posted Apr 2, 2009 1:56 PM by Tim Mansfield
Upcoming Events: Harvest Saturday Afternoon: April 4 at 1:30 PM. Time commitment approximately 2 hours. Harvest Tuesday Morning: April 7 at 9:00 AM. Time commitment approximately 2 hours. Coordinating Committee Meeting: Wednesday April 15, 5:00 PM.
As always, newcomers are welcome to any harvest and please bring a friend! For future planning, we're hoping to arrange a harvest for each Saturday and each Tuesday, so let us know if you're interested in attending a future event.
The Coordinating Committee is a new group of core volunteers willing to put a little bit of extra time and effort into making SoCal Harvest a success. We will meet approximately once a month and members will be expected to take on a specific role, such as donor relations, marketing, or leading teams of harvesters. It will be lots of fun and you'll feel proud of your contribution to helping bring healthy food that otherwise would have gone to waste to those in hunger. Please feel free to contact me for more details if you think you might be interested.
New Volunteer Opportunities: We have an immediate need for harvest team leaders and an equipment manager. The team leaders will be responsible for managing approximately two harvests per month. The time commitment is equivalent to the length of the harvest plus approximately an hour for coordination and planning for each event. The equipment manager will be responsible for storing and maintaining the group's equipment and must be available to coordinate with harvest team leaders regarding use of the equipment.
Successes: This past weekend the Yes We Can Democratic Club, with support from SoCal Harvest, harvested approximately 1400 lbs of citrus. An awesome harvest! We are looking forward to working with them again in the near future. For more information about the Yes We Can Democratic Club, email info@ywcdc.com. Our team also harvested an additional 400 lbs of grapefruit for a record 1800 lbs for the weekend! A big Thank You to our donors.
I hope to see you soon, Cathy Clarkin Founder 562-397-7751 |
posted Apr 2, 2009 2:46 AM by Tim Mansfield
Did You See Us In the Press Telegram?Joe Segura's Sunday article on Salvaging Food for the Hungry includes a few paragraphs about our efforts at SoCal Harvest: http://www.presstelegram.com/search/ci_11986037.
The publicity has already resulted in new donations, including 108 lbs
of grapefruit this past weekend, and new volunteers. Remember you can
help spread the word about SoCal Harvest too, by encouraging your
friends and neighbors to donate or volunteer!
Volunteer for Harvest this Weekend Please
join us for a harvest this weekend on Sunday at 1:00 PM. We'll be
going to two or three houses in Long Beach to harvest more citrus
fruit. Even if you can only make it for part of the afternoon, you are
welcome to join us. Newcomers are encouraged to attend. Just send an
email to info@socalharvest.org to RSVP and I will send you the details.
Sunday Food Drive Continues You
are still welcome to drop produce on my front porch any Sunday.
Contact me if you don't have my address. The food banks and other
agencies receiving our donations have been so grateful for the fresh,
healthy food. The need is so great during these tough economic times,
so any donation will be appreciated.
I hope to see lots of you this weekend or at an upcoming event!
Cathy Clarkin Founder 562-397-7751
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posted Mar 13, 2009 11:30 AM by Tim Mansfield
Bixby Knolls Harvest a Huge SuccessLots of fun and lots of fruit! Eight volunteers and the owner of a home with many fruit trees harvested over 900 lbs of tangerines, oranges, grapefruit, lemons, and kumquats this past weekend. The produce went to several agencies in Long Beach, including the Flossie Lewis Center, Tarzana Treatment Center, and Centro Shalom. The recipients were grateful for the fresh, healthy food. A big thank you to the volunteers and donor!
In addition to our harvest, we distributed over 100 lbs of tangelos from another donor, making our total contribution for the weekend over 1025 lbs.
Upcoming Harvests We are looking for volunteers to help harvest on Sunday afternoon, March 22. (This is the harvest originally planned for this weekend.) Please contact shirley@socalharvest.org if you are interested in joining us for the March 22 harvest, or any other future harvests. We hope to be harvesting two to four times each month and you are welcome to come just once, or every time. No experience necessary. Join the fun and make new connections with your community!
The Yes We Can Democratic Club is organizing a group of volunteers to harvest on March 28. We are excited about the partnership and are looking forward to their participation.
Word is Spreading We're always looking for new donors and volunteers, but I am glad to report that the word is spreading about SoCal Harvest. Food Finders reported this week that, based on our publicity, a number of people have stopped by their offices to drop off produce from their backyards.
