Sustaining Communities in Savannah

Every Monday I write about a person, group of people or organization that is making a difference in the world, or their community. On some Monday’s I scour the internet and struggle to find material for this theme. However this weekend I realized that there are people making a difference all around me right here in Savannah. The movement towards sustainability in community is truly growing here in Savannah. The term "sustainability" means the responsible management of resources (both material and human) in the interest of long-term survival. There are many residents here in Savannah that are pursuing individually, as a business and as non-profit organizations the sustainability of our community. As it turns out many of them are working together in one way or another, which makes sense in the principal practice of community sustainability.

The Southern Pine Company located over on 34^th and East Broad St. is a prime example of how this principal of community sustainability is making a difference. Southern Pine Company owners Pam and Ramsey Khalidi rescued the building from demolition in the early 2000’s and turned into a bustling reclaimed wood materials flooring and furniture building company. However using reclaimed materials is only one way Sothern Pine practices sustainability.

They lease a franchise of the national staffing agency Labor Ready out of the building, which draws day laborers from the surrounding neighborhood. Offering the economically sagging neighborhood a chance at sustaining itself. Print and design firm  STEAM  rents space at Southern Pine, and Gullah chef and cookbook author Sallie Ann Robinson is drawing up plans for a restaurant and cooking school. The coffee roaster PERC recently found its home in a corner of the property. PERC is filled with reclaimed salvaged wood tables, custom-built bathrooms and a giant new roaster. The Khalidi’s also make use of their large property by offering it up to the artistic community as a gathering space hosting all-age musical extravaganzas like Graveface Fest and No Control as well as the recent craft showcase Savannah Bazaar in its brick courtyard (laid with bricks reclaimed from a demolished city building – of course.) Southern Pine is also host to Maven Makers, an organization that is working to establish a collaborative work-space, run workshops and other community oriented events, with the goal of creating a community of knowledge, design, and creativity.

In the back corner of Southern Pine (behind PERC) an 18 foot tall greenhouse is under construction. The green house is being constructed completely with reclaimed materials, windows and all. The greenhouse is the vision of Meagan Hodge, President and co-founder of Design for Sustainability. Design for Ability, Inc. serves as a universally designed apprenticeship for youth with exceptional needs that advocates environmental stewardship through green jobs training and vocational education. They have partnered with Emergent Structures a non-profit whose mission is to increase the value and accessibility of building material waste streams through facilitation, collaboration, education, and advocacy. The project is sponsored by many companies from cash checks (Ikea) to material (DIRT Environmental Solutions & Guerry Lumber), skill and time (Sam Carroll Construction & RNR Home Improvements) donations.

The plan for the soon to be completed greenhouse, is to have the students and residents from the local neighborhood plant edible greens. Thus helping provide healthy economical food to people in a sustainable way. It’s a sustainability micro-environment right in the backyard of Southern Pine Company. An environment that I suspect will continue to reach out into our community in Savannah and continue to Make a Difference. 

Olympians Making A Difference In Our Lives

People all over the world sit down together every four years to watch some of the best athletes on earth compete in obscure and often dangerous sports. Athletes ski down a hill at 70 mph, soar through the air with no parachute and no net, slide face first down an ice chute at speeds up to 80 mph, and jump moguls doing back flips on skis. On slick ice they perform amazing athletic feats on thin blades of steel in synchronized movements with absolute grace, or race around a rink pulling up to 3G's as they round each corner with seeming ease. While we sit on the edge of our seat holding our breath completely mesmerized. These feats are a show of what can be achieved when a person focuses on ONE single purpose.

It's the Olympian's efforts that capture us all. The cameras capture anxious faces of moms, dads, siblings, coaches and friends, hopeful and expectant as they watch loved ones put everything on the line in one two-minute program, one downhill run, one hold-your-breath shot. And we watch as those same faces crumble, or resolve to be brave, or break down in tears — for joy or heartbreak. The Olympics are about sharing your trials and tribulations with those we are blessed enough to call family. Just as in real life, which is why these moments in the Olympics touch us so much, we identify. Who didn't tear up win Bode Miller won his Bronze medal, and then cried when interviewed by the aggressive interviewer? Or who didn't get a lump in their throat when Canada's Alex Bilodeau embraced his brother Frederic after winning the men's freestyle skiing moguls competition?

