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Volunteer in the Philippines: Cabiokid Permaculture Foundation

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While in the Philippines, I went to check out Cabiokid Foundation in Cabiao, Nueva Ecijia, Philippines in conjunction with the work that I was doing with Amor Village. The CabioKid Foundation is a permaculature practice site that was able to transform a common rice field into a thriving ecosystem support both the humans & the animals that live there. I was incredibly impressed with their facility and thought I would share it for anyone interested in a volunteer stint in the Philippines.

LOCATION: First things first

The site is located about 2 hours from the Clark Airport and perhaps 3 hours from the Manila Airport depending on how fast you go and how many caribow & caligligs are in your way. If you are coming in from Manila, as most travelers coming from abroad are, you can get a taxi or Jeepney to the bus station. The instructions from the people from Cabiokid are as follows:

1) Go to LRT Monumento (Caloocan), under the station, there is a Mini-Stop convenience store. At the back of that is a bus terminal (First North Luzon and Sierra Madre Bus station)

2) Take the Bus and tell the attendant to drop you in Guapito st, Brgy Sta Rita Cabiao. This normally takes 1.5 hrs

3) From the Guapito St, you can walk to Cabiokid (200 mts)

TIME COMMITMENT: Your greatest Gift

Cabiokid offers a one week training course and asks that international volunteers spend at least three weeks with them. This would be the entirety of your Filipino visa, requiring you to extend it to the full two month visa ($75) if you were interested in staying any longer at Cabiokid or to visit any other portions of the Philippines.

You can ask & pay for the extension upon arrival in the Philippines, which will save you much headache later. Trust me.

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TYPE OF VOLUNTEER: Seeking Green Thumb Do Gooder
This organization has done a spectacular job implementing the principles of permaculture in an area doused in fertilizers and harmful farming practices. It would be perfect place for any voluntourista interested working with the land and in seeing another side of the Philippines far off the banana pancake trail.
The ideal volunteer would have a passion for sustainable agriculture/permaculture and doesn't mind getting their hands dirty, which seem to go hand in hand. They ask that all volunteers be at least 18 years of age, and it would be perfect for friends or couple to try together.
SKILLS NECESSARY: Anyone Can Do it!
No special skills are required for this activity. Flexibility is a must, and it would be useful if you were able to live in a rural environment. Many people at the site speak English, but a crash course in Tagalog would go a long way in making friends and understanding your surroundings.
DAILY TASKS: Wake Up. Eat. Volunteer. Eat. Sleep. Repeat.
Again, the first week with CabioKids is a training course, here you will learn about permaculture techniques of the Philippines and the ways in which such knowledge can change the world (I wish I was being facetious). Afterwards you will work on any number of projects, from reforesting the land to making fresh juices. The current project will depend on time of year and what interests you most.
All in all, you will be using your time to help one of the only places promoting sustainable organic agriculture in an area that desperately needs the benefits of this type of farming. Any help & support given to Cabiokids will help tenfold as they teach the people in the area how to implement this knowledge on their own land. I can't stress enough how crucial this is for this particular area of the world.
COST: Show Me Da Money.

Yes, yes, of course — the money. Volunteering with CabioKids costs 15 $USD per day. This covers food & housing for the duration of your stay. The town of Cabiao is just outside the walls of the foundation. Here you can find many places to each for less than a dollar, and many things to pique your interest though a nightlife and the like may be a bit hard to come by, but that's not why you're here anyway.

The cost of volunteering covers your food & accomodation for the duration of your stay. You get to stay in beautiful bamboo huts in a gorgeous rice field.

MY PLEA: How You Can Help From the Comfort of Your Own Home.

Since we're on the topic of money, this would be a good time to ask you to open your hearts and your wallets to sponspor a young man rescue from a force labor camp to attend a monthlong training session at CabioKids. They have specially designed a program for him, so that he can grow his current knowledge of organic farming systems. Once he finishes his courses we, the Voluntourista community, is supporting him to work & implement his designs at Amor Village. The work that he's does there will go a long way to help the kids of Amor Village.

