Project Kinect at Work: Carts for Community

We are in our second year of the Carts for Community Internship Program. This program is a workforce incubator created to teach teenagers from economically challenged communities in Madison food safety, food management, small business, and entrepreneurial skills. In it’s second year, the internship will go from four students to ten students, add on community partners including REAP Food Group and University of Wisconsin food services department. We will also be working with Second Harvest Foodbank, Sysco Foods, and Let’s Eat Out.

The project could not be done without the help of our other partner, Briarpatch Youth Services. Together, we are so excited to launch our second year of this five year development and sustainability goal.

However, THIS CANNOT BE SUCCESSFUL WITHOUT YOU!

Carts for Community has launched their crowdfunding campaign to raise the money still needed to accomplish these summer endeavors. Please give today to help bridge Madison communities for a better future. Carts for Community is using the Generosity platform which focuses on helping nonprofits with their community engagement work.

A little more about Carts for Community:

Carts for Community, INC is a new non-profit organization created by Christine Ameigh, founder of Let’s Eat Out! and owner of Slide food cart and her partner Jessica Wartenweiler, owner of Curd Girl food cart. Their vision is to use local food as a vehicle for community building, place making and economic development.

MISSION

Carts for Community seeks to affect social change through food. We are currently seeking funding for two of our programs: our community dinner program and our youth workforce development program.

COMMUNITY DINNERS

Food is a unifying force that brings people together across age, income and culture. Our organization hosts community food cart dinners as a way to bring people together across cultural and economic divides and create a sense of place and gathering spot in Madison communities where few such places exist. The Wisconsin Council on Children and Families recently released a study that says “Many African-Americans live in geographically isolated neighborhoods in and around Madison that lack basic infrastructure, including a major employer, church or social gathering spots.” In addition to providing a social gathering spot for people to connect throughfood, we also offer free children’s programming, live music, free local produce, and meal subsidies to neighbors in need, so that cost isn’t a limiting factor for participation. The ultimate goal is to decrease food insecurity while increasing community cohesion.

The 2016 food cart community dinners will take place in three Madison food deserts (South Park Street, Allied Drive, and the Meadowood neighborhood) which the USDA defines as low-income communities that lack ready access to healthy food. The dinners will take place from June 13th-August 4th for a total of 24 events, eight in each of the above neighborhoods. The projected number of people that will be impacted by our events is at least 2400. We also employ two people from within the community as community ambassadors who work on the ground at each of the events engaging children and families in activities.

Partnerships with community groups, the City of Madison, neighborhoods resource teams and faith communities are key to our success. We’ve consulted extensively with other organizations to position our program for the best chance of success. Our goal is to establish partnerships with 8 different organizations and have each organization provide a different activity or service at all 3 locations for one of the 8 weeks our program is operating. By working together we can avoid duplicitous efforts and increase the number of people we are serving. Last year’s collaborators included: REAP Food Group, MSCR, Madison Public Library, Mothers In The Neighborhood, Budget Bicycle Center, Madison Fire Department, and the Madison Police Department.

Please take 5 minutes now and give to this amazing project!

Even more information….

More about our work with Carts for Community and Let’s Eat Out.

Cap Times article about this year’s internship program.

March 21, 2014October 21, 2014

Causes We Love: Gender Identification

Recently my dear friend, co-host, business partner and non-sexual life partner wrote an Open Letter to Ru Paul. It was a great vehicle to share some honest and truthful thoughts on language used to reference the Transgender community. More importantly, the article expresses the relationship in the LGBT community and how often, the LGB are not respective of the T. It is a letter that also reveal vulnerability. Here is a teaser…

I would like to express my frustration with your show. I have, over the years, enjoyed the show mostly due to the fact that so many of friends have participated in it one way or another. At the current time I am just exhausted.

Don’t get me wrong, I do understand the drag culture very well and first hand but I find the show’s constant use of offensive terms to be deplorable and unacceptable.

To read the entire letter and learn more about this phenomenal woman, check out Dinamartinez.com.

To donate to the work that Dina is getting done to better assist her in her efforts of advocacy in the LGBT community, check out her Go Fund Me.