We're all just human, and life is going to get the best of us from time to time. Because life, like the Olympics, can be a rocky road from time to time. The important thing is you keep pushing on. Some of us will become world champions through our grit and determination. Even if we don't as in the Olympics, the effort and just being at the main event is THE accomplishment.

We learn to accept not just our best accomplishments, but even our mistakes, as displayed in the

closing ceremonies. The creative director of the Sochi games poked fun at the opening ceremony ring-lighting malfunction, by having one group of the Olympic ring purposefully pause before expanding into the complete ring, and full 5 ring icon. We learn not just tolerance for others but respect. We feel respect for the Russian ice figure skater who won gold, because she did display an amazingly awesome performance. We have gotten to know her as an athlete, not just a Russian. We recognize all these new faces and for just a moment, seeing them stream in front of the camera, we feel part of a bigger narrative. We feel inspired to go out into our own world, find our single purpose, and be the best we can be. We realize we can create our own gold medal moments in life, and that’s the best thing about the Olympic Games.

Leadership Begins With Your Heart Not Your Head

Posted on February 17, 2014 by admin at KW blog 

Dianna Kokoszka, CEO of KW MAPS Coaching and KWU, filled the room with magnetic energy today at her Family Reunion breakout session “Dianna Unplugged.” She moved the audience with her passion, integrity and enthusiasm and inspired attendees to lead with their hearts not their heads.

“Your business grows to the extent that you do. Why wouldn’t you choose to grow as a leader? Do you want success without limitations? YES?! Then fall in love with the process of becoming a leader and train your team to be great leaders! The biggest function of a leader is to create more leaders. Leaders set the temperature and turn up the HEAT. Get ready to WIN BIG!” said Kokoszka.

Kokoszka illustrated the Triangle of Power and Influence, which states effective communication is followed by recognition and will result in influential leadership by permission. A leader is responsible for the experience of their followers. When you communicate your vision in a clear and compelling it ignites passion in your team and motivates them to live by your example. Elected leaders have high standards, embody their mission and settle for nothing less than exceptional results.

Motivation also drives momentum and people grow into the conversations you have around them. Kokoszka encouraged leaders to compliment their team when they do well and “they will keep doing it right,” she said. Leaders believe in their people and talk to them from a place of integrity. Lift your team to exponential growth by:

•        Coaching
•        Manifesting goodwill
•        Inspiring enthusiasm
•        Saying “we”, not “I”
•        Solving breakdowns
•        Demonstrating how it’s done
•        Saying “let go”

“Logic makes them think and emotions make them act,” she said. When asked the questions addressed to every leader, move your team with your passion, not your position. People want to know:

•        Do you care about me?
•        Can you help me?
•        Can I trust you?
•        Will you help me grow?
•        Who and what do you stand for?

“People teach what they know and reproduce who they are,” Kokoszka continued. Lead by permission and skill using the four Es:

1.        Energy
2.        Energize
3.        Edge
4.        Execution

She finished the session imploring leaders to seize the moment. “When an opportunity comes it’s too late to prepare. Put your potential to work by leading with your Es, passion, integrity, high standards and embody your mission and vision daily. Settle for nothing less than exceptional and get ready to make SUCCESS rain!”

NFL Player With an Inspiring Story

The only deaf player in the NFL to play offensive, helps his team and millions of others reach Super Stardom. The Seahawks Derrick Coleman’s determination and resilience has inspired millions. Coleman’s main message is; “No matter what kind of problem … whatever you wanna do, it is still achievable. You just have to overcome certain obstacles”. Derrick has been deaf since the age of three. Early on Derrick had to rely on lip reading, a skill that has helped him on the football field where he plays in the loudest sports stadium in the league.  “My disability is actually an advantage over everybody else. They are trying to hear the play, they really got to focus … all I gotta do is look at him … when things really get loud that’s when I turn to reading lips.”