We need to raise $476.57 to send JunJun to this class, feed & house him for the month and support CabioKids Foundation.

You can donate via PayPal here:

If you don't have a PayPal, you can donate via gofundme.com here.

 

Please. Please. Pretty please. This project is already making a world of difference for so many people. Your support will make it all possible both now and for years to come. Thank you!

So Ya Wanna…

… Volunteer at CabioKids Foundation

…
to send JunJun to learn at CabioKids

… Read more about the Philippines

 

 

Donate: Help Build a Food Forest at an Orphanage in the Philippines

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Some of us may recall the nonsense that I was spouting a few weeks ago about starting a foundation to hire volunteer coordinators in impoverished locations to coordinate international volunteers and complete projects for charitable organizations. I got a great response. So the idea continued to bounce around in my head; Skype meetings, taxes, bylaws, mission statements and the like.

Meanwhile, I'm still volunteering at an orphanage down the street from my house here in the Philippines.

I was hoping to hire a local person there within the next year or so to help build a food forest on their grounds. Their job would be to incease food production on the land, teach sustainable agriculture techniques to the children, and host & orient international volunteers that want to help with the project. In my mind the hiring process would begin next year sometime after all the money had been raised.

The universe, however, moves in mysterious ways. Allow me to introduce you to Jun Jun:

Jun Jun is 23 years old and has recently been rescued from a forced labor camp in Pampanga. He has been living at the orphanage with his “coworkers” while they try to figure out their next step. They showed up the same day that I officially started my volunteer work.

He is currently hundreds of miles from home with no money and no idea of his next step. That is, until now.

Jun Jun was studying environmental management on scholarship for three years before he got swept up in what is turning out to be a messy human trafficking case. Messy messy human trafficking. In his studies he focused on growing organic food & vermiculture and has experience raising tilapia & livestock. He wants to continue his education in this field. He has a passion for helping people, and right now he is particularly interested in helping the children at this orphanage. How nice.

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I researched permaculture facilities in the Philippines, and while there is a very little on the topic there is one organization in Nueva Ecijia, a mere 86 kilometers from the orphanage. Allow me to introduce the CabioKid Foundation:

This 5.5 hectacre farm has been pioneering & spreading permaculture ideas in Central Luzon Philippines for the past five years. They take on local and international volunteers/students for work studies & trainings, and hope to spread knowledge and sustainable livelihood practices to the people of the Phillippines.

I have been in contact with CabioKid about working with the orphanage. I have also spoken with the orphanage about my ideas, and they are excited about the possibility of gaining a new employee and learning more about these techniques. The head of the orphanage, the main groundskeeper, three houseparents, Jun Jun & I will be taking a field trip to the facility on Monday.

It has all been coming together so quickly! I was not planning on having to get everything done so fast. I thought that I would have at least another 6-9 months months to organize a fundraising platform and raise money for this idea. However, there is no time for that. I leave next week. So, please excuse my rush.

I have secured the funds to send Jun Jun to the training at Cabio Kid, and to hire him at the orphanage for about a month or so. However, we are going to need a lot more money to hire him for the remainder of the year and to buy supplies to get the project rolling. I will be working on a cleaner fundraising campaign in the next few weeks, but for now, if you are interested in helping please do!

You can donate via PayPal here:

If you don't have a PayPal, you can donate via gofundme.com here.

 

 

Go Fund Me does take a cut of the donations (5%), so if you have a PayPal account that is currently more beneficial. I am working on getting nice photos & videos from the orphanage, and will be promoting this link more in the coming weeks. I am but one woman. So please be paitent.

We hope to raise $2500 US dollars. This would pay for Jun Jun's training, hire him for an entire YEAR, buy starting supplies (re: green house, basic tools & chickens), and take care of the fees associated with moving money around the world.