May 29, 2013April 14, 2014

Clinton School All Over the Map

Last week there was an article by the Arkansas Times that discussed my class and all of our summer projects. It shared this map and just looking at it is pretty amazing. These people have become my family and to just get a glimpse of what they will accomplish is extraordinary.

Here is the link to the entire article. Arkansas Times

Here is a bit more on my project:

With the rise of refugees entering the city of Johannesburg from Zimbabwe over the last twelve years, Paballo ya Batho has had to spread already limited resources among a much larger group of homeless people. The increased demand for resources did not allow for any strategic thought on how to handle this rise of need. In 2006, with the help of local lawyers, Central Methodist Mission and Paballo ya Batho was able to stop the city of Johannesburg from moving poor people out of the inner city. The success of stopping this city decision is fantastic but there still needs to be systemic change in order to better meet the needs of the homeless population while empowering them to reclaim their position in the community. By conducting assets mapping, best practice work, and program capacity measurement, insight may help develop future project decisions thus meeting the needs of the homeless community.

November 4, 2012December 22, 2012

Current Kinecting: Hurricane Sandy and the Rockaways

Thank you to everyone already helping out with the relief from Hurricane Sandy. In Queens in Long Island there is a place called the Rockaways that has been devastated. Unfortunately because of geography, local politics, damage and debris, clean up is not happening as efficiently and with a sense of urgency as it needs to. Temperatures are dropping and residents are without the tools to get through this. Below is a list of links for you to help or share. If you have links to add, please add them in comment boxes.

Right now, Project Kinect is in contact with local leaders in the Roackaways to get food, water and tools to them out of Little Rock, AR. If you are able to assist with this endeavor, please email me at gregg@projectkinect.com.

*If you donate money, Project Kinects asks that you first make sure you are donating to an organization that will be giving the procedes directly to those who are in need of relief.

Most immediate right now are: Please contact Project Kinect with any information on donations of the following goods

Work Boots: Mens sizes 11-14

Batteries

Blankets

Water

Links for Further Assistance

Rockaways: Hurricane Sandy Facebook Page

Giving Back to Those Affected by Sandy

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo homepage

Occupy Sandy Relief

Federal Emergency Management Agency: Direct number (800)621-3362

March 5, 2012March 5, 2012

Monday Spotlight: Tornado Relief

Last week, in the matter of just a few days we experienced as many tornadoes as we sometimes see in an entire year. This takes a lot of help and organization to clean up and so I wanted to set this Monday toward getting some of this information out there. In the next few days I will set up a full-page here on Project Kinect for all this information by location with detailed information but for right now, this is what I can get out there. As said in today’s Washington Post, FEMA is just getting prepared to provide tornado relief so maybe this can begin as a conversation with everyone on how to expedite this procedure and not see what we saw in Tuscaloosa, Alabama last spring. In this, I am including the states involved with the majority of the devastation last week.

Federal Emergency Management Agency(FEMA)

Region 4 out of Atlanta: Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Tennessee

Telephone Numbers:
Main Number: 770.220.5200
Fax Number: 770.220.5230

Mailing Address:
Federal Emergency Management Agency
3003 Chamblee Tucker Road
Atlanta, GA 30341

Media Inquiries: 770.220.5226

Region 5 out of Chicago: Illinois, Ohio, Indiana

Mailing Address 536 South Clark St., 6th Floor
Chicago, IL 60605
(312) 408-5500

Media Contact

Mark Peterson
Email: mark.peterson2@dhs.gov
Telephone: 312-408-4469

As far as right now, I have only seen one facebook page for any of the cities but here is one for Northern Alabama

Here is the latest from the American Red Cross.

If you’re a college student and you want to do something impactful on your spring break, here are some ways to volunteer.

*Relief Spark: By far what I think is the most incredible disaster relief organization I have seen. Many people find volunteer opportunities with a church but if you are without a church, Relief Spark is a great place to share your gifts. They are already setting up camps throughout the south and midwest. Check out their facebook page.

*Disaster Assistance with the Church of Christ: We worked with Mike and his kitchen on wheels in Tuscaloosa. They have plenty of work to do and you definitely get to see your impact when working with them. They just arrived in Southern Indiana today.

