As part of the 7 Cities Tour we are going to have Josh, our Intern, keep a log of his time on the road. Josh is hilarious and full of life. Don't take my word for it, check out his post below... (and stay tuned for when Josh goes to Washington, Jimmy Stewart ain't got nothin' on this kid!)
I’m a pretty big fan of road trips, and lucky for me Project 7 loves to travel. While flying saves a whole bunch of “valuable time,” there is nothing like the time spent on a road trip working my way from one place to another. And this brings me to my latest road trip adventure - lovely Charlotte, NC. I spent a lot of the 40 plus hours in the van thinking about flying. It seems totally worth it when you’re in the middle of nowhere feeling like you might never get to where you’re going, but now, when I’m back at my desk in Southlake, TX thinking about the things I would have just flown right over, spending hours of my life in a van seem so much better.
Here’s a list of some highlights of the road, my trip and what I would have missed if I had taken the short cut. Never take the short cut…
1.Missing I-20 to Birmingham and having to change plans to spend the night in Nashville where we:
• stayed in a hotel that featured elevators lined in red-dyed cow skin/fur
• ate at The Phunky Griddle where you pay to make your own breakfast (seriously, go there for real)
2. A long and beautiful drive through the Appalachian Mountains, and lunch at a mountain diner that serves whole steaks on sandwiches.
3. Stopping for a bike ride in Asheville, NC and seeing a lady waiving a Project 7 water bottle out her car window at us.
4. Visiting 10 different Caribou Coffee shops and meeting tons of new awesome people. (I wouldn’t have missed this part if I had flown, but it’s still worth talking about)
5. Being knighted with my new nickname “Duder” by a 17 year-old kid at a bagel shop.
6. A tremendous bicycle voyage through the burbs of Charlotte on the second day of our Caribou Store visits. I could probably write a whole blog about this, but a sentence will have to do…. I ran into a bus with my bicycle.
7. A concert with Peaches & Fireworks and The David Michael Band at a Caribou Store. I met an elderly lady who had a little too much to drink and was VERY excited about the music.
8. Working with volunteers to rake leaves and clean up a part of a really nice park in Charlotte. Did I were watched over by a very kind, very noisy goose.
9. Watching Ashley ride a longboard.
10. Dinner in Atlanta, GA at Two Urban Licks where our food was delicious and our waiter responded to everything we said with “What Up.” Really… He did that.
11. Spending the night in Birmingham, AL and a late night game of darts (I’m really bad at darts).
12. Stopping for lunch on the Mississippi in Vicksburg, MS at the only restaurant that was open, which consequently was named Josh’s. Perfect. Josh’s was also attached to a floating casino. Classy.
13. Mini skate session and bike ride with some kids from Vicksburg that thought we were from the local newspaper. I’m pretty sure 50 people live in Vicksburg so I’m not real sure how they made that mistake, but they made the visit a lot more fun.
14. Driving across the Mississippi.
15. The beautiful Texas state line.
I’m in my 20’s and hopefully I have a lot more life left to live. Flying to Charlotte would have been much faster and much, much easier but I think I have a new appreciation for road trips. I’m glad I didn’t fly right over all of the good experiences and memories that happened during the 40 plus hours I spent in that van. If I would have flown to Charlotte, I would have been so happy that it didn’t take 18 hours to get there. I would have had more time to relax. I would have been at home in my bed at a normal hour. But I would have had no idea that I had flown right over so many great sights and experiences. If I would have flown, I would have no regrets, because I wouldn’t know what I missed, but having driven, I can see so many of the benefits I received in what seemed like a boring drive. I think I look too hard some times for the quickest, easiest way to get where I want to be. I could take that way and probably never regret it, but I think that when I’m an old fella, sitting on my porch with a stick and a pocket knife, I’ll look back and really appreciate the adventures that happened in the seasons of life that seem to be so long and boring right now.
There’s so much to enjoy, and so much to miss. I think I’ll choose the enjoy part.
We thought you might want to hear from our Save the Earth Finalist in the 2009 Grand Giveaway - Plant With a Purpose. Here is how they are doing so far!
(FROM PLANT WITH A PURPOSE) Yes, we have already used the winnings to help rural farmers in Haiti. Right now we are implementing our “Cash for Work” program, which puts cash in the hands of farmers so they can feed their families immediately, and also helps prevent against potential damage during the upcoming hurricane season as the farmers plant seedlings and trees, and construct soil erosion barriers. We have employed 1,300 farmers so far, and each group works for two weeks, then we rotate in new people, so this number grows every other week.
Since the earthquake, Plant With Purpose has distributed over 250,000 pounds of rice, and has provided 79,000 pounds of bean seed to thousands of rural farmers. Additionally, we have constructed 86 miles of soil conservation barriers, which will provide a vital barricade against the impending hurricane season.
The local Haitian staff have also been conducting weekly assessments in the communities where Plant With Purpose works to get a better sense of the situation. Last week, they found that the most significant challenges for households were obtaining food and shelter, and seeds and farming. Before the earthquake, people were eating under 3 meals a day, but now they are reportedly eating less than 2 meals per day. Furthermore, according to surveys, the most significant challenge faced by the communities as a whole is acquiring food.
The following is a testimony from a Haitian farmer - Lucien Francois
Lucien Francois is the youngest member of a Plant With Purpose work team in Trouin, Haiti. As part of Plant With Purpose’s short-term employment program he has helped dig contour canals and plant trees. Lucien was displaced from Port au Prince, where he was living and attending high school before the quake. The quake destroyed one wall of his home, and he and four family members relocated to rural Trouin to stay with his grandmother. Back in the city, Lucien’s mother sold sandals, shoes and other items, which they would buy at the port in Port au Prince and then resell in a sidewalk market near Carrefour. His father sold lottery tickets from a small “bank” which was destroyed in the earthquake.
We are grateful to be able to provide individuals like Lucien with employment opportunities that reinvigorate the local economy, and accomplish something very necessary: the rehabilitation and restoration of Haitian agricultural lands. We are inspired by the resilience we’ve seen, and are grateful to partner with Haitians to spark a glimmer of hope in a desperate situation.
Haiti still needs your help! Please visit
www.plantwithpurpose.org to make a donation to Plant With Purpose’s relief and long-term recovery efforts.
Mary George imagined she would be doing social work in a hospital environment while in school, but sitting across from her in the crowded offices of the non-profit
Mosaic Family Services show that a different story unfolded.
“I interned with a police department in victims’ assistance and discovered a passion for domestic violence victims,” Mary explained.
After referring victims to organizations like Mosaic, she took a job as a case manager working with mostly refugees and immigrants who were victims of domestic violence or human trafficking. Mosaic Family Services is a nonprofit community-based organization that provides services free of charge to refugees and immigrants who are victims of human trafficking and domestic violence in North Texas. The mission of Mosaic Family Services is to support, educate, and empower individuals and families of the communities we serve. After nearly three years with Mosaic, the most difficult part for Mary is watching victims who choose to return to their abusive situations.
“I understand the reasons why women may tend to go back to their homes to some extent, but I worry about their safety,” Mary said. “I worry if before they decide to leave from our shelter or agency that they are fully aware and well informed with ample information and know all their options should they need to get out again.”
On the other end of the spectrum, Mary is encouraged when she sees clients who walked in with submissive postures and fear in their eyes transformed into someone standing proud, speaking with assurance and walking with confidence.
“You can literally notice the difference just looking at them – it’s often that significant of a change,” Mary said.
According to Mosaic Family Services, the organization’s mission is to support, educate and empower individuals and families of the community they serve. The organization was started in 1993 by Dr. Walter Nguyen who saw a need specifically for services for refugee and immigrant victims.
“We aim to educate them, to make them self-sufficient and to help them know what is available to them – whether that is services with the police, legal services, ESL classes, court hearings, a safe house such as our shelter, transitional housing, counseling, food stamps, Medicaid or knowledge about public transportation,” said Mary. “Many of the clients we serve are unaware about the services available to them and are undocumented. They’re afraid or brainwashed into thinking that if they go to the police for help then they will be deported, which is not the case. The police and organizations such as ours are here to help victims.”
Mosaic assists clients from diverse backgrounds who speak one or more of the 29 languages Mosaic serves. They serve human trafficking clients - both male and female - from all over the world, including Mexico, India, Sri Lanka, and Korea.
“They are lured here under false pretenses, lied to, abused and often brainwashed into thinking they are stuck in their situation without hope of freedom,” Mary said. “There are so many victims out there who don’t know who to go to or that help is available. I wish we could get a hold of each one of them and help them.”
In response the constant debate about assisting illegal immigrants in the United States, Mary responds, “Victims are victims and should be helped.”
Author’s note: While most of the stories and pictures of Mary’s direct work with clients have to remain unsaid and unseen for victims’ safety, the key thing I experienced from speaking with her is that these men and women aren’t stories on a blog or faces on posters at a church, they are real, un-famous, walking among us, and most importantly - they are hurting and need help.
So, where will we be on April 24th? Well, two places. One, volunteering in Charlotte, NC for the second stop on Project 7 and Caribou Coffee's
7 Cities Tour and Two, providing bio-bottled water for the largest TOMS Shoes "Style Your Sole" event,
ChromeLive! presented by RVCA.
We love this event, and being able to be a part of it as the water tent sponsor! Not only does it offer a stellar music line up featuring Ben Kweller, Matt Costa, Nelo, The Orbans, Thriftstore Cowboys, Spivey and Estelline, it also offers concertgoers multiple ways to give back.
1. Pre-purchase a pair of
TOMS Shoes and get into the event for FREE. ChromeLive! will have a million ways to decorate your TOMS at the event. And, as many of you know, with each purchase of a pair of TOMS Shoes, TOMS provides a free pair to a needy person.
2. Purchase a day pass - a portion of the proceeds will go to Chilean Disaster Relief
3. With Project 7 being brought on as the water tent sponsor, concertgoers can also give back simply by buying our bio-bottled water.
What? You still want more? How about the fact that the tickets are only $10 (or free if you pre-purchase your pair of TOMS)!
