Extra Chance to Donate Your Business Attire to Those WORKING HARD to improve their circumstances

February sure does fly by! In fact, it came and went so quickly that I haven’t delivered the suits, business attire and accessories yet. For scheduling reasons, I had to postpone my delivery trip to Tuesday, March 3rd. So, if you were hoping to clear the clutter from your closets, dressers and other crammed storage spaces and thought you missed your chance to DeClutter your suits For Good ~ because of brief February, of course ~ just reply to this message to arrange a drop off before Tuesday.

 

FYI, Solutions At Work is the service organization I have chosen to partner with for this event. You can read more about how your business attire and accessories can help those working hard at the job of improving their situations and why I chose Solutions At Work by clicking here or go directly to their website by clicking here.

 

Bear in mind that Solutions At Work takes more than just men’s and women’s suits. They accept accessories including fashion jewelry, scarves, neckties, shoes and handbags. As far as clothing, from skirts and blouses to business dresses and casual business attire for men and women, they use all the donations to help those who are working hard to improve their circumstances to put their best foot forward as they move toward personal independence and increased happiness and self-esteem. In addition, Solutions At Work partners with other service organizations for items that, for whatever reason, don’t meet their needs.

Emergency Warm Clothing Drive Update – Ipswich drop-off locations

In response to a great need for children’s warm clothing, the Ipswich High School National Honor Society has organized an emergency clothing drive. The clothing will be donated to Cradles to Crayons, a great organization that distributes clothing to needy children throughout the state, via hundreds of social service providers.

For all the warm coat drives that take place (which are great), there is a shortage of warm clothing in general ~ from long-sleeved shirts, sweaters and sweatshirts, to cozy jammies and robes and long pants. Larger kids clothing sizes are in particularly dire need for the pre-teens who are known for coming in all shapes and sizes as their bodies start that wonderful process known as adolescence. Which reminds me ~ If your pre-teens have been through a growth spurt, you might have some warm clothing that fit your child(ren) last fall and suddenly and quickly have somehow “shrunk” ~ no longer fitting that pre-teen who is growing before your very eyes.

Drop-off locations include all of the Ipswich school lobbies, the YMCA and the Ipswich Public Library.

You can read all about Cradles to Crayons by visiting their website or simply by searching via my search tool in the right-hand column (I’ve blogged about C2C a lot!).

If you are aware of a local organization that isn’t currently partnering with Cradles to Crayons that might be able to use some warm kids’ clothes, as well, please encourage them to contact me directly.

3/16 Update ~ Drop-Offs are welcome Sunday, 3/22, at  the Time Well Spent pre-launch office.

Salem Film Fest 2009 ~ February 26th – March 5th

From the Salem Film Fest Main Page:

As America enters a new era of enhanced engagement with the global community, the Salem Film Fest mounts its second festival of world cinema, presenting films that beautifully and intimately convey the human experience with all its inspiration, challenge, sadness, and joy.

The festival selection committee has chosen 22 films from all over the world. Fifteen of the filmmakers plan to attend the festival, which promises rich filmmaker discussions and after-party experiences.

“The films we chose for this year’s festival are as entertaining and thought provoking as last year, when audiences loved the lineup,” said Joe Cultrera, Salem-based award-winning filmmaker who headed up the selection committee. “It’s an eclectic mix – documenting the lives of heavy metal rockers, an oppressed artist, a caring doctor, circus performers, scientists and beauty queens. You can travel a good portion of the planet through these films – to Chile, Australia, the Amazon, the Ukraine, Antarctica, Cairo, China, New Orleans, Argentina, Tibet and more.

“They explore the human experience, what we do to the Earth and to one another. We’re extremely proud to bring the great work of these filmmakers to Salem and we are lucky that so many of them want to travel here to join us for discussions. It’s a great way to show off Salem to them and to bring the lives and stories they have documented to Salem.”

 

If you can spare a few minutes to check out the schedule, do it! If you can give yourself the gift of a few hours in Salem viewing one of the films, all the better. Here’s the schedule.

I just attended the VIP Reception for members of the Creative Economy of the North Shore. There was quite a crowd at the Salem Cinema Cafe including local acting teacher Debra Crosby and musician Mamoudo.

I also had a brush with greatness when I met the nice couple, Peter Noyes and Nanny Pope, who own the Hannah Glover, a boat used in many of the the films that have been made on Cape Ann… They were lovely and had actually met Leonardo DiCaprio, not to mention Martin Scorsese and others, during last year’s filming of Ashecliffe, based on Denise Lehane’s Shutter Island.  (In an effort to be transparent and authentic, I admit an admiration for Leo, his acting ability and his environmental stewardship activities ~ okay, he’s not bad on the eyes either!)

