No, sir! This was a little bit bigger of an assignment.
Wow. Do you know what 14,400 looks like??
I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into when I agreed to help the Southern Hills United Methodist Church youth group pack lunches for Arlington Elementary students. (You may remember last week that I worked with Common Good's after school program for students that mainly attend this school-great group of kids!) I imagined it would be a few of us shooting the breeze, chatting about our days, and carefully bagging some PB&J's and carrot sticks into a few handfuls of brown bags. No, sir! This was a little bit bigger of an assignment. Brian Shumard, the church's Youth Pastor, asked me to be here at 6 and let me know that they might be a bit short-handed, so he said I could bring one to, oh, 5 extra people. Hmm, must be a lot of sammies that we needed to make. I sent out a battle cry and was able to recruit some awesome last-minute help. Casey Yohe (she is now an all-star after coming to 3 events after I recruited her from the PCAK 5k!) and her boyfriend Keith Vanderoef came out, and Tammy Bishop - a wonderful new friend of mine that you may recognize from her family's brewery, Ethereal Brewing. We arrived at Embrace Church (across the street from Arlington) and this is what I walked into. This was more than a few school lunches! As it turns out, Southern Hills gets together every 2 weeks on Tuesday at 6:00 PM here and packs lunches for 300 students for 2 weeks. Did you do the math? That's right, folks. They put together 600 lunches total each time. That is 1200 a month!.... which means.... let me get the iPhone out... 14,400 meals a year. Wow. Do you know what 14,400 looks like?? Me either. I even asked Google. It said, "I've completely failed at finding a fitting picture to help you visualize this because that's just a ridiculous number." So once we got all of us organized on either side, the speedy assembly line began! Within an hour we got through all 600 lunches and had them packed in plastic totes for delivery. So who delivers them, then? Well, the church! Using the church van, we loaded up all of the totes (I didn't get a good picture or count of these--rats!) and took them to the school, where they were offloaded into the hallway for students in the coming 2 weeks. It amazes me how little time and effort it took to affect this many children. Of course, there is fundraising by the church and a fun Sam's bulk shopping trip (or twenty) involved for these assemblies, but look at the impact they are making! Combined with the Common Good after school program at Embrace where a full dinner is provided for kids, I can't even fathom the impact that these organizations are making on these neighborhoods. I only wish more people were aware of these projects and could help! Well, I Do Want to Help. How Can I?Anyone interested in helping with bagging lunches at Embrace Church with Southern Hills Youth can reach out to Lyn Bracken at [email protected]. My earlier post and spotlight on Common Good can guide you on their program and how you can help!
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The Better Bites "Good to Go" Bike I was nothing short of elated to find out that a program like this existed in Lexington after being introduced to Anita Courtney of the Tweens Nutrition and Fitness Coalition. Being a health-minded individual with a huge interest in educating children and parents about the importance of good, whole foods, I was grateful the project led me to this discovery. Better Bites is focused at integrating wholesome, healthy snacks into kids' lives by the art of placement: if they find snacks that are good for them in the places where they naturally are (schools, concession stands, sporting events, etc.) they will be much more likely to choose them! Parents, please read on. I encourage you to reach out or get involved with such an empowering and impactful project--this is so important for our youth, especially when you know what they are being fed or offered on menus and in schools. Let's do something about it! Information on "Better Bites" can be found below and tons more on their rockin' website that's packed with good stuff; it is SO much more than just the bike program that I helped with today, and targets adults as well as kids. The program and bike itself are housed at the Plantory behind West 6th Brewery and Smithtown Seafood (two of my favorite places in Lexington--also doing wonderful, earth-friendly, community-driven things every day-love, love, love) where I met some more really great people that help out with it: Jeremy Porter (also with Seedleaf and part of the Tweens Good Neighbor Stores program), Xavia Gantz and interns Alice Tanko and Sandra Onekhena (from the Tweens Nutrition and Fitness Coalition), Reena Martin (of FoodChain), and Will Bunge (of the Urban Ninja Project). Whew, that was a lot of names and great places here in Lexington that I have met/learned about in such a short time! Simply put, the "bike" resembles an ice-cream truck bicycle but instead holds some delicious and fun snacks for kids in its trailer. It is taken to the nearby bus stop where kids can grab a good snack (they avoid using the word "healthy" which seems to be nothing short of a curse word to kids, as I'm sure we all remember from our childhoods) for free as they get off the bus and walk home or meet their parents. Today's snack was bananas and a small portion of graham crackers. Fun info cards are handed out to the kids to educate them quickly on why these are good for them (Bananas=potassium!). Even