This is a call for proposals. I’ve been running around this week, attending as many progressive/activist organization meetings locally as I can, just trying to get off my butt and get involved.
One thing I have learned in week #1, is that I am a good complainer, and a pretty poor problem solver.
Don’t get me wrong. I could probably still kick some butt in a courtroom, if it came to that, on some issues. But, trying to come up with ideas to act locally to help address real problems, not so much. So on various topics, I am seeking advice from the experts at Booman, below the flip.
Energy Ideas
One of the groups I have met with is concerned with working toward a sustainable community. I think this is my favorite group. There was lots of talk about energy, and what might be done about it locally. I am wondering if any of our energy experts out there have any suggestions about projects or goals a local group might try to effect, to make their communities more sustainable in energy terms. No idea is too small, or too large.
Local Anti-War Initatives
One of the groups is focused on peace. Their activities currently seem to consist of having a poorly attended rally once a week, trying to recruit new members at local gatherings to grow, working to stop recruitment at local high schools, and what all else, I don’t really know yet. Anybody at BMT have any cool ideas for local ways to try and have an impact and bring a stop to this reviled war.
Micro-credit and Mondragon
Can’t leave you business and economic types out of the discussion. A group concerned with social justice talked about starting a Micro-credit program to compete with and replace the predatory pay check lenders in the community. This got me thinking along the lines of the Mondragon system of financing businesses in Spain. But, on the details, who knows where to begin? Any other ideas along these lines, or specifics which might help actually getting a micro-credit or mondragon system running? Or is this just pie in the sky?
Creative Protests For Youngsters
One of the groups is younger people. They seem a bit on the radical side. Like, I would say the members of this group stand the best chance of getting hammered with a police baton, or spending a night in jail. On the one hand, I admire their enthusiasm. On the other, a young skull is a terrible thing to waste. Any creative types out there have any ideas for a radical, yet safe, trendy alternative kind of protest, that might interest folks like this, and yet help keep them safe from our militant police forces?
Okay. That is enough for now. Suggestions? Discuss and decide. Thanks.
Sustainable Community Ideas:
#1) Have them contact the local power company to see if they do energy audits. If they do, see if they would be interested in doing audits for some volunteer locations with media representatives present. I’ll assume they will be, as it could generate free publicity for their energy conservation program. (Work through their press office / media contact.) Once the power company is on board, get media (papers, TV, radio) on board to cover it. Then you need your volunteers – actually, you might want to line these up first, to help gain credibility with the other parties – Ideas for volunteer sites to gain maximum publicity: The mayor’s home / Home of a local sports celebrity / home of a TV newsperson or anchor / a school / a well-known restaurant (What’s the name of that really expensive, really great seafood house around the corner from Faneuil Hall?) / some famous public building as a “control” (Faneuil Hall, Old North Church, etc. – you may need National Parks Department buy-in for this, so you might try something without federal involvement, like the reconstructed Thoreau cabin at Walden Pond. Can you tell I visited Boston as a tourist a few months ago?)
#2) See if you can have a recyclables collection contest between different schools in a district. The first person you need to talk to here is a company that collects recyclables, then the school district, then the principals of the schools. If you collect aluminum, you can maybe make money for each school’s PTA as an incentive for participation. You’ll need to make up educational materials for the teachers to use with their classes in discussing recycling and how it saves energy and resources – booklets, posters, power point slide shows. You may have to have volunteers go to talk at the different schools. You can try and get local energy or environmentally related businesses (or bookstores!) to donate prizes for the top schools. You have to put information about the recycling company in the booklets or slide show as a carrot for them – they may even want to come give parts of the presentations, or offer tours of their facility to school groups as part of the program. Don’t forget to include media coverage!
The trick to getting any of these kinds of things to work is to figure out (1) In what order do I need to bring people on board? and (2) What carrots can I offer each participant so there’s a reason for them to buy in to my plan? (Sorry, I know they all should want to do it out of altruism and love, but in reality, carrots have a higher success rate.)
Extra carrot for your group – after success with a few projects like this, they can write them us in a grant proposal for additional funding from a foundation for even bigger / longer-term projects. They might even be able to hire some college interns to do this work for you (your carrot).
Progressive (I still am tempted to type Dem):
Thanks for ideas. Some questions and comments.
On the energy audits? What’s an energy audit? And, I am not really in Boston (at first I thought I didn’t really know my community that well, because I couldn’t place the fish restaurant, but then I saw the Old North Church and figured it out). I just took the name because this era reminds me of the red-scare (the terrorist wars) and I really like Joe Welch telling McCarthy off. I need to hear more on this idea. It sounds cool. Tell it to me like I was a six year old (because I liked the movie Philadelphia, and because my intellectual capacity on these issues is approximately that of a six year old, if that).