All of this for $2500. Seriously.

For now, I'm still volunteering at the orphanage: cooking dinners, teaching english, feeding kids with cerebal palsy, reading stories to special ed classes & playing basketball. I'm trying not to let this project distract me from the final days that I get to spend with the children.

I will, however, still be working with the administration at Amor Village and CabioKid to get Jun Jun set up in his new job. I also have to teach Jun Jun how to use a computer and set up an e-mail address, so that he can send us updates from the orphanage. He has never used a computer or had a single peso to his name or even celebrated his birthday for that matter.

His birthday is June 15.

This is the exact day that the permaculture classes start at Cabio Kid.

Happy Birthday Jun Jun.

 

I Missed My Flight: Perhaps It’s Time to Level Up

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I’m still in Taiwan, I was supposed to get on a plane the other day and fly back to the Philippines. I however, was late, and didn’t have a ticket out of the Philippines which is required to even get on a plane to the islands. With only minutes left to spare, I was going to buy a ticket back to Taipei, Taiwan. The date suggested by the far too kind man at the counter? April 15th. The exact day that applications for the scholarship are due. I couldn’t leave on that day.

I flipped a coin.

Tails Taipei. Heads Philippines. I made the ticket counter man wait for me to dig a Philippino Peso out of my bag. I flipped it; it landed on tails, and I walked away from the counter. Just like that.

I tried to change my mind, but by that time there was a crowd of people waiting at the ticket counter.

Oh well.

I think it will be better this way. As I walked away from the bus station, I randomly ended up in Peace Park. Relief washed over me. Deciding my future on a the flip of a Peso seemed a bit irrational, and while I was trying to assure myself that this the way it was meant to be; I still wasn’t sure.

But then there was Peace Park. I decided to release all doubt, dive into Taipei and figure what I’m meant to do next.

So yes, I’ve been thinking a lot lately…

…and unfortunately, it’s a lot about money–both my own, and money for others. I’ve been seeing and working with lots of people, mostly in the Philippines that would kill for the resources that many of us have access to. I’ve talked to a lot of people, rich or not, that want to help, they want to give me money, take me out to eat, house me, help me or help those that I’m helping. That’s all fine and good, I appreciate it, but I’m thinking…bigger.

How can make this project more sustainable and so much more…ya know, better?

I’ve come up with something, and I’ve been applying my OCD bleeding heart to making that happen.

The idea came when I visited the orphanage in Anao Tarlac. They were asking me for money, obviously, but they wanted me to help pay to send one of the kids to college. To be clear, I still have not paid for my own college, and am in no position to send orphans to college. I did, however, see lots of potential in their program.

For example, they have a giant property, and are doing vermiculture composting on the lands. They have a meager garden that isn’t really producing much food, and empty cupboards in the kitchen. Naturally, my experience at the Oregon Food Bank & The Humboldt Garden Collective led me the idea of food forests.

Why couldn’t we give this orphanage a food forest?

Well, there are quite a few reasons we can’t give the orphanage a food forest; the main one being: food forests take a lot of time. I, personally, am not planning on staying in Anao, Tarlac, Philippines for the rest of my life. There are, however, many people that are, and some of them even know how to grow things. Perhaps, we could raise money to hire someone to build a food forest for this orphanage? What a novel idea.

On the other hand, I am already working on a scholarship program that would require money & fundraising efforts for the students in a town just a few kilometers down the road. I didn’t see why I couldn’t combine the two projects, and raise money for the orphanage as well. Which led me to my next thought…

I Need to Make a Foundation

But not just a regular foundation, oh no, of course not. Here’s the idea, more or less, in a nutshell:

The goal would be to hire local people in poor countries to complete projects for communities & charities in their area. These local hires would work toward a goal or maintain a program. Additionally, they would be asked to host & coordinate international volunteers that are interested in spending some time volunteering abroad.

