fundraising event details...!

many of you have been inquiring the details for this event, my apologies for the delay as i've been fixated on my exit exam!  but to those who want to attend, here you are:

WHEN: july 30th

WHERE: 292 townsend street, san francisco, ca 94107

WHAT: silent auction and general farewell "do"

the location is the newest addition to the bloomspot workspace (bloomspot was my employer these last 3 months) and, incidentally, a former art gallery.  we've had one work related event there to date and it is just asking for good times.  my lovely friend jennifer has arranged for three DJs to spin over the course of the night and we have all sorts of goodies up for auction and general sale.  here is a list to give you an idea:

• gift certificate to boulevard (SF) ($100 value)
• gift certificate to monk's kettle (SF) ($50 value)
• gift certificate to allsaint's spitalfields (SF) ($25 value)
• one hour photo session with Katie Jewell-Colomb ($85 value)
• dinner for four (food only) provided by Meg Goldsmith ($250 value)
• two night weekend (three night weekday) stay at lovely bodega bay home ($600 value)

as for refreshments, we will have cookies and brownies for dessert and bruschetta made with  fresh tomatoes and basil from the UC Davis student farm.  i'm working on getting a keg donated, but if worse comes to worse i might purchase one in the hopes of recouping some money from the auction.  so come!  spend money!  and send me to Africa in style!

two weeks...

i'd be lying it i said i was entirely at ease with the impending departure.  there is much to do, much to resolve, and much to accomplish in these final two weeks and if the mental preparatory battles weren't mountainous enough, i'm knee deep in studying for my master's exit exam.  much to my own surprise, i'm finding much pleasure in preparing for it, though the limited time and abundant material aren't exactly complimentary.  so while writing this, i am calming my nerves by eating my body weight in chunky monkey ice cream and watching bad (emphasis on bad) television.  oh, and using piles of academic papers for a blanket.

this past week has been quite interesting with respect to the TZ preparations.  it is quite rare to be so intimately involved in a non-profit in its foundational years and it is both rewarding (to see how much value is placed upon your input) and frustrating (to see how many holes are within the existing system).  and with so many project coordinators being in their early 20's, i feel somewhat isolated in my concerns regarding health care coverage, student loan payments, and a number of other parts of life that not even i dealt with five years ago.  but just as i felt the weight of these issues bearing upon me, i had a chat with the two participants in Kwakiliga last year and heard the warmth in their voices when describing the people we are soon to meet.  little did i know how many there would be: the village numbers 1,000!

and as always, a remarkably humble "thank you" for the continued donations.  without so much as a peep from yours truly, another $600 come in through the pipelines!  $4,087 to date and we STILL have the  event on July 30th!

over half way...

reuters just released an article regarding the worsening famine conditions in East Africa in the coming year, specifically Kenya and Somalia.  the current, flawed favoritism towards using "big" agriculture to combat food shortages is often at the expense of climate health and the  [fiscal] survival  of small family farms who need profits and sustenance most.  but having gauged the amount of arable land relative to growing food demands, the U.N. recently released a statement that "small farms [are the] key to global food security".  read up! it will help you to better understand the need to improve the efficiency of subsistence farmers with limited resources.  wait...i'm doing that!

as for fundraising ... rock on, folks, we've reached $3,487 which means we're well over the $2,000 minimum required before my departure on the third of august.  talk about stress alleviation ... the proverbial mercury is a-rising!  in other news, we're collecting donated items for two different auctions: one is through bidding for good which is currently "live" with 2Seeds items, and the other is for a fundraiser scheduled for july 30th in san francisco.  if you have any goodies (i.e. gift certificates, coffee beans, time shares, etc) please offer 'em up for the sale!