank below empty (thanks, Court!). I made it to the doctor’s literally on fumes and then found the much-appreciated coins through a quick search of the car..

Rather than letting it aggravate me, I really did think instead of what I would have done without those quarters. I was so relieved that I didn’t run out of gas, I even joked with the Cumby’s salesperson rather than be so shallow as to be embarrassed by this amusing purchase of exactly $1 of gas made in coins no less at a time when the price of gas was over $4…

Now, if I had actually run out of gas, I hope I would have put that into perspective as well.

Reminds me of a new something for which to be grateful… The lower cost of gas… $2.25 today in Ipswich. I know it is actually a reflection of the economy being in the tank, but perhaps it is true, maybe every cloud really does have a silver lining…

Thanks for the moments of gratitude gals. 20 points for each of you!

If you are reading this and it is still 2008…you may add your own moment of gratitude, whether big or small, and you’ll “earn” 20 clutter credits, too! N.

p.s. Along with a healthy dose of gratitude, a good sense of humor can go a long way to making the best of any situation…