The positive impact would be three-fold:

  • We would make a job for a local individual in a poor community
  • A local charity or organization would reap the benefits of that individual’s work
  • We would increase the amount of opportunities for intercultural exchanges by creating more volunteer opportunities abroad.

That’s not a perfect mission statement or anything, but maybe you can begin to see what I’m thinking about. I want to hire volunteer coordinators of sorts to implement volunteer programs all over the world. No big deal.

Voluntourista: A Foundation

I am not usually one to reveal what I’m working on until it is nearly perfect and ready to go, this time, however, I am going to need lots of help and input and there is no way that I can do it on my own. I’m a bit crazy, obsessed even, but I can’t stop thinking about this idea; researching, writing, organizing, charting, plotting…

I am going to work on these first two projects in the Philippines to set an example for what I’m thinking.

  • Umingan, Nueva Ecija, Philippines: Hire two students to go to a good school and start volunteer projects of their own in their own community
  • Anao, Tarlac, Philippines: Hire a Farmer/Permaculturist to make a food forest on the grounds of an orphanage for abandoned, abused & handicap children.

“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.”

― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

 

 

 

 

Volunteer Project: Scholarship Program – The Idea

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Prequel: The Philippines: A Personal Story About Finding My Heritage & Realizing My Privilege

Ever since my first visit in 2010, I knew that I had to do something for the community that my family came from in the Philippines. Other members of my family had exactly the same sentiment after their trips the subsequent years. We thought about it, talked about it, and mulled it over for a long time before deciding on what exactly we wanted to do.

Background Resource : How to Save the World aka. Where Should I Volunteer?

We settled on helping kids in the community get a quality education. Our grandparents were teachers for a combined total of 88 years in both in the Philippines and in the United States; they have always held education in the highest of regards. It seemed to be a consensus that education for at risk children would be the best way to give the both kids and the community a hand up.

When the family reunited a few weeks ago in the Philippines, we put our heads together to decide how to get moving on this project. As a family, we knew that we wanted to donate money to somewhere in my grandparent’s community, but how and where exactly we were to donate to have the biggest impact was still in question. We knew that we wanted to help with education, a scholarship seemed the most rational, but where? For which kids? And to which schools?

We settled on helping the kids in Umingan, Pangasinan, the town where my father grew up and where my grandparents taught when they lived here in the Philippines.

My grandmother, being the social butterfly that she is, insisted that we go see the mayor to get started on out project. So we did just that…

That’s a photo of me, my mother, my grandmother and the Mayor of Umingan (I’m sorry mother, I didn’t have a picture where your eyes were open). He pointed us to the direction of the Municipal Services Department of Social Welfare that handled the city’s scholarship program. Here, we heard more about how the operating education & scholarship programs of the area worked, and how we could help.

After much run around & confusion we gathered the information that we needed, including contact information, current scholarship applications, and a few resources for finding kids in need in the area.

Next, we went to visit the school where my grandparents taught. Quezon Memorial Academy is the oldest private school in the area. They had a large grounds where kids could study & play. They had computer facilities and a full marching band. It seemed like a great place to get a high quality well-rounded education. They also had a scholarship program that we were able to learn more about.

Combine these meetings with extensive Internet research and we, more or less, had an idea of what we were to do. We liked what the current scholarship programs were doing, but we wanted to give opportunities to children that weren’t necessarily the top in their class and maybe didn’t have the English skills that were required by the other two scholarships.

We went to work on deciding what sort of qualities we were looking for in a scholar.

I was looking at the project as a volunteer program’s administrator, trying to figure out the way that we could most easily find potential scholars, communicate with the schools, and distribute money when & where it’s needed, etc., etc., etc., I listened to the hopes of the potential donors (my family) and tried translate them into something reasonable and doable.