His hearing impairment required him to work extra hard, but it was his attitude that propelled him forward. In his own words Derrick talks about this with NBC. "Freshman or sophomore year of high school is where I had that mindset of if someone tells me that I can’t do something, well I’m going to try real hard to do it," he said. “If I succeed great, and if I don’t well at least I know I gave it all I got and I didn't leave any excuses on the table. I’m capable of doing what everybody else can do, whether I have a hearing problem or not. You can’t use your problem as an excuse, because … you use an excuse you’re not gonna get to your dreams”

Coleman is an inspiration for so many young people with disabilities. His message that even though we have a disability, we can do anything really touches so many. Recently, just before the Super Bowl hearing impaired twin girls wrote to Coleman, and he responded. Good Morning America was instrumental in making the girls dream come true. Watch the video here:

After a Duracell ad aired during the Super Bowl with Coleman featured, the ad went viral on You Tube. The commercial had over 4 million views in five days. See if you are inspired to overcome your own obstacles.

Savannah Humane Society - Making a Difference

More than 55 years ago, a group of concerned animal lovers joined together to organize The Humane Society of Chatham-Savannah, Inc. They created a vision for Savannah where in our community for every pet there is a safe and loving home with a responsible owner. They conduct adoptions, provide education, owner assistance and affordable spay and neuter services.  As you know, we're a pet-loving team here. Several team members have rescue dogs; a couple of which came from the Humane Society. We've made donations, walked the dogs ourselves, and once had a holiday party and asked our guest to bring dog or cat food instead of presents. It's the least we could do for an organization so close to home for many of us. 

This often forgotten Savannah non-profit organization is really making a differene in our community. They have often rescued animals, and then find good homes for them. The most recent rescue was a 2 1/2 yr old Mastif - Pit (Juicy) mix dog which had been abandoned by its owners in Hinesville. The dog, nearly starved to death was nearly 40 pounds underweight. Watch the WTOC viedo on the heartwrenching story.

http://www.wsav.com/story/24548127/neglected-dog-in-hinesville-is-getting-some-much-needed-care?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=9769165

Pets are so important for our health. In fact here is an article from the American Physcology Association. 

Pets can serve as important sources of social and emotional support for “everyday people,” not just individuals facing significant health challenges, according to research published by the American Psychological Association. 
...“Specifically, pet owners had greater self-esteem, were more physically fit, tended to be less lonely, were more conscientious, were more extraverted, tended to be less fearful and tended to be less preoccupied than non-owners.” Read this article. http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2011/07/cats-dogs.aspx

Even zoo keepers understanding the nuturing and healthy impact of animals on our lives, and other animals life. The Cincinnati zoo has been successfully pairing adolescent cheetahs with dogs as playmates for 30 years as part of its Cat Ambassador program. Watch this adorable video as the dog and baby Ocelot play.

Technology Making a Difference in Our Daily Lifes

Here are some interesting Tech news that can have an impact on our daily life, that is if you use email, apps and any social media.  

I really like this article about cleaning up my email inbox. I desperately need to clean-up my email, but feel as though I don’t have the hours of time it might take to get there. This article has some great suggestions to help make it easy and to keep from getting overwhelmed by it all. I particularly like the suggestion at the bottom of the article on how to deal with spam.

http://www.inman.com/2014/01/13/reorganize-your-email-and-achieve-inbox-zero/

It looks like the social network industry is booming. More and more spin-offs from Facebook are being created. Though like in the original Pacman game they are getting eaten up by the giant in the industry.

http://mashable.com/2014/01/13/facebook-acquires-branch/

However don’t lose hope for smaller startups breaking through the internet ceiling. The two year old social media site We Heart It is making waves with younger users. Could it be the next big social network?

http://mashable.com/2014/01/13/we-heart-it/

Be in The Olympics

The word of the year for 2013 chosen by Oxford Dictionary was ‘selfie’. Selfie’s have exploded on social media. Everyone, has taken and posted a selfie on some social media site. Selfies have also taken beyond the earth. A space selfie is a selfie that is taken in space. This include selfies taken by astronauts, machines and by an indirect method to have self-portrait photograph on earth retaken in space. Now we can actually compete for the best selfie, the Selfie Olympics was created just short of two weeks ago. The Selfie Olympics is a completion for the best selfies. A Facebook page was also opened. Also a youtube video was created, and the Twitter handle is SelfyGames. Have fun.

