Wells Fargo has graciously donated 3 computers to Hunter's Point Family to replace the ones stolen less than three weeks ago. They've worked quickly to help us get these back out to the kids. We'll be posting more once we've delivered the computers... early next week is the plan.
If you have yet to open a bank account in your life or are tired of your bank's crap, Think about taking the money out from under your mattress and opening a Wells Fargo checking account.
Last Thursday Noah and I went to visit Hunter's Point Family (HPF), the organization that will receive the proceeds from the Economic Stimulus Party. HPF has several really cool programs for youth in the community, and we wanted to let everyone how much their donations will be appreciated.
When we arrived we were warmly greeted by Takai Tyler, the Executive Director of HPF. Takai told us about some of the challenges faced by the youth in Hunters Point and how the 3 main programs run by HPF address those needs. We asked Takai if there were any big-ticket items that money from the party could go towards as a way of making the donations more concrete. It turns out they need a van to take the kids around for their Peacekeepers program. Each of their 3 major programs had a van. They did that is, until the van from Peacekeepers was impounded.
Why was the van impounded? The program director of the Peacekeepers was murdered outside his daughter's basketball game on January 12th, this year. As he had driven some kids from the neighborhood to the game in the van, it is being held during the investigation, and Hunter's Point Family is now without a van for one of it's programs. A couple charitable organizations have agreed to match any funds that HPF puts up toward buying another van, but they don't have enough money yet for the full payment. The donation from this party will allow them to afford a new van for their Peacekeeprs program.
Takai was generous enough with her time to take us on a tour of the neighborhood that HPF supports as well as each of the programs' facilities.The first place we visit is a program called Girls 2000. The program offers girls aged 10-18 a safe place to go after school to do homework, take classes about life-skills, learn how to use computers, etc. Well, the center was broken into recently and the thieves stole all their computers, among other things. Currently, they do not have a single working computer in the center for the girls to use for their schoolwork, browse the internet, or learn basic computer skills. If anyone has an older computer sitting around – nothing special, just a working computer that can do Office and use the internet – they would be extremely appreciative. We'll come pick it up from your place and bring it down to them.
Last story for the evening... Now we head over to one of the Urban Farmers' gardens. Urban Farmer's is a program in HPF that teaches the kids how to grow their own organic fruits and vegetables. In addition, the farm provides fresh vegetables to the community which has no supermarket (but plenty of liquor stores). A great deal of the soil in that area is polluted, but these sites have been restored and allow the youths to learn about self-reliance, sustainability, and healthy eating. This is such a great program, and should be relatively inexpensive to administer... all you need is gardeners, sunlight, and water. The water has been shut off to this garden.
For the few days before our visit, Mama Sylvia, the Garden Coordinator, said she'd been on the phone with various city agencies trying to figure out why the water had been shut off and what she needed to do to get it back on. No answers yet, still just trying to get in touch with the right people. She was able to get some assistance from the fire department who ran a hose from the fire hydrant to try and save the crops, but it's not a long-term solution.
We can't imagine what other obstacles they've had to overcome to provide this positive environment for the children, but needless to say, everyone's involvement in this party is truly appreciated by Hunter's Point Family. With or without this donation, Hunter's Point Family will still keep doing what it's doing - and do it well - but in the end, the more help they get, the more they can help the kids. By the way, the party is still going to be awesome. We've been looking for a way to apply our drinking habits to a good cause for a long time, and this is one of the best we can imagine.
Love and Respect,
Mark
Noah
Terray Rogers - Dreams From Her Father - this is about the Peacekeepers Program Director that was murdered on January 12th. Article from Sports Illustrated.
Hunter's Point Family Programs mentioned in the post:
Girls 2000 - GIRLS 2000 is a holistic program designed specifically to meet the needs of girls ages 10 through 18 and their families living in the Hunters Point public housing developments.
Peacekeepers - Peacekeepers is a crisis prevention, intervention, and response program that provides services to youth (10-22) and their families.
Urban Gardens - Participants grow organic produce and distribute it to families in the community, every Thursday, at HPF’s community food pantry.
A recent study by researchers at University of British Columbia and Harvard showed that spending money on other people gets you the most happiness per dollar. If you like, think of the Economic Stimulus Party as an investment in your own happiness!
We ain't making this up . . . . .
NYTimes coverage or the full Science article
Thanks to Magda Jonikas for the reference!
Mark your calendars: Saturday June 7th, 2008 (and while you have your calendar open, you might as well mark that Sunday as a wash too)
We've been getting really good feedback from the initial e-mail. Thanks to everyone that got back to us, especially with ideas about how to make it better.
We're reading through everything and will be getting back to everyone that expressed interest. We're working on the final details such as venue/date and will let everyone know as soon as we do.
If you know either of us, it shouldn't be too surprising that it's taking a bit of time, but we assure you that we are working on this on a daily basis.
Thanks,
ESP.
We’ve purchased the domain for the party. http://www.economicstimulusparty.org. This will be the central source of information about the cause.
This blog will be continually updated with news and status updates. Check back frequently to see how everything is going.
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