We decided that for starters, we would sponsor two students–one male, one female– to attend Quezon Memorial Academy for the upcoming school year. We want to focus on non-traditional achievers with an interest in the arts and/or helping their community. We also wanted to make sure that we provided enough money to help them conquer those pesky issues that cause them to drop out and work far too early, like: transportation, uniforms, book rentals, school supplies maybe even a small allowance. Two hundred dollars maybe two fifty, ten thousand pesoes takes care of the whole year. Their families can spend that money on something better. Two students this year, and then we can set aside the extra for next year’s scholars.

And so, it was decided, my Volunteer Project for Central Luzon Philippines would be…

… there will be much more on this to come. Hold tight.

 

 

Volunteer Project: RAGBRAI & Mono Rides

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It’s completely normal to imagine what the future is going to look like. We’ll often plan for it; prepare for it. Maybe its a vacation next season, or an idea of what we want to be “when we grow up.”

Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work out that way.

Eric Chavez died of pancreatic cancer on April 3rd, 2012 at the age of 42. Before he was diagnosed he was planning a cross country bicycle trip from San Francisco to New York.

The cancer took him in 18 months.

18 months. That’s all, and he was a lucky one. Pancreatic cancer often claims lives in 6 months or less.

6 months or less.

What were you going to do 6 months from now? I know I have plans…

Mono fixin' my back tire

I met Mono in Brookings, Oregon. You may recall that I broke my wheel and a stranger from San Francisco helped me fix it. Well, that stranger was Mono. He was biking North and I was biking South along the Pacific Coast Trail.

Mono is, as he puts it, “riding for a greater cause.” You see, he was friends with Eric Chavez. They were like brothers, and Mono ended up taking care of him in his final days.

They were planning to go on this cross country trip together before the cancer hit. But since Eric lost the battle before they could leave, Mono decided to do the ride alone. His plan was to donate his miles to raise money & awareness for pancreatic cancer. As we speak he has raised $3,228 of his $5000 goal.

Wow! How did work that out?

Well, there was a lot of hard work and planning involved, but ultimately it was just a few simple steps.

  1. He saved up enough money to feed & house himself along the way.
  2. He researched and chose a foundation to donate the money. (Lustgarten Foundation)
  3. He obtained some large donations from close friends & family. (Jessie Fowler Realty & The Ehikians)
  4. He got sponsorships from local businesses for some of his gear and additional monetary donations.
  5. He had volunteers of sorts design and build him a web-site. (MonoRides.com)

Simple enough, right? Well, maybe. Depending on how much support one has from their family and friends this is an entirely reasonable project to undertake for a summer. It is estimated that it took him a few months of planning and preparation and it will take him another 3 months to cross the country, which isn’t easy, but also isn’t impossible.

So how did you help, Amy? I’m assuming you volunteered with him, right?

Of course! I don’t have a bunch of money or anything, but I do know a thing or two about outreach and such. So, I decided that Mono needed to join my family on our annual vacation and ride his bike with thousands of other cyclists riding across Iowa during RAGBRAI this past week. He really liked the idea.

I flew in from San Francisco to meet up with the beginning of the ride, and made a little poster to advertise our reunion for a greater cause.

Then we rigged up a donation bucket out of an old coffee can that he could strap to the back of his bike. It was really effective in starting up conversations and getting donations along the way.

And finally, we wore matching jerseys (when they were clean), and talked to anyone that was willing to listen about Eric, pancreatic cancer and how to donate to the cause.

Overall, it was an amazing experience. Mono was able to talk to hundreds of people who were touched & effected by the disease. Many people stuffed dollar bills in his ex-Folgers can, and we were able to collect $187.74 in the four days that he carted it around. If we weren’t going so fast as we rode, we probably would have been able to collect more.

The final night of RAGBRAI I strapped the donation bucket to his backpack as we hit the town. This was one of the best moves we could have made. Apparently, drunk cyclists at bars feel almost obligated to donate to a guy that has ridden his bike more this summer than they have in the past few years. Quite a few large bills slipped into the bucket that evening.

Not bad guys, so what now?