A Real Christmas Story!

A young man in Vancouver got a big surprise when he offered to help a homless man with the offer of a meal. The homelss man turned out to be a wealthy man posing as a homless person rewarding charitable strangers. Yogi Omar recieved rent money from the man who wished to stay anonymous, saying only that  it was his family tradition to gift chariable strangers during the Chtistmas season.

That night after Yogi recieved a gift from this person he went home and posted on his Facebook page. From there the story went viral. Suddenly newspapers were calling him for interviews.
Here's Yogi's orginal Facebook Post: 

"I can't believe this... so, tonight I was downtown and I was approached by a homeless man and as per usual, he said "Spare some change?" and as per usual I said, "Sorry, no." but then for some reason I was compelled to follow up that sentence with, "I don't have any change, but have you eaten? I can buy you food. Or I can get you a coat or socks. What do you need?" 

Well well well, lo and behold, he revealed that he's not actually a homeless man. He's apparently some rich guy who is on a Random Act of Kindness project and he just wanted to see who actually talk to homeless people. We started talking and I shared my story about my dad suffering from cancer and that I'm spending a lot of my savings to buy last minute plane tickets to see him in China and that I'm on a bit of a pinch financially. Guess what... he decided to pay for my January rent. SERIOUSLY! He just gave me cash! Like... WHAAAAAAAT?!?!?!?

I asked for his name but he wanted to remain anonymous. He's a White guy, probably in his early 50s, just some regular looking guy. Could be anybody. Could be Santa! This is TOO unbelievable. Well, if you don't believe in Karma, you should now. You NEVER know what's going to happen in this life. Be kind to one another. Good night." 

Here are several links from different news organizations to either watch a video interview or read about this Christmas tale.

Global News: video
http://globalnews.ca/news/1044621/vancouver-man-receives-random-act-of-kindness-after-encounter-with-homeless-man/
CBC News British Columbia: video
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/homeless-man-pays-next-months-rent-for-strangers-1.2471275
The Vancouver Sun:
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Scruffy+Vancouver+panhandler+random+acts+kindness/9311275/story.html
Metro News - Vancouver:
http://metronews.ca/news/vancouver/890141/vancouver-panhandler-pays-do-gooders-rent/#
Dashburst:
http://dashburst.com/wealthy-man-poses-homeless-rewards-charitable-strangers/

Equinox Orchestra Concert Benefits The Empty Stocking Fund

Tonight at the Westin Savannah Harbor and Resort there will be a benefit concert with Equinox Orchestra along with a three course dinner. The event will benefit the annual Empty Stocking Fund sponsored by Savannah Now, tickets are $50.00. The Empty Stocking Fund benefits Savannah families in need during the holiday season.

The Savannah Now newspaper runs stories about some of the families that will be recipients of the fund. Read about today's story which describes the difficulties of a woman, with a five year old girl, in an abusive relationship and how she is turning her life around.
http://savannahnow.com/latest-news/2013-12-16/battered-mom-flees-abuse-seeks-help#.Uq8cNPRDuVA

Read more more the fund hre: http://savannahnow.com/opinion/2013-12-10/empty-stocking-fund-continue-tradition#.Uq8Pj_RDuVA

There is still time to reserve your seat at this evenings concert here: https://equinox.thundertix.com/

Easy Ways To Make A Difference in The World

How To Make A Difference To The World

Many people believe that they don’t have what it takes to make a difference to the world. They believe only people like Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Bill Gates, and the likes, are capable of making a difference.

The truth is, every one of us is put in this world to contribute and make a difference to the world in our own unique way. Read more on how to make a difference. From the Change Blog by Mark Foo.

4 Totally Realistic Ways To Make A Difference In The World

Want to make a difference but don't know where or how to start? Consider these unexpected but realistic ways... from a man who's spent his life giving back.  Jim Ziolkowski provides four ways to make a difference, and one of them starts right with your own family. Read more ...

From the Huffingtonpost By Leigh Newman

What it Takes to Lead a Regret-Free Life

What are we thankful for this holiday season? Living regret-free. The holiday season is about celebrating what you have, and we believe that includes what you have done and accomplished.