In all seriousness and based on just a passing understanding of the subject, I know that the growing film industry in Massachusetts owes props to author Lehane and local-born actor/director Ben Affleck, for starters. Based on the Salem Film Fest, I can see that Massachusetts has many folks who support the growth of the film industry in our state, rich with beauty and history. So much to say about how the film industry can give a boost to the local economy ~ yes, a post for another day.

Do check out the Salem Film Fest site, even if the event has ended, to see the amazing people and projects celebrated at this special event.

Old Route One GreenWay Vision

Okay, I know I need to focus on Time Well Spent, getting the business plan finalized including those dreaded financial pro-forma statements, BUT I just need to get this idea on the weblog and out of my head (for the time being)…

My research has taken me virtually all over the country (get it? virtually…), learning about lots of wonderful businesses that embrace the triple-bottom-line (all together now: serving a social and an environmental mission in a financially-self-sustaining business model based on effective and efficient use of proven business concepts)…

Bear in mind, I have a strong belief in the concentric nature of communities… from neighborhood, to town, to suburb, to region, to state, to country to the global community. I believe that Think Globally & Act Locally works within and through those concentric communities. So, when discussions start about growing the Local Economy and Sustainability and the like, I immediately envision what one geographic area could do to improve the local situation, economically, socially and environmentally, and I see those steps being played out similarly in local economies across the country… Picture one pebble thrown in a pond. Now picture a whole handful… See how the concentric circles between to intersect. That’s the reality of our living communities on Earth today… The ripple effect can be positive or negative, but there is no denying that it exists as each community ultimately impacts others.

With that in mind, I think there are several potential organizations that could provide the cornerstones for a more sustainable foundation, a socially and environmentally responsible local economy where all stakeholders benefit from the existence of each organization (aka social enterprise, conscious capitalism, lots of names all spelling the oppostive of profit-only motivated organizations)… Have I lost you? I hope not. Read on for some examples that might help bring my vision into focus…

Local readers will know what I mean when I mention Old Route One… For everyone else: Route 1 is a secondary highway that runs in a north-south direction through Massachusetts. OLD Route One is the portion on the North of Boston end where the divided highway of end-to-end retail space gives way to the undivided section of hills that rollercoaster up and down for several miles, through Topsfield and past the Topsfield Fairgrounds, leveling off in Ipswich and continuing through Rowley, along the marshes of Newbury and into Newburyport, a tourist and creative hub with a growing environmental mindset that is poised to lead the growing green movement north of Boston.

On the North Shore, we have a Greenbelt already – The Essex County Greenbelt – a conservation-based organization that has amassed quite a bit of protected land in perpetuity… It’s quite a lovely place to live and raise a family, if I do say so… All that protected space is a fabulous treasure, but what’s the point if the surrounding communities are filled with people struggling to make ends meet or industries challenging the very ecosystems that the Greenbelt celebrates. To make the area an even better place to live, in terms of sustainability and environmentally-friendly business growth and the consequences for the communities of residents, I’ve imagined the Old Route One GreenWay…

Along Old Route One are many lots of land for sale, some already built out with various manufacturing and business outcroppings. What better way to stimulate the economy and set a wonderful example for other suburban communities throughout the country than to build out the area with mindful awareness of the triple-bottom-line? Creating a thread of conscious capitalism tying various businesses across several industries together with a common commitment to community, in both human and environmental terms…

Building on the latest ideas that are already out there  this paradigm-changing time, here are a few enterprises that just might work on my fantasy Old Route One GreenWay:

A used bookstore a la More Than Words… Decluttering books from our homes but saving them from the landfills… Including some job training for at-risk youth (or another group representing those in need of support), as More Than Words has done, ups the benefit tally… I’ve blogged about MTW a lot – just search for them in the right-hand column search tool.

A clothing donation center to meet adult needs a la Cradles to Crayons efforts for children. A place for the efficient processing and dissemination of  business attire, basic clothing needs, winter coats and such, prom gowns, etc. All efficiently run under one roof via partnering relationships with service organizations throughout the greater Boston, North Shore and seacoast areas, thus taking the burden off of them so they can focus on their main goals of rehabilitation, job and life skill training and the like… Cradles to Crayons is another organization that I’ve blogged about for those interested in reading more of my take on this wonderful business model.

A multi-topic recycling center like Canada-based Raven Recycling .  This for all those items that we can’t repurpose at Time Well Spent… same idea of getting the stuff to the right hands, partnering with values-based organizations.