Well, Mono still needs to ride another 811 miles to New York City where he will meet with some media folks and turn in his final donations. He is still carrying the donation bucket and has been collecting more donations as he rides. Anything he collects in the next few weeks will be doubled once he gets to New York.

I, on the other hand, need to return to San Francisco to retrieve my touring bike, and settle in with my next volunteer effort. I’m not quite sure how I will get back yet, but I’m sure I’ll make it.

Lesson Learned? Life is too short not to…

So Ya Wanna…

… Donate to Mono Rides?

… Become Mono’s friend?

… Ride RAGBRAI next year?

 

 

 

Summertime, Travel & Excuses: Why I’m a Sucky “Blogger”

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You may have noticed my absence from the wild world of weblogging. I’m sorry about that, really I am. It seems that lately I have been a bit more occupied by the “tourista” part of this whole voluntourista thing than I initially expected. Perhaps its been the hundreds of miles I’ve biked since my last entry, or the sunshine, or the engaging locations I’ve visited, or the *cough* boy(s), but I just haven’t been living up to my own expectiations.

It seems that I will need to stay put a bit longer to actually be effective in what I’m doing. Surprise. Surprise. Part of the problem, you see, is that volunteering requires commitment. I know this. In fact, I’ve written about it in the past. However, as I started out on this journey, I underestimated the amount of time I would have while traveling to volunteer AND actually write something worthwhile about it. Whatever, you live and you learn.

My most recent voluntourista effort with the Humboldt Garden Collective has been stalled due to writer’s block, a new love and the need to bike hundreds of miles to meet my family for the 40th Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa. It’s a tradition. I can’t miss it.

So here I am, in Colorado, staying with my brother. We are leaving tomorrow to drive to meet the family and Mono from Mono Rides. I plan to use the opportunity (RAGBRAI) to promote Mono and his ride across America. He is raising money & awareness for pancreatic cancer. There will more on that to come.

After that, I hope to return to Northern California to further explore the wide world of gardening and community food security. Only to leave again for a mystery international volunteer project in the Fall.

What?

You think I tell you everything?

In the meantime, here are some pictures from my travels that you may have missed:

Me Happy in Arcata

A rare photo of me riding my bike. PHOTO CREDIT: Ding & Sanjay (click on the photo check out their Tumblr)

 

Redwoods in the Avenue of the Giants

The most cycle tourists I've seen on the road at one time

 

Buckets + Bike + Beautiful Beaches

 

My back rack broke, then I fixed it...with duct tape.

Snack Time! Which is pretty much all the time...

Mendocino County

My First Wilderness Camp aka. a ditch on the side of the road next to a field of cow shit

Mission Delores Park (San Francisco, CA)

I would put more, but I must be on my way. Thanks so much to all the people I have met thus far and who have helped me along the way. Biking from Portland to San Francisco has been such an amazing experience! Next time you hear from me, I will be in the Midwest! Mama, mama, I’m coming home!!

So ya wanna…

…Donate to Mono Rides?

…Learn more about RAGBRAI?

…Become my Facebook Fan? (Please? It’s a guilty pleasure)

 

 

 

Sweatin’ the Small Stuff: Adventures in Minimalism (Part II)

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There is almost no furniture left in the purple room. I have a mattress and lamp on the floor and a small coffee table tucked in the corner. The rest of the floor space is dedicated to The Great Sort.

Everything I’m going to keep or need to look through is in the closet on the left, and everything to donate/give away is in the corner on the right. Granted, there are still a few piles if miscellaneous “goods” scattered about the house, and front lawn (my apologies Courtney), but most of those already have a new place to go–if not only in my mind. I’m finding new homes for everything. every. last. thing.