The holiday season isn’t a time to reflect on the coulda, woulda, shoulda in our lives. Along with all those things we left undone comes regret. Regret that we focus too much on work, rather than family. Regret that we don’t act on our dreams to make them a reality. Regret that we don’t have the career we always wanted.

The time to change that is now because the longer you wait, the more likely it is that your last holiday season will include regret as the main course. This season celebrate the start of a regret-free life.

What it Takes to Live Without Regret

We’ve got something you’re sure to be thankful for – insight and advice on how to get rid of regret starting today.

Truth

Being true to yourself and what it is you want is the only way to achieve a regret-free life. You can take action and bravely put in effort towards big goals, but if it is not what is in your heart, you’ll still be left with regret. Your parents, spouse and friends are important parts of your life, but it is your life. When you are true to yourself you can put yourself together properly, which in turn puts your whole world in order.

Know that it’s okay to be who you expect to be, not what others expect you to be. Ask yourself if your career, where you live, how you appear is what you really want. Identify the motivating source behind your decisions. If you aren’t the driving force, it’s time to change course.

Action

A 1994 study by Thomas Gilovich and Victoria Husted Medvec found that without a doubt what we did not do was the greatest source of regret in people’s lives. Actions can have a short-term regret like getting Montezuma’s revenge during your adventure excursion in South America. But in the long-term you would have deeply regretted not getting to sit on top of the Mayan pyramids sickness and all.

Start putting goals down on paper and planning out the steps that will get you there. The ONE Thing resources contain everything you need to take action towards your long and short-term goals. Once that’s done keep on actively pursuing those goals, and don’t stop until you reach them. If you let the momentum slow – for even a short period of time – not following through to the end will just be another regret you have to live with.

Purpose

You can take action every day, but without purpose you won’t get where you ultimately want to be. Purpose fuels productivity, it gives actions meaning. It also helps you prioritize your life so that focus is on what matters most right now.

Find your ONE Thing. Think about the key areas of your life and ask yourself the focusing question for each, “What’s the ONE Thing I can do to _____ such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?” The answer to the question is driven by purpose and makes it easy to identify priorities that need to be addressed first on the journey to a life without regrets.

Faith

Faith and fear live inside all of us, battling like two angels on either shoulder. While fear creates doubt and holds us back, faith is built on conviction that gives us the confidence needed to take action. Which one you decide to listen to is your decision, but without faith there’s no way to move forward with purpose.

Make the voice of faith louder. Match every doubt with a known, every negative with a positive. Visualize what you will achieve by taking action and make that your first thought when you wake each day. Remind yourself that it is your choice to follow faith or fear.

Effort

Without effort, achievement is not possible. You can begin the journey, but if you don’t put forth the effort you’ll never finish. Effort is the follow through. It’s the lining up of all the dominoes, not just the first few.

Put your ONE Thing at the top of your priority list. When you time block the activities of each day put that ONE Thing at a time when you have the energy and focus to put all your effort into it.

This Thanksgiving, between the turkey and football games, take the time to reflect on your biggest achievements and what those meant to you. Use that as a positive platform for seeking out the truth of what you want most in life. Take this first step to begin your journey to living without regrets.

Original Source: http://www.the1thing.com/blog/gary-keller/thanksgiving-live-a-life-of-no-regret

Top Givers That Put Money Where It Counts

Wondering which philanthropists are all talk a little action, and which ones really put their money where their mouth is? Well the Philanthropic Research Institute was wondering, and decided to rank which Americans gave the most in the last calendar year.  Not what they said they would pledge, but what they actually paid out. Take a look at  some pictures and statistics of the top 50 Biggest Givers.

http://www.forbes.com/pictures/ekeg45efkh/1-bill-melinda-gates/

Super Typhoon Haiyan, Together We Can Make A Difference

One of the most powerful storms ever to hit land hit the Philippines on Friday. When Typhoon Haiyan hit land it triggered 12 to 15 feet high storm surges, flooding, landslides, killing nearly 10,000 people and affecting an estimated 9.5 million people. The Philippines Department of Social Welfare and Development is estimating 618,175 people are currently displaced.