An architectural and building salvage company… Lots of examples here, many of which employ those faced with the challenges of a trying past, for any number of reasons. A favorite of mine is Renew Salvage in Brattleboro, VT, a place I’ve visited when taking my daughter to summer dance camp. Brattleboro’s pretty cool, in general, and a visit to Renew Salvage is like a treasure hunt for lovers of all things architectural and salvage-able.

Here’s a bit from their website:

ReNew’s mission is to contribute to and encourage the preservation and renewal of the Earth’s natural resources and to support low-income families to build, remodel and repair their homes.

To accomplish our mission, we:

Operate a recycled and “green” building materials store

Provide deconstruction services

Educate the general public, home owners, & builders about reuse alternatives

Provide job skills training opportunities for individuals

Support nonprofit groups who share our mission

Here are a few more of the same, just to point out that this idea is being replicated in many communities in a variety of ways: 

Build It Green NYC!

Buffalo Reuse

Boston-based Building Material Resource Center ~ a great example of serving those in need and the environment, this organization has a non-profit and for-profit, with donated building materials being sold to those less fortunate working to improve their living space.

I have a few more ideas along more industrial lines that would indeed not work in one suburb after the next.  I’m going to save those to share with my local contacts ~ that makes good business sense and still reflects conscious capitalism…

I’d love to hear what other inspired local folks think of some of the ideas set forth here… the Old Route One Greenway, in general, and some of  the specific possibilities. Anyone interested in hearing about those ideas that I’ve still got up my sleeve, feel free to call/text/email or reply to this post.

Inspired by Old Suitcases ~ That’s Not Weird, Is It?

Thank goodness for the internet! Just when you think you might be the only person on the earth who thinks old suitcases are cool, you find a kindred spirit.  I found a blog called Poetic Home today ~ where the blogger is a wonderful photographer along with being incredibly creative and inspired by many of the same things I am… including, that’s right, old suitcases! So, if you have any old suitcases tucked away, feel free to bring them by Time Well Spent for some creative repurposing!

Check out the suitcase turned medicine cabinet from the Poetic Home blog and visit the blog for several more great pics of old suitcases reborn with new purpose:

DeClutter For Good Business Attire Update ~ Help Me Hit 50 Suits

I am trying to meet a rather lofty goal (under the circumstances of still being pre-launch) of 50 suits/business accessories donated for this month’s DeClutter for Good drive. I will be headed to Cambridge (Solutions At Work) on Friday to make the delivery, so we really have all week to gather donations.

 I’m going to try to be at the office this week, Monday-Wednesday, from 11- 3 each day. If you’d like to drop in with some donations (or empty-handed to say hello…), please do! Call the cell if you want to make sure I’m in – 617/548-6340… Neighbors, feel free to bring them to the house (call first 978/356-6987)… Dance families, I can meet you in the NSPAC parking lot…  Folks closer to Brooksby Village can stop by my folks place…  etc.

Need directions to the office? Click here:  http://twsblog.wordpress.com/driving-directions/

All kinds of accessories are needed like shoes, ties, handbags as well as suits, shirts, business skirts and the like. Large sizes are needed in particular, as well. Your help is appreciated if you happen to have the items needed and can take a few minutes to DeClutter For Good!

 

If this request makes you think of someone you know who might like to participate, of course, feel free to pass this email along.

 

Get outside and look to the sun for a good dose of Vitamin D!

February’s DeClutter For Good Focus~ Business attire and accessories for Solutions at Work ~ helping people help themselves out of tough circumstances

Ready for this month’s DeClutter For Good focus?

 (Don’t be scared now!) This month, we are headed into the far corners of our closets, dressers and any other location where we’ve stashed (or stuffed) no-longer-used business suits,  shirts, skirts, blazers, ties, costume jewelry, shoes, handbags and briefcases. 

To read all the where, when and what details, click here or just scroll down to the February 9th post.

For the most part, we will be giving this month’s donated business items to Solutions at Work, a Cambridge-based organization that provides 3 full business outfits to clients who are referred by area service organizations. To learn more about their program, visit the Solutions at Work website by clicking here.

There are a variety of circumstances that lead to a point where men and women turn to organizations like Solutions at Work for help. They’ve been working hard to find their way out of difficult circumstances ~ whether initially of their own creation or not ~ from victims of physical abuse, emotional abuse or substance abuse, to those living through homelessness or incarceration ~ any of these situations, at times, complicated by emotional or physical disabilities.

After participating in valuable rehabilitative and/or training programs through various, MA-based, service organizations, these individuals are ready to take the next important step on the road to self-sufficiency ~  employment.. The services provided by Solutions at Work, initiated through referrals from these area service organizations,  helps those in need put their best foot forward in interviewing and employment settings.