We are working on a flyer that you can share with your neighbors and co-workers to help spread the word even more. I hope to have that out to you next week.
Until next time, |
posted Mar 8, 2009 11:02 PM by Tim Mansfield
Harvest this Weekend and Beyond Thank
you to the volunteers who have signed up to pick oranges, grapefruit,
lemons, tangerines, and kumquats this weekend. If you haven't signed
up yet and are interested in joining us, please contact info@socalharvest.org. Will be picking in Bixby Knolls this Saturday afternoon, March 7, at 1:30. Come join the fun!
We
are also looking for harvest volunteers for the following weekend when
we'll be collecting grapefruit at 1:30, March 14. Please send an email
if you are interested in joining that harvest or a future one. We'll
be adding additional harvest dates as we identify new produce donors.
SoCal Harvest Organizing Committee Formation What
a fantastic volunteer meeting last weekend. It was great to meet
everyone and see the enthusiasm for SoCal Harvest. At the meeting we
discussed forming an organizing committee to manage SoCal Harvest
activities. We've identified volunteers to organize harvest teams,
coordinate delivery of produce donations, help manage the website and
volunteer data, and work with schools.
I
will introduce you to all these organizing committee members in a
subsequent newsletter. For now, I'd like to do the first introduction:
meet Shirley Jackson. Shirley will be heading up our harvesting team.
She has done a fantastic job this week coordinating with the produce
donor and volunteers who have signed-up to harvest. I'm sure you'll
enjoy meeting her at an upcoming harvest. You can contact her at shirley@socalharvest.org if you'd like to join a harvest team or have a team come to your home to collect fruit.
If
you are interested in participating in the organizing committee, please
contact me by responding to this email, or writing to cathy@socalharvest.org.
We are especially looking for someone to help organize activities
related to publicizing SoCal Harvest. If you have a bit of time to
spare and want to take a leadership role in SoCal Harvest, please join
us!
First Harvest by SoCal Harvest a Success Thanks
also to the volunteers who helped us collect our first harvest last
weekend, and to the donors who let us practice harvesting at their
homes. We collected 52 lbs of lemons from two locations, and learned a
bit along the way. Combining the lemons with some donated home-grown
tangerines and oranges brought last week's donations to 60 lbs total.
We're up to 1157 lbs of produce donated for the year - not bad for
just getting started!
Remember, you can drop
produce off on my front porch any Sunday at 1809 Tulane Ave., Long
Beach 90815. The produce will be delivered to a food bank in Long
Beach each Monday. Be sure to leave your name and contact information
when you stop by.
Hope to see you soon, Cathy Clarkin Community Organizer 562-397-7751 |
posted Mar 8, 2009 11:01 PM by Tim Mansfield
Reminder: Meeting and Harvest this Weekend Just
a quick reminder that we'd love for you to attend our volunteer meeting
at 1:00 this Saturday, February 28th at 1809 Tulane Ave., Long Beach.
Immediately following the meeting at 2:00 we'll have our first team
harvest. Newcomers welcome. If you haven't already done so, please
RSVP for the volunteer meeting and/or harvest by responding to this
email.
If you are unable to attend, but are
interested in becoming a volunteer, we are looking for people to join
harvest teams, deliver produce, work with schools and more. Please
contact me to let us know how you would like to help.
SoCal Harvest In the News
Forming Harvest Team for Saturday, March 7 Please contact info@socalharvest.org
if you can participate in a harvest on Saturday, March 7. We'll be
picking oranges, lemons, tangerines, grapefruit, and kumquats. Enjoy
some fresh air and physical activity and feel proud that you spent the
afternoon gathering fresh, healthy food for local families in need.
Bring your kids and make it an activity for the whole family!
Hope to see you soon, Cathy Clarkin Community Organizer 562-397-7751 |
posted Mar 8, 2009 11:01 PM by Tim Mansfield
Volunteer Meeting Set for February 28th Please
join us for a volunteer meeting on February 28th at 1:00 PM at my
house, 1809 Tulane Ave., Long Beach 90815. We'll discuss short- and
long-term goals for SoCal Harvest and how each of you can participate.
Topics will include creating teams of harvesters, identifying produce
donors and volunteers, working with schools, and more. Bring your
ideas for growing SoCal Harvest.