So let's sum this up: Great Music + Great Shoes + Great Bio-Bottled Water = Great Way to spend a Saturday and GIVE BACK.
Here are the full event details:
ChromeLive! presented by RVCA
When: April 24, 2010 - 10 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Where: Chrome - 2601 19th Street Lubbock, TX
Ticket Sales: Tickets are available at all select-a-seat outlets in Lubbock and online.
Pre-order your TOMS shoes: Order at Chrome or online at
ShopChrome.com
We'll see you there!
Home of NASCAR, outdoor fun and southern charm, Charlotte, North Carolina is the next stop on the Project 7 and Caribou Coffee "
7 Cities Tour." And, we couldn't be more excited.
We will be doing our part to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day and Charlotte's commitment to the outdoors. Charlotte is home to 210 parks and facilities located on more than 17,600 acres of parkland. For our special "Earth Day" edition of the "7 Cities Tour," we invite Charlotte community members to come out and be part of your community. Here are the event details:
WHEN:
Saturday, April 24, 8:30AM - Noon (Lunch provided afterward)
WHERE:
Park Road Park
6215 Park Rd Charlotte NC 28210
WHAT:
In honor of Earth Day, we will help Mecklenburg County Parks and Rec staff with mulching and other landscaping and park maintenance activities. Volunteers are requested to: Bring gloves, wear comfortable old clothing, and closed toed shoes. You may want to bring caps and sunscreen.
BONUS!
We know you’ll work up an appetite, so Caribou Coffee will provide coffee and pastries for breakfast, and we’ll be grilling for lunch afterwards!
We invite any and all who live in Charlotte to do your part for your community.
Sign up and make a difference!
Don't forget, as with all "7 Cities Tour" stops, there will be a local artist concert at a Caribou Coffee location near you! Here are the concert Details:
WHO:
David Michaels Band
WHEN:
Friday, April 23, 7:00PM
WHERE:
Caribou Coffee
7804 Fairview Road
Space B
Charlotte, NC 28226
Bring a lawnchair – we’re taking over the parking lot!
1.Missing I-20 to Birmingham and having to change plans to spend the night in Nashville where we:
• stayed in a hotel that featured elevators lined in red-dyed cow skin/fur
• ate at The Phunky Griddle where you pay to make your own breakfast (seriously, go there for real)
2. A long and beautiful drive through the Appalachian Mountains, and lunch at a mountain diner that serves whole steaks on sandwiches.
3. Stopping for a bike ride in Asheville, NC and seeing a lady waiving a Project 7 water bottle out her car window at us.
4. Visiting 10 different Caribou Coffee shops and meeting tons of new awesome people. (I wouldn’t have missed this part if I had flown, but it’s still worth talking about)
5. Being knighted with my new nickname “Duder” by a 17 year-old kid at a bagel shop.
6. A tremendous bicycle voyage through the burbs of Charlotte on the second day of our Caribou Store visits. I could probably write a whole blog about this, but a sentence will have to do…. I ran into a bus with my bicycle.
7. A concert with Peaches & Fireworks and The David Michael Band at a Caribou Store. I met an elderly lady who had a little too much to drink and was VERY excited about the music.
8. Working with volunteers to rake leaves and clean up a part of a really nice park in Charlotte. Did I were watched over by a very kind, very noisy goose.
9. Watching Ashley ride a longboard.
10. Dinner in Atlanta, GA at Two Urban Licks where our food was delicious and our waiter responded to everything we said with “What Up.” Really… He did that.
11. Spending the night in Birmingham, AL and a late night game of darts (I’m really bad at darts).
12. Stopping for lunch on the Mississippi in Vicksburg, MS at the only restaurant that was open, which consequently was named Josh’s. Perfect. Josh’s was also attached to a floating casino. Classy.
13. Mini skate session and bike ride with some kids from Vicksburg that thought we were from the local newspaper. I’m pretty sure 50 people live in Vicksburg so I’m not real sure how they made that mistake, but they made the visit a lot more fun.
14. Driving across the Mississippi.
15. The beautiful Texas state line.
I’m in my 20’s and hopefully I have a lot more life left to live. Flying to Charlotte would have been much faster and much, much easier but I think I have a new appreciation for road trips. I’m glad I didn’t fly right over all of the good experiences and memories that happened during the 40 plus hours I spent in that van. If I would have flown to Charlotte, I would have been so happy that it didn’t take 18 hours to get there. I would have had more time to relax. I would have been at home in my bed at a normal hour. But I would have had no idea that I had flown right over so many great sights and experiences. If I would have flown, I would have no regrets, because I wouldn’t know what I missed, but having driven, I can see so many of the benefits I received in what seemed like a boring drive. I think I look too hard some times for the quickest, easiest way to get where I want to be. I could take that way and probably never regret it, but I think that when I’m an old fella, sitting on my porch with a stick and a pocket knife, I’ll look back and really appreciate the adventures that happened in the seasons of life that seem to be so long and boring right now.
There’s so much to enjoy, and so much to miss. I think I’ll choose the enjoy part.