better, there is always a fun activity to promote movement as well. Today, we had Will from the Urban Ninja Project (yes, there is such a thing here in Lexington. Check it out! to show the kids some fun moves they could do. Unfortunately, things do not always go as planned. Fayette County, due to the ludicrous amount of snow and snow days we received this year, has extended the school day for an extra half hour for the rest of the year. Being slow to realize this fact, we came in from the bus stop to wait the extra 30 minutes. Will was unable to stay, but it was awesome to hear about his project! He will make and adjustment next week for Better Bites. In the meantime, Reena gave us an AMAZING tour of FoodChain, a nonprofit that provides education and hands-on training for indoor sustainable food production and processing. This would be an entirely new post itself, but seriously--check it out if you haven't. I took so many pictures at this little-known nonprofit that was more like a science center than anything. Fascinating. I might have to share! After our fun tour was over, it was back to the bus stop! We headed back out and handed the snacks out as the kids got off the bus. They were all excited to get the snacks and were all smiles. Even parents were asking for snacks, and no one was turned down! As the bus went to leave, it stopped again at the intersection-- all of the rest of the kids on the bus were excited about bananas and graham crackers though it wasn't their bus stop. They politely asked for more if there were leftovers! Of course! This was a short and sweet project (another on deck for tonight!) but I learned so much about all of the organizations involved and nearby. I wish I had time to get my hands involved in all of them and learn more. Better Bites - Youth The Tweens Nutrition and Fitness Coalition, with the help of other groups, brings more nutritionally fitting food to areas that youth gather. These can be churches, restaurants, concession stands, sporting events, etc. The ultimate goal of Better Bites is to find a way into all places that serve food in Lexington offering healthy options. The idea is that, by surrounding kids with healthy foods in all areas of their lives (home and in the school/community), it's all that they will know to eat. If they are surrounded constantly by unhealthy foods, then they will never learn any better about what to put into their bodies. It's also important to bring attention to the disconnect between a locality providing physical activity and also promoting unhealthy eating. Swimming at the pool, which offers hot dogs and ice cream, can completely negate the efforts of the activity itself. According to Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention (2012), an expert report from the Institute of Medicine, increasing access to healthy food is a key strategy for reducing obesity. Lexington Pools were the first to offer Better Bites here in Lexington. Check out more on Better Bites on their website. There is an overwhelming amount of wonderful information that I couldn't begin to sum up here. I'm giddy reading about all of the great programs that they are targeting. Again, anyone who knows me, knows how passionate I am about health and wellness-especially when it comes to youth. Better Bites @ Work (for the Adults!) We all know that us adults need help too! The Kentucky state government has teamed up with the Tweens Nutrition and Fitness Coalition to offer state employees and visitors dependable, healthy options at work with Better Bites at Work. Each menu item has been crafted by expert chefs, certified to meet nutrition standards and taste test approved. Servings are portioned by trained staff and labeled with the Better Bites logo so you always know you are making a healthy, easy choice. The program has worked its way into Lexington area restaurants as well. It mainly focuses on items that are geared towards kids on the menus-- the Better Bites icon helps to clearly identify these better choices. Restaurants that are full service list at least three items that meet the Better Bites nutrition guidelines, and smaller restaurants feature two. These may be new additions to the menu or ones that happen to already fit the guidelines on the calendar. A dietitian helps make sure the items meet the nutritional specifications and John Foster, Sullivan University culinary expert, provides guidance about making the items delicious and appealing. Click the link for more information. Check out the Tweens Nutrition Website for so much more on the variety of programs and involvement Better Bites is getting its hands in!Tweens Nutrition and Fitness Coalition at the Plantory
501 W 6th Street Suite 250 Lexington KY 40508 Facebook: Better Bites -- Snack Strong Twitter: Snack Strong For general information, contact Anita Courtney / Chairperson of the Tweens Nutrition and Fitness Coalition. [email protected] For information about Good Neighbor Stores, contact Jeremy Porter. [email protected] For information about Better Bites contact Paige Higginson. [email protected] I felt restless not having anything on the calendar for today, though I have two events scheduled for tomorrow. I decided to head to the Kentucky Blood Center to donate blood. My momma tells me that my blood type (A+) is always in need! Why didn't I think of this before? It's totally a way to give back, potentially giving LIFE to someone! I felt pretty good about this impromptu decision slapped onto my calendar after having such great momentum. When I got there, I filled out all the bubbles on the paperwork