The devastation is now hampering efforts to bring aid to people.
Richard Gordon, the chairman of the Philippine Red Cross, said that a Red Cross aid convoy to Tacloban had to turn back on Sunday after it stopped at a collapsed bridge and was nearly hijacked by a crowd of hungry people. “There is very little food going in, and what food there was, was captured” by the crowd, Mr. Gordon said in a telephone interview on Monday morning." reported the New York Times today. Resources of the Philippines and other national NPO's are stretched due to the previous 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Boholand and now typhoon Haiyan.
Working together, we can all make a difference in the lives of those in the Philippines who desperately need our help. There are a variety of ways to contribute to this devastating storm.

Dog in rubble in Philippines (IFAW photo)

The World Food Programme
The Philippine Red Cross 
Philippines Unicef
World Vision
Catholic Relief Services
Save The Children
Habitat For Humanity
Global Medic
Care

Help Animal victims of Typoon Haiyan
International Fund For Animal Welfare

KW Cares Top 10 donors

Recently Keller Williams President Mary Tennant characterized the philosophy at Keller Williams as 'a culture of success' during her State of the Culture address at the Mega Leadership Camp, and “At the heart of our culture is our shared commitment to help those in need,” she said.

This commitment was the motivating passion of Chairman Mo Anderson whom in  2003 established KW Cares. A 501(c)(3)  public charity that raises money through Keller Williams offices across North America. Today it is supported by all KW associates. This charity is the heart of the Keller Williams Realty culture in action – finding and serving the higher purpose of business through charitable giving in the communities where our agents live and work.  KW Cares continues to support extraordinary personal challenges of Keller Williams associates and their families, in need during times of regional, national, and personal crisis.

2013 certainly saw it’s fair share of natural disasters and Keller Williams associates supported each other in big ways including the wildfires in Colorado and Hurricane Sandy in the Northeast. Every Keller Williams team has their own way of giving back to their communities, including those of the KW Cares that they are involved in. See The Don Callahan Team's community involvement. See Keller Williams top 10 donors at the video below:

Find Your Tribe

Gina Bianchini has been making a difference for women and entrepreneurs in helping them find their way to achieving their goals. Gina is the founder of Mightybell and co-founder of Leanin.org and Ning. Gina is all about helping others create communities where people of like minds can come together, learn and share in groups.

In this short video Gina talks about the mind of an entrepreneur and how creating or finding your own circle of interests can help in supporting you to achieving your dreams. 

http://www.inman.com/2013/10/21/gina-bianchini-has-started-3-companies-and-knows-how-to-think-like-an-entrepreneur/

Couple promises $10 million to keep Head Start programs running

As the shutdown drags on my irritation rises, and my tolerance for over the top media coverage on the subject wanes at each passing day. So it is nice to see some good news surrounding the shutdown for a change. Maybe you heard this in the news; two philanthropists, Laura and John Arnold, donated up to $10 million to help keep National Head Start programs running during the shutdown.

Read a CBS article here and/or watch the short CBS video.


Your short introduction will be hereAnd the rest of your post here

Are You Stealing Time From Yourself?

"When you gamble with your time, you may be placing a bet you can't cover." ~Gary Keller

Service Unites

We like to write a little something once a week or so about someone or an organization that is making a difference in the world we live in. This is a strong thread that weaves its way through all of Keller Williams marketplaces, teams, and agents. These days there is plenty of material to choose from, and yet is it really something most of us include (volunteering to help others) in our daily lives? Do we really know who are role models are for uniting us as citizens into volunteering to address critical needs and improving our community? Here are a few quotes and thoughts on volunteerism from some well-known people.

Role Models

• “We understand that we have a fundamental responsibility to use our scale, global reach, and yes, even our capital to support and invest in our community.” Peter Scher, Executive VP, Head of Corporate Responsibility, JP Morgan Chase & Company

• “Volunteerism is the optimum” -Bill O’Reilly, FOX News

• “How can we mobilize volunteers the way we mobilize voters?”Karl Rove and David Plouffe share tactics from both sides of the aisle: it’s about speed, authenticity, and efficacy. “respect, empower, include.”