Since just throwing stuff away is not something that I can do, this process has been a long and tedious one.You can call it being a bleeding heart environmentalist or someone with some sort of compulsive disorder, I really don’t care. I just need to do it better this time around. In order to demonstrate my neurosis in full color, allow me to show you these, shall we say, “infographics”. Here is the stuff to donate and/or give away:

..and this is the stuff that lives to see yet another day under the careful watch of my discerning eye: 

In full disclosure, I also have two bikes, a laundry basket & a back pack that are coming with me as well. There is at least one more round of downsizing before I am reduced to the epitome of material efficiency, so I think I can still take some extra supplies with me to the next house. The final sort is not far off though.  2012: The End is Near!

No no, scratch that. 2012: The Beginning is Nearer!

My Most Recent Non-Volunteer Volunteer Activity

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This past weekend I signed up to “volunteer” at NARAL Pro-Choice Oregon’s annual fundraising gala. I wanted to lend a hand, because I strongly believe in their cause, and I knew that they were very effective at what they do. Their staff of four managed to elect pro-choice candidates at every level of government. Their volunteer phone banks made more calls in the last election than any other organization in Oregon. Ensuring that Oregon remain one of the last three states in the nation that does not have any restrictions on a women’s right to an abortion.

Pause for applause. It’s well deserved.

I chose to bring my favorite volunteer with me to the gala. She was most recently hired at my work to admin for the IT & Fiscal Teams. Another pause for applause. It’s definitely warranted.

A friend of mine is the volunteer cooridnator for them. She needed volunteers to fill tables, and help clean up at the end. She had plenty of volunteers there. They didn’t necessarily need my help…and my ride came early.

I didn’t actually end up helping them with anything, so gave them 50 bucks, and called it a day.

Moral of the story. Volunteering is great, but donating is important. People that work at non-profits spend much of their energy trying to get your money. Make it easy on them.

A Second Thought on Downsizing

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There are way better ways to do this whole get-rid-of-half-your-possessions thing. That is, if you have a bit more forethought, and not a surprise $1000 rent increase and a roommate deciding to go on a last minute cross country rendez-vous.

In my defense, the free box method is a time honored Portland tradition, and probably the reason that I have most of this shit in the first place. However, there comes a point when your free box just becomes some sort of grotesque illegal dumping situation. We were definitely toeing that line for a while there.

And yes, the whole freegan love thing is pretty cool, but donating it somewhere may actually be a better way to go. Goodwill’s an OK option, but should probably only be used as a last resort. I can’t lie though, that is definitely what we did after we let our neighborhood have their pick of it.

What I probably should have done was give it to an organization that could have put more use to it than those craigslist trolls.

Well, shit. In my regret, I’ve decided to mention some of those organizations in my area that do great work with all that non-trash trash out there. I’ll use them for the next half of this inventory reduction. Holla.

  • The Arc of Multnomah/Washington County - These guys run a resale store to fund their programs. Clients from their programs come and volunteer with me at my work.The have a long list of things that they don’t accept, but definitely worth it to sort out the things they could use.
  • Volunteers of America - They do a similar thing. Volunteering at the Food Bank every once and a while too. Great things both these programs are doing
  • SCRAP - an amazing arts and crafts reuse center! They are definitely getting my fabric collection.
  • The Community Warehouse - They take bigger things like furniture. But remember to keep it classy. Charities don’t want your junk neither.
  • William Temple House - They run something similar to a Goodwill, and have a social services and emergency assistance piece, but they are a faith-based organization…and I tend to avoid that.
  • Oregon Food Bank - Lest we forget, cleaning up the kitchen. Oregon Food Bank accepts unopened non-perishable & perishable food  items for our neighbors in need.

Anyway, yeah, after its all said and done, and my lackluster Goodwill donation was complete; I am still left with a bit of trash. OK. A lot of trash. There is a random bed, that I don’t know where it came from, and a futon cushion from a futon that I definitely never owned. I snuck it over to my new house in the middle of the night and stuck it behind a truck in the front lawn. Definitely the opposite of classy.

Goddammit, what do I do with that thing?!

I think I’m going to burn it. Yeah, I’ll let you know how that goes.