Join Our First Team Harvest Immediately
after the volunteer meeting, we'll do our first team harvest at a
couple of my neighbor's homes. The harvest will be a dry-run to help
us get a handle on what equipment we need and how much, how big our
harvesting teams should be, and how long a harvest takes. Please come
and bring your cameras, gardening gloves (if you have them), and
cardboard boxes (if you have any lying around). If you'd prefer to
skip the meeting and just join the harvest, just arrive at 2:00 instead
of 1:00. It's going to be fun!
Please RSVP for the volunteer meeting or team harvest or both by responding to this email. Thanks!
Weekly Food Drive Update - We've Reached 1000 lbs! This
week's food drive netted 23 lbs of farmer's market produce. That
means, in the one month that we have been collecting food, we've
donated 1004 lbs of fresh produce to food banks in Long Beach!
Congratulations and thanks to everyone who has participated. Keep the
donations coming. Just drop them at 1809 Tulane Ave. on any Sunday.
These
days of economic hardship mean that food banks need donations more than
ever. Please help make SoCal Harvest a strong, vibrant organization
that brings a steady flow of healthy food to those in need. Please
join us for the volunteer meeting and team harvest on the 28th. Thanks!
Cathy Community Organizer 562-397-7751 |
posted Mar 8, 2009 11:00 PM by Tim Mansfield
Volunteer Meeting Please
join us to discuss the goals and organization of SoCal Harvest and how
we, as volunteers, can make it grow. The tentative date for our
volunteer meeting is Saturday, February 28, 1:00 to 2:00 PM. We'll
have fun, get some work done, and enjoy some local foods.
If you are planning to attend, please reply to this email. More details on the agenda and location to follow.
How Will You Help? If
you have not already contacted me to let me know how you want to help
with SoCal Harvest, please do! We need teams of harvesters, donor
recruiters, drivers, and more. And, of course, we're always looking
for more donations of produce! How do you want to be involved?
We've
got a great flyer that you can distribute to your friends, neighbors,
and colleagues asking them to share their extra harvest - please
contact me for a copy. A copy of the flyer will also be added to the
website soon.
Check Out Our Website Speaking of the website, www.socalharvest.org
is a work-in-progress, but is still worth checking out. We have lots
of great links to organizations doing similar work. There is also good
information for both volunteers and donors. As always, help and
suggestions related to the website are welcome.
Weekly Produce Drive Last
Sunday's food drive netted 26 lbs of home-grown tangerines. Thanks to
Angi for dropping them at St. Luke's Wednesday food bank. We're
already nearing the 1000 lbs mark for total produce donated. If you
can help us reach that mark this weekend, please drop your home-grown
produce at 1809 Tulane Ave., Long Beach any time on Sunday. Thanks!
I look forward to meeting you on the 28th!
Cathy Clarkin Community Organizer |
posted Mar 8, 2009 10:59 PM by Tim Mansfield
Weekly Produce Drive Thank
you to those who contributed to last Sunday's fresh produce drive. We
delivered 49 lbs of fresh produce to Centro Shalom in Long Beach on
Monday. Remember, you can drop off fresh
produce, especially any extra from you garden, on any Sunday at 1809
Tulane Ave., Long Beach 90815. Additional drop-off locations will be added in the future.
Upcoming Volunteer/Donor Meeting Our next stage in organizing SoCal Harvest will be a volunteer/donor meeting later in February or in early March. If
you are interested in helping spread the word about SoCal Harvest,
participating in harvest teams, sharing your gardening knowledge, or
supporting SoCal Harvest in other ways, we hope you will attend. You
can meet others with similar interests and enjoy some fresh, local
snacks. Details on time and location will be posted next week.
Outside Volunteer Opportunity for Gardeners Carola
Bundy, a volunteer gardener and educator at Lincoln Elementary School,
and a SoCal Harvest supporter, is looking for volunteers with gardening
knowledge to help her and some kids start vermiculture composting. If
you are interested, please contact her at cjbundy@mac.com.
Please Spread the Word about SoCal Harvest Finally, we hope you will support our efforts to form a large network of produce donors by recruiting your friends, neighbors, and co-workers that have gardens and fruit trees. They will appreciate the opportunity to give, and to clean out their backyards!
Thanks again for your support and interest. I hope I have the chance to meet many of you at our upcoming meeting.
Best regards, Cathy Clarkin Community Organizer SoCal Harvest |
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