On recycling idea. That sounds so easy and cool, and some of the people in the group are interested in an educational kind of project, so that could serve that purpose.
Thanks man.
First an energy audit:
Essentially power company reps inspect a site (house, store, community building, etc.) and look for opportunied to save energy usage.
I’d suggest the following, focus on low income or elderly folks, they are going to have a tough time this winter.
Before the audit, check at http://www.energystar.gov/, power companies, state and local governments. There are a series of programs for low income folks for energy savings. I’d partner with a Habitat for Humanity chapter. Get the energy audit done and then have volunteers and local contractors donate time and materials to complete the items on the audit. If you can get the press out, you should be able to find some local contractors willing to do some work in exchange for some press.
Perhaps, even use this as a launch for your microcredit group. Start with energy loans for low income folks. Principal to be paid back from a portion of the savings.
Good Luck
First, that is the best though I have ever heard. Ahahahaha. (Laughing with you here, I hope).
The link didn’t work for me, but I can find it. And your comment explains an energy audit for me. I think I get that now.
The synergy between the audit and micro-credit ideas might work kinda cool, too.
Excellent though. Good thought, to. Ahahahaha.
(Don’t you hate that you can’t edit the damn comments. That is a pet peave of mine, because I hate going back and reading all my errors.)
to instead of too, for instance.
If you are in a cold climate, heating prices are going to be nasty. Probably up 40-50% over last year. Getting press for programs to help people save money on heating should be pretty easy. In addition, there is a lot of work unskilled volunteers can do. Window films, weatherstipping, compact fluorescent bulbs, etc..
It such a good idea, I think I’ll have the kids I work with take it on as a community service project. We can probably get donations from Home Depot & Lowes.
I already let Susan know in an Open Tread that we really need our spellchecker back…
Open Thread, that is. LOL
BostonJoe,
What type of community are you talking about? Inner-City, working class poor, edge-of-urban, suburban … ????
Greater metropolitan area — c. 500,000 pop. total.
I’d like to see young people getting an education about how to handle money. How about starting a credit union?
As for microfinance, maybe you could get some instruction from FINCA
Good luck Joe, and let us know how it goes.
Thanks for ideas.
On the credit union thing, that actually came up in the micro banking discussion. The person proposing the micro banking idea (who seemed to look like the way I imagine Bonddad looks) said it could be done within existing credit unions. There are a lot of credit unions in the area, so I am not sure how that helps.
I like the village banking thing. I obviously haven’t taken the time to read the entire site yet, but I have bookmarked it, and will.
Thanks Alice.
The idea really appealed to me too, but I just know zero about banking/economics. So, I mean Marxism appeals to me to, but in practice I would probably end up implementing it like Lennon, and then, you know, be reviled for my eternity. Maybe not reviled as much as Bush is going to be though. Anyway. Just random thoughts. Thanks for the constructive stuff.
Joe,
in my area we have a small anti-war group too. I’m just now beginning to get more involved. In fact, I’ve just been asked to speak at a presentation where the photos and names of fallen soldiers, sailors, and marines, lost in Iraq and Afghanistan will be covering the walls of a local venue here. This is a big step for me, and a bit scary, but I think I’ll do it because I can’t not do anything anymore, and if in some small way something I say gets through to someone then it’s worth a few minutes of personal terror :o) This particular idea is, I think, a great way to reach out to those in a community that you wouldn’t label as “anti-war” and is a good way to get them to see the cost of this war.
Each of us, individually can sometimes feel weak and unable to directly affect a change in the face of the
momentous task of re-taking the soul of this country. I can tell you that for months and months I sat and wondered, what the hell can I possibly do that will make a difference. Then along came Cindy Sheehan. She changed everything by reminding me and so many others of the power of one voice.
Another thing you might consider is getting involved with your local draft board through the Selective Service. We have one of our own in the process of being interviewed for a place on our local board. She felt it was imperative to have an anti-war voice on the board. It’s a good way to be involved in the process and to be able to, if the need arises to add balance and fairness.
We’ve been fortunate to have the involvment of young people as well. Although I wasn’t involved, there was a demonstration by members, including a good number of high school age kids, at one of the local recruitment centers to call into question the underhanded practices of many recruiters these days in thier quest to meet their quotas. We are also fortunate here to have members of the local press that are sympathetic to many of our causes, so we have been succesful in getting a good amount of coverage.
I think the best way to bring about change and get results is to act locally and from there it spreads outward. Good luck, and I respect your efforts to seek input and ideas. We need so many more like you.
I like the photo impact idea, and the draft board participation. Those are things I could bring up within the group. Thanks for your insights.
To those who participated in the “teach-in.” I think this gives me a pretty good agenda for the week. Concrete things I can work on. Perhaps some of the ideas can bear fruit some day. Your thoughts are appreciated.