I am terrific at creating a plan to reach someone else's vision. You tell me what's over there beyond the horizon and I'll create the way to get there. But I'm not much of a visionary.
I love helping other people realize their dreams for
creating a nonprofit or program or event they have dreamed up,
and I've directed oh-so-many projects created by others, and
loved it all. But creating and leading such myself? While I
know how to write a business plan, how to recruit volunteers
for tasks, how to publicize a project and how to fundraise,
the idea of getting a core group of people to marry an
idea with me, for at least a couple of years, and to make it
their part-time unpaid job to make it happen - that I've never
done. And I've no interest in leading one of those nonprofits
that's really created just so a person, the founder, can have
a job.
I also have a lot of causes I support. A lot. And a lot of
interests - I frequently go down rabbit holes for days, weeks,
months, years...
And the times, they keep a changin'.
So I created this page on my web site to keep track of of
things, or to share things, that don't fit elsewhere on my site,
and that relate more to the causes I support and my own project
and program ideas... few that there are. It's a catch-all
section of my site. A brainstorming section. An incubator for
some of my ideas. There's no overall theme here, outside of
"stuff that interests me."
The ideas I have toyed with that I would love to lