SteveL charity choice;
Should numbers hold up, I would like my charity to be Catalyst Park - a subset to our local Master Gardener program. Some may be familiar with the Master Gardening program with the main focus to train people, who then, in order to remain Master Gardeners must give back to the community. That goal is very worthy in it's own right, however the Catalyst Park project in the local community here pushes these volunteers a step further. The result is two fold; to provide an opportunity for people within the city to grow their own food in small plots and more importantly the Catalyst Garden project grows significant fresh food that is then donated to the local food bank. The idea here is to provide fresh wholesome food. Additionally, while the Saint Pantry's food bank is separate, they are especially interested in getting some of the fresh wholesome food to young kids. They provide backpacks that the kids can bring back and that are then refilled with healthy foods from the food bank as needed. All the people at Catalyst Park are volunteers and so any donation goes only for direct cost to run the Catalyst Garden. Any contribution coming to this group will have a high impact. Every donation, I promise, will make a meaningful difference! I am not a part of this group, but I have seen what they do and I am impressed. One down side that I hope will not be too problematic is that there is no way to donate online. Contributions can be made to Master Gardeners with a notation on the check that it is for Catalyst Park. Address is in Make a Difference letter below.
The small town that Catalyst Park is part of, has had its share of bad luck recently. Economically, in a bit over a years time, the two lumber mills here closed down. One moved to Oregon and the other has been sold to Sierra Pacific. Sierra Pacific tore the old mill down and is building a new one, but the new mill will be modern and very mechanized. Many of these jobs held by workers, where families have worked at the same place for generations, are gone and will not be replaced. Younger workers can move on, but for those close to retirement this is a sad fate they did not expect. We can't do anything about that of course, but we should be able to help feed people in need.
I'll be happy to answer any questions anyone might have. Given our recent election, I'm more than a little hesitant to even think of declaring victory prematurely but wanted to have the information out there just in case. For the hard workers at Catalyst Garden, I sincerely thank you for your donation. And of course, a special thanks to Bulba for making this possible.
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