• "Be of service. Whether you make yourself available to a friend or co-worker, or you make time every month to do volunteer work, there is nothing that harvests more of a feeling of empowerment than being of service to someone in need." - Gillian Anderson  actress

Finding Your Volunteer Niche

If you are wondering about what might be of interest to volunteer with than go to the United Way HandsOn of Savannah a direct service of the United Way of the Coastal Empire. “United Way HandsOn Savannah (HOS) helps individuals, families and corporate and community groups find

flexible volunteer opportunities at more than 200 service organizations and schools in our four county area.” At the HandsOn website one can browse by Partner Organizations that you might be interested in helping, or by opportunities. If you are thinking of volunteering but are not sure how to get started? It’s best to do some research first. Look for an organization that deals with issues about which you feel strongly. Then consider the skills you have to offer. Some opportunities involve some training, this can provide one with a great learning experience. Make sure you don’t over commit yourself, these organizations depend heavily on their volunteers. Finally some wise advice from the HandsOn organization: “Bring your heart and your sense of humor to your volunteer service, along with the enthusiastic spirit which is, in itself, a priceless gift. What you'll get back will be immeasurable!”

 Just Do It!

The Don Callahan Real Estate Group will be volunteering on Sept. 7^th at the Surfers for Autism fundraising event at Tybee beach.  The Surfers for Autism mission is to unlock the potential of people with developmental delays, support advocacy for autism issues and scientific research. Don and the team feel strongly about giving back to our community, and this is an annual event that the team participates in. The Don Callahan Real Estate Group also gives a percentage from each transaction of the year to Surfers for Autism.  

“Research has shown that people who volunteer often live longer.” - Allen Klein (author)

Unique Company Creates a Win-Win For All

Think you’re great at recycling? How providing charitable gifts or donations to the non-profit or school of your choice with your recycled garbage? That’s a win-win isn't it?! Well check out TerraCycle Inc. a highly-awarded, international upcycling (using every aspect of waste as value) and recycling company that collects difficult-to-recycle packaging and products and re-purposes the material into affordable, innovative products. Their mission is to eliminate the idea of waste, and they do this by creating waste collection programs (called Brigades). They provide incentive to receive your waste with free shipping and by awarding TerraCycle points for the waste received which can be redeemed for charitable gifts or a payment of $.01 per point to the non-profit or school of your choice.

 Join a Waste Stream

Creatively they have created a program with over 40 different ‘waste streams’ that can be received. Collecting the waste of choice is called a ‘Brigade’. The waste streams include items such as hummus containers, laptops, inkjet toner cartridges and even cigarette butts. You collect your waste download a shipping label from your account and send the waste to TerraCycle. Your location is credited with the TerraCycle points and then the items are sent to be converted into new products ranging from recycled park benches to upcycled backpacks. The waste items are transformed into new products through a variety of

processes like injection molding. Best of all if you purchase one of these products such as a backpack, when you have worn it out and it is ready to be recycled you can send it back to TerraCycle and get credit for the waste a second time. There are over 250 products to choose from, recycled toilet seats, soap dispensers, garden pavers, you name it!

Collecting Cigarette Butts?

This unique company was founded in 2001 by Tom Szaky then a 20 year old freshman at Princeton

University, and has been written about over hundreds of times by a wide variety of company’s and news organizations.  Most recently TerraCycle played a part of helping a youth in Detroit win an International Young Eco-Hero Award from the San Francisco based non-profit Action for Nature. The youth Brianna Moore started the Green Lifesaver Recycling Foundation to promote recycling. She visits two of her local parks and wearing gloves collects cigarette butts, bottles and other trash. She stuffs the cigarette butts into plastic bags, which her local recycling center doesn't accept, mails them to Terra Cycle. The company recycles them into plastic pallets and other industrial products.

Become a Partner

You can collaborate or partner with TerraCycle by signing up for a Brigade and start to collect a waste stream at home, in your office, or launch a national Brigade program with you company. Or you can use some of their raw materials made 100% from waste to use in manufacturing products that your company produces. Or maybe you are a retailer that would like to sell TerraCycle products. Currently some major retailers like Target, OfficeDepot, Walmart, e-commerce sites and other stores are selling TerraCycle products.

So think twice before you dropping that hummus container into your recycle bin, because you could be fertilizing your garden and helping the non-profit organization of your choice with that cup.

All images from TerraCycle Inc.