asking me about travels and contact with potentially sick people. The phlebotomist took me in the little curtained room, stuck me in both middle fingers in order to get an accurate iron reading, then did other screening tests to make sure I was qualified to donate. I've donated many times before, so wasn't worried. But when it came time for blood pressure... I measured incredibly low. Both arms, same reading. I have never had an issue with my blood pressure so I am not sure what happened, but I was sadly excused for the day with a paper thanking me for the attempt to donate! Maybe it had something to do with my 6 mile run this morning, or a lack of fluids? Who knows, but I will be back to finish off this day and successfully donate by the end of this project! I hope...? And so ends day "12.5" because I can't possibly get total credit for this one. I think I should get partial credit for having battle wounds during the attempt. I left looking a bit silly. At least they still let me have juice and snacks. They're pretty nice folks at the blood center. For all you healthy Lexingtonians that are interested in donating, here's the addresses and hours for the Blood Centers in our county: Lexington Beaumont Donation Center 3121 Beaumont Centre Circle Lexington, KY 40513 859.276.2534 | 800.775.2522 Monday & Friday: 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday: 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. Saturday: 8 a.m. - 2 p.m. Sunday: 7:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Sunday hours for platelet and plasma donations only. Lexington Andover Donation Center 3130 Maple Leaf Drive Lexington, KY 40509 859.327.3223 | 800.775.2522 Monday & Friday: 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday: 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. Saturday: 8 a.m. - 2 p.m. Sunday: Closed I had never heard of Nathaniel's Mission until I blubbered my way through an impromptu speech at the Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky 5K last week, and one of the participants (Kris Swoveland) heard me speak and found me on Facebook. She shot me a message about serving breakfast there on Sunday morning. I said "count me in!" I was elated, because: 1) It's been difficult to secure Sunday events, and 2) Speaking about the project paid off and I found yet another great cause that I know others may likely not know about. Nathaniel's Mission is located behind Hope Springs Church on Versailles Road. After church service on Sunday morning, they serve a 9AM breakfast to around 100-130 meals to the community, mostly those that are without their own homes. It is a hot, complete breakfast with their choice of juice, milk, water, or coffee (or all if they would like!). Casey Yohe came to help me, who has now come to two events for 30 Ways after being inspired at the PCAK 5K last weekend (Hooray! The ripple effect is working!) and brought along Ashley. We were introduced to Illa, Mary Jo, Sarah, and Hazel in the kitchen where Kris and Bonnie of Southern Hills United Methodist Church joined us as well. Pastor Goodwin from Hope Springs also stopped by to say "hello" and chatted with me a bit about the Mission, and my project. (It was her birthday, and she was on her way to celebrate in Louisville!) We were given a very quick tour before the meal was prepared and ready to be served. Mary Jo led us into the Mission Market, a fully stocked pantry based on the same criteria as God's Pantry. Individuals check in at the front, ask for prayer requests before a prayer is given to the person and their family, then they are allowed to pick so many items from each category around the Market. The Mission Market is open from Tues-Thursday from 1-2:00 PM. Mary Jo tells us that the Sav a Lot on Southland Drive is a huge contributor to the items here. Something that Casey and I found amazing about the Mission was that they don't just provide food, but they also focus on health care as well. I had never seen such a thing--free health care! There is a Vision and Podiatry Clinic as well as Diabetes Support. Dental services are also provided to those that qualify. These clinics are held by doctors volunteering their time throughout the community. The Dental Clinic alone has seen nearly 1100 patients since January! More information on these can be found below. The meal was already prepped and ready by the usual kitchen staff by the time our tour was finished. The food is donated by a number of different places in Lexington, but Glean Kentucky was one specifically mentioned that does a lot of great things for the Mission. When it's time to serve, it's time to serve! These ladies didn't mess around. On this rainy, gloomy day in Lexington, we had a lot of hungry mouths to feed! We opened the kitchen windows and it took the whole crew to prep the meals for each person. Hazel, we were told, is actually one of the future recipients of a Habitat for Humanity house right here in Lexington. Her project is also currently underway! Here, Hazel shows us a complete meal. Find out below how you can "Sponsor a Plate" which helps tremendously with Nathaniel's Mission in feeding the community. Out in the dining hall, Illa introduced us to Vickie and LeRoy. The couple told us how they have been coming here for years. The food is always great, they are being served by the most wonderful people, and couldn't be more grateful for the support. Vickie showed me some of LeRoy's drawings and let me know that he's an artist, one of his talents that he shows off from time to time. LeRoy then told me he would always get in trouble in