This is just a start but if people are coming up with questions on what to do now that things are destroyed or if people want to help , then here are some beginning points. Like previously mentioned, I will have a much larger working page later this week. If you have any information that you would like to contribute to it, please email me at gregg@projectkinect.com. If you need extra help and need assistance otherwise on finding answers that have not been answered yet, i.e. free medical assistance, legal aid, water safety, paperwork help or anything else not listed, then also email me at gregg@projectkinect.com and I will make phone calls, research and help find those answers.

WE ARE ALL INVOLVED!!!

February 5, 2012February 5, 2012

A Years End And A Final Request

For the last month, I am completely locked in on staying in the state of Wisconsin. I would like to reach my hands out into the world of technology and hear from as many people as possible in this last month. How you ask? With an email, a video, or just a simple facebook or twitter message.

The largest part of my wanting to create Project Kinect was to explore connecting in this technological age. In this, how do we still fulfill that human connection that we need when we aren’t necessarily physically face to face. Through the exploration of connecting, are we really getting to know each other? Over the last year, I have gotten the chance to see some really extraordinary ways we are connecting. One of my favorites was in Austin with the Skype play, “You Don’t Know Her, She Lives in London: You Don’t Know Him, He Lives in Austin”, produced by the Hidden Room Theatre. This play used Skype to share the experience of two characters in two different apartments in two opposite parts of the world.

In this last month, I want to hear from you. With the help of technology, I would like to get as many people as possible to connect in one forum. I ask that each person that this post comes across takes a look at the questions and in a response to me via email (gregg@projectkinect.com), facebook, twitter, or a video , answers as many of the questions as they would like. In the response, please tell me your name, age, where you’re from, what you do, and any other information you would like to share about yourself. Please also add whether you would mind me sharing the basics of your input with the followers of Project Kinect. I look forward to hearing and reading all about the lives and stories of everyone.

I do have one last request. After you are done reading this post, whether or not you respond to it, please share it with your communities so that for this last month, I can truly hear from the largest group of people possible.

Thank you for your involvement to an extraordinary year!

Sincerely,

Gregg Potter

How do you define community?

Where does your inspiration come from?

How much time do you give selflessly?

What great accomplishments have any of the communities that you’re involved with completed?

What have you been a part of in your life that absolutely amazes you?

What is something about yourself that you have always wanted to share but haven’t?

If you have hesitated from doing what you want, did fear or money scare you most?

When have you been motivated to get involved with politics?

What is the last great face to face conversation that you have had?

What was the last big risk you took?

November 30, 2011November 30, 2011

Spirit Clips

I came across Spirit Clips earlier this week when it was talked about on The View. This mission is directly from their website.

SpiritClips.com is a content subscription service delivering original and acquired films that inspire and entertain audiences of all ages. We also offer our members a wealth of quality personal and professional development content aimed at enhancing positive living. From viewing Hallmark Hall of Fame movies online to watching TED Talks on mobile devices, SpiritClips meets the demand of subscribers seeking positive messages.

I am glad to have found such a website and am happy to share it here on Project Kinect. The human connection is so important and a company that supports that, as well as enhancing positive living is so incredible. Spend some time on the website and just soak it in and above all, share it.

This is one of the short films that was made by Spirit Clips. It really portrays what we always seem to forget as humans: You never know where generosity and kindness will come from so don’t judge!

Due to the embeded code being private, here is the link. http://youtu.be/A_8kuHtgMV0 It is definitley worth the click and the opening of a new window.

I wanted to end this post with another feel good thing that I have recently seen. I know that this is an REI commercial, but it is so true with how when we aren’t judging, we can let the spontaneity of life just make our story. This commercial shows just how some uncontrolable power will change out course and introduce us to new people or amazing new places. In this commercial, that uncontrolable power is just a little rain. If you can get past that the company is trying to sell you stuff, it is a pretty amazing statement.