If you are aware of service organizations on the North Shore that serve individuals who would benefit from the Solutions at Work program, please let them know about Solutions at Work, or feel free to encourage them to contact Time Well Spent.

 Don’t worry whether something is out of style or in less than perfect condition this month! I plan to use outdated neckties, suits and such to build the repurposing material supply in the Workshop. For some inspiring photos of examples of the sorts of repurposed products that will be available at Time Well Spent, click here to go to my photoblog called Picture This @ Time Well Spent. There are tons of fabulous examples of business-wear repurposed into all kinds of things on the internet ~ Google It! 

This great chair was creatively refurbished in Maine. Go to www.dellamano.com to see more beautiful and inspired repurposed creations!

New to the DeClutter For Good concept at Time Well Spent? Our ongoing efforts are intended to inspire suburbanites to clear the clutter that’s getting in the way in our homes (and our lives) in an easy and meaningful way. By combining our decluttering efforts and working with worthwhile service organizations, we will maximize the positive impact of our purposeful decluttering … Time Well Spent! Use the search tool in the right-hand column and search for the key term “declutter for good” to read all about the concept.

Ipswich National Honor Society Community Service Project ~ Emergency Warm Clothing Drive

Scroll down for the post describing the NHS warm clothing drive and you’ll find several links to posts describing the critical need that exists for warm clothing (not just winter coats!)… Here’ the jpg of the flier. If you are reading this and live in the Ipswich area, please print it and post it… Comment or contact me if you need the flier in a different format:

Ipswich National Honor Society's Warm Clothing Drive is being run in response to a desperate need for warm clothes for MA children in need.

February DeClutter For Good ~ Suits and Business Attire for Women & Men

Help Time Well Spent reach our goal

of a total of 50 suits donated this month

and watch for the results next month!

 

 For Whom?        To Benefit Men and Women Working to Improve

                                 Their Lives in the Face of Rough Times

 With Whom?      TBA * 

 What?                   Suits & Business Attire for Men & Women

                                 (In very good condition, please. Suitable for interviewing and/or a daily business setting.)

Suits

Blazers

Slacks

Skirts

Shirts

Accessories

Shoes

Scarves

Belts

Handbags

Briefcases

 When?                 Saturday, February 21st, 10am-4pm **

 Where?                Time Well Spent Pre-Launch Office
                                89 Turnpike Drive/Route 1, Ipswich, MA

 * I’m currently researching different organizations that work to provide business attire to men and women in need in the north of Boston area. I strive to partner with organizations that provide an efficient system of gathering and distributing items at no cost to those in need. I also intend to seek out organizations invested in helping individuals actively improve their circumstances through training and support systems that counsel, educate and empower them to strive for a brighter future for themselves and their families.

 ** If you can’t make it Saturday the 21st, please contact me for alternative drop-off arrangements. 

Don’t worry whether something is out of style or in less than perfect condition this month! I plan to use outdated neckties, suits and such to build the repurposing material supply in the Workshop.

 Want to find out if we reached the 1000 book goal during the January DeClutter For Good Book drive?

Click here for the blog post announcing the results.

 New to the DeClutter For Good concept?
Click here for my blog post explaining the concept.

Interested in synchronizing your decluttering with our effort to help others?

Click here for the DeClutter For Good tentative monthly schedule.

 Know of an organization that could benefit from our DeClutter For Good efforts to provide business attire for adults working to improve their circumstances?

Contact me by  leaving a blog comment or go to my contact page for other options!

Finally, the incentive you need to attack the farthest reaches of your closet!

Ipswich National Honor Society to Conduct an Emergency Clothing Drive

In response to a great need for children’s warm clothing, the Ipswich High School National Honor Society will be organizing an emergency clothing drive. Along with helping local organizations, the clothing will be donated by Cradles to Crayons which distributes clothing to needy children throughout the state at no cost via hundreds of social service providers.

NHS Advisor Scott Ames is an amazing asset to the Ipswich school system for his work not only as head of the Social Studies Dept but for all his additional work with the Performing Arts Center and all his “tekkies” as well as his work with the junior community service requirement. Scott is calling a mandatory NHS meeting this week to work out the details of the drive. I’ll update this post once I have more to share.

 In the meantime, get the kids involved and start going through the outgrown or unused winter clothes in your house. Cradles to Crayons follows a “good enough for your own child” guideline, something to keep in mind.

To learn more about Cradles to Crayons, visit their website by clicking here or search for the keyword “cradles” in the right-hand column of this weblog and you’ll find plenty to read about my relationship with C2C  as I have developed my DeClutter For Good efforts.