school for doodling, and his teachers always thought he was "up to no good." I loved how he explained his argument to that: "Up to no good because I was drawing? Art is everywhere. It is so important. Without imagination and art, we wouldn't have paintings. We wouldn't have cars and automobiles, no architecture, no buildings! We need art!" After we got to talk to a few others about their experience with Nathaniel's Mission, it was time to clean up. A few stay in the dining hall where the lights are then dimmed, and read, drink coffee, or rest. Today was a rainy one, so a few stuck around to stay inside in the dry warmth before setting out. Illa showed us where other free meals are given throughout Lexington during the week as well. Who knows, maybe another one of my 30 Days will be at one of these locations! More Information on Nathaniel's Mission: Feedings and Wellness Since the 1930's Nathaniel Mission has been Providing Holistic Care in Lexington KY. with the core value the "God is active in the world through faithful disciples," and the mission "to be faithful disciples of a loving God, and offer our best to embody the real presence of Christ in the world by offering:
Feedings Nathaniel's Mission serves a hot breakfast on Sunday morning as well as dinner throughout the week. Sunday: 7:00 - Continental Breakfast 8:00 - Worship/Bible Study 9:00 - Hot Breakfast 5:00 - Evening meal. This is often a 5-course style meal with a delicious variety of meals on the menu. Wednesday: 5:00 - Evening meal Mission Market The Market is open each Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 1:00-2:00 PM. In addition to a variety of canned goods, bread, desert items, hot dogs, cleaning supplies and occasional special items such as fruits and vegetables are available. Qualifications for the Market are residence in Fayette County Kentucky. They serve an average of 25 families per day. Each household (defined by address) is allowed one visit per month. Identification needs to be presented at each visit. Dental Clinic Currently there are 7 volunteer dentists from around the area, but the Mission is seeking one more if you or someone you know could be of assistance. Services are free to those without dental insurance or who fall below/within the federal guidelines of poverty. They provide basic services such as exams, X-rays, cleanings, fillings, and extractions. This is located at 216 S. Limestone. Vision Clinic There are several clinics per week for vision for those who qualify. Those needing glasses will be provided a voucher to receive these free if needed. The Mission is also seeking an ophthalmologist to volunteer in addition to the current volunteer ophthalmologists. Diabetes Support Group The mission sees a lot of individuals suffering from Diabetes. On the third Tuesday of each month, you can attend this group to share successes and learn tips to deal with your diabetes journey. A diabetes educator from the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department assists with the hour-long group meeting. Topics discussed will vary from healthy eating, move more, monitoring diabetes, taking medications, problem solving, coping in a healthy manner and reducing the risks of diabetes. They offer free meters and strips for those in attendance. Podiatry Clinic This clinic is held once per month and treats a variety of foot problems, often seen in the clientele here and common in Diabetics. How Can I Help? Sponsor a Plate Use the contact information below to find out how you can sponsor a plate! Volunteer Nathaniel's Mission is not only always looking for volunteers to help, but also currently looking for another dentist and ophthalmologist to volunteer their time to help with appointments. You can always sign up to volunteer to serve a meal, help out with the market, or help with special events. Donate Items can always be used for the Mission Market (food or cleaning supplies), and financial donations are always accepted as well. Nathaniel United Methodist Mission
1109 Versailles Rd, Suite 400 POB 31 Lexington KY 40588 859-255-0062 Fax 859-367-0089 Email [email protected] Days don't get much more perfect than this sunshine-y, breezy day in the Bluegrass. We couldn't have asked for better weather than we got amidst a stormy week, and it's back to rain tomorrow! Today, we wrangled up a group to come out to the build site for Habitat for Humanity for this build that was just launched. The "before" picture here shows that the walls were just starting to go up. This is what we would be helping to do today, and we sure got a LOT done! I was super excited that today was the first day that I got to pull a group together from past 30 Ways events. Steve worked with me at the ReStore earlier this week, I met Casey at the Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky 5K, and Brian Shumard (a friend of my brother's from my childhood, which is random, considering we lived in a very small town 3 hours North of Lexington in Ohio) has come to a couple events so far, and we have another one to go next week together. This was the whole goal behind 30 Ways--to create a ripple effect and build a team that would want to keep giving throughout the "days" with me (and hopefully beyond!). This entry will mostly be told in pictures. Most people know what Habitat is, and little explaining needs to be done with all the visuals from today. However, many do not know! Scroll down below for links that tell a little more of the Habitat story as well as how they serve the community. Norma, seen in green, was on the site today since this is