October 2, 2011

An Update from the Disaster Assistance Program

Tracy and Mike stop for a picture in between making lunches for locals and volunteers. By the time Alyssa, Tracy and I left Tuscaloosa, there had been over 36,000 lunches served out of that motor home

I like to pass these emails on to the website from time to time to just share what else is happening and how are other ways that we can all connect and help in each other’s lives. I met Mike Baumgartner while we were in Tuscaloosa helping out at the Church of Christ food and distribution center. He and his motor home have been all over the country since we last saw them at the end of June. Currently Mike is in Bastrop, TX helping up with the clean up from the wild-fires that burned over 1554 homes at the beginning of September. This fire, coming from one of the worst droughts that Texas has ever seen where some are mentioning that it could last up to fifteen years. The Disaster Assistance team from the Church of Christ is always on the move and even if you aren’t from that particular church, it is still beneficial to take note of what other individuals are doing to help out in other communities. I know when we helped out with them in Tuscaloosa, we weren’t the only volunteers there that didn’t have an affiliation with the church.

Here is Mike’s latest email….

Many thanks to the thousands of volunteers that have and are helping us. We feel your efforts are much more than a minimum wage estimate. We know that weather you help 1 hr, 1 day, 1 week or more that the time you give is PRICELESS!!!!!!!!

At the present time here in Bastrop, TX at the Bastrop Church of Christ there is only two full time mission groups that are he…lping. Disaster Relief(Nashville) is providing part of the supplies and Disaster Assistance CoC is working onsite 24/7 with the Elders on all phases of this relief effort(homeowner fire damage cleanup, meal prep, supply distribution and all volunteer coordination for these efforts). Like at our past mission works we plan on being here as long as the Elders of Bastrop CoC feel we are needed.

I also want to thank the Elders and the members here at Bastrop CoC for all there help and support. So many of them are here everyday to make sure things are running smoothly. Also many other churches have sent volunteers, supplies and funds to help this work Thank You Thank You Thank You.

As always we still need three things:

Your Prayers
Volunteers
Funds

To Volunteer or Donate go to: www.disasterassistancecoc.com

—
Mike Baumgartner
Disaster Assistance CoC
Combating Natural Disasters with Acts of God
281-881-1876
www.disasterassistancecoc.com

October 1, 2011October 4, 2011

Occupying the Country

Today is day fifteen of Occupy Wall Street. This is a small movement that is growing exponentially not only in Manhatten, but through the whole of our country. Here is a list of what I could find for times and places for different protests throughout the country today and I will attempt to keep this updated frequently. This isn’t about politics, race, gender, sexual orientation but about the well being of the majority of our country. The more you get active, the more you learn about the entire situation and the more you can make your own decisions on what actions you take.

WE ARE ALL INVOLVED

Protests set for October 1^st

Washington D.C.: McPhearson Square. I couldn’t find a time but I imagine people are already there. Occupy D.C.

Boston: Dewey Square, Occupy Boston

Chicago: I couldn’t find anything yet but my guess is near Michigan and Congress, Occupy Chicago

Dallas: Federal Reserve Building 2200 North Pearl Street. Occupy Dallas

Los Angeles: 10:00am Pershing Square, Occupy Los Angeles

Seattle: 10:00am-7pm, West Lake Center Plaza, Occupy Seattle

San Fransisco: Occupy San Fransisco

Also keep checking Occupy Together for the most up to date information for the entire country. I will keep adding as I can. Here is the footage from Susan Surandon. I really appreciate her sharing her views on how change starts from the bottom, not the top and that she is confident that we have “the tool kit to do this non-violently.” Thank you to bYarlboro for putting this video up in its whole.

August 27, 2011August 28, 2011

A Moment with Irene

I just want to send my prayers to everyone on the east coast as you prepare for Irene. We understand that she is losing speed and momentum but be safe and please take precautions. As we all say, hope for the best and prepare for the worst. A good preparation website is ready.gov. After a week with heat and an earthquake, lets hope that there will be a break for our east coast loved ones.

Here is a great example of community using technology from CNN’s ireport. It is a collaboration of reporters and CNN ireporters. In this open report, there is coverage and pictures from all over the path of Irene.

Send me your pictures and video of how you are getting through Irene…

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Links for Further Assistance

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