her family's house that will be built. Homeowners are NOT simply given these homes. They must work hard for them, and still may payments for the house once complete--they just simply have no interest on their payments, and be able to afford them. Each adult must also work 250 "sweat equity" hours on the site while in the building process. More FAQ on home ownership can be found here. We put up all the walls one by own throughout the house. We split into two teams to get all the work done, then switched after lunch. One team was in charge of the inner walls, and the other team was in charge of OSB walls and insulation. One incredible experience with Habitat is that you can work at your comfort level. If you want to help with a certain task, someone on the staff or an established volunteer will teach you how. No one says "no". If you don't want to do a task asked of you, you can find a job that you are more comfortable with. There is also a level of trust among the crew. If you are given a job, you are trusted to do it and are free to ask questions if you need to! No one on the site is questioning your work or making you feel as if you are incapable. Everyone works hard and works as a team to make sure all is accurate. Also, if you want to learn to use a power tool... you just ask. Here, I ask if I can learn to use the circular saw. Luckily, I left with all my fingers and toes. Barely. (This is good, because "funemployment" does not provide health insurance.) Lucky Brian got to spend half his time on ladders and doing all of the "tall guy" jobs... I assume he's used to that by this point in his life. After the frames went up, it was time to start putting on the OSB to complete the structure of the walls. Andrew ate nails for lunch. I needed another power tool fix. On a ladder this time. Did I almost fall? Yes. Each of the four times I ran the saw because I couldn't get the blade through the wood. After we took an extended water break, it was time to put the wall frame up over the garage, which took both teams, a lot of steady hands and balancing! After 7 hours on the job, we sadly had to clean up and head home. Everyone had a great day on site--we all left with all of our limbs, and were proud to say that the house was starting to look like a house! I think every one of us will be back to help with Habitat in some way in the near future. We are looking forward to being a part of the wrap party later this Spring when the house is finished and handed over to Norma and her family! Tell me More About Habitat for Humanity.... Per their website, "Lexington Habitat for Humanity is part of a global, nonprofit housing organization operated on Christian principles that seeks to put God’s love into action by building homes, communities and hope. Lexington Habitat for Humanity is dedicated to eliminating substandard housing locally and worldwide through constructing, rehabilitating and preserving homes; by advocating for fair and just housing policies; and by providing training and access to resources to help families improve their shelter conditions. Habitat for Humanity was founded on the conviction that every man, woman and child should have a simple, durable place to live in dignity and safety, and that decent shelter in decent communities should be a matter of conscience and action for all. Lexington Habitat for Humanity has an open-door policy: All who believe that everyone needs a decent, affordable place to live are welcome to help with the work, regardless of race, religion, age, gender, political views or any of the other distinctions that too often divide people. In short, Habitat welcomes volunteers and supporters from all backgrounds and also serves people in need of decent housing regardless of these distinctions. As a matter of policy, Habitat for Humanity International and its affiliated organizations do not proselytize. This means that Habitat will not offer assistance on the expressed or implied condition that people must either adhere to or convert to a particular faith, or listen and respond to messaging designed to induce conversion to a particular faith." Welp, That Looks Like Fun. How Can I Help? **Many cities have Habitat for Humanity organizations. Please Google the one nearest you. These links are for the Lexington Habitat opportunities**
Volunteer! You can volunteer in a group or as an individual on the build site. Keep in mind spaces may be limited, so sign up in plenty of time before you want to build. Donate Monetary donations are always welcome. Sponsor a Home Are you able to help fund a build? Cars for Homes Program You can donate your car to help support building and rehabilitating homes for those in need, regardless of whether it runs or not! Click for more details. Other Ways to Give So many options! Lexington Habitat for Humanity Administrative Offices Monday – Friday, 8:30am-5pm 700 East Loudon Ave. Lexington, KY 40505 Phone: 859.252.2224 Email: [email protected] Web: lexhabitat.org Facebook: facebook.com/lexhabitat Twitter: twitter.com/lexhabitat |
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June 2015
Welcome!My name is Kate and I have been in Lexington, Kentucky for a bit over 3 years. After interviewing for a position in which I was asked, "what would you do if you had 30 days to do anything?" I made a terrifying decision: I left my comfortable full-time office position to truly challenge myself to the answer to that question. My mission is to work with 30 local organizations and individuals in 30 days and document my experience here to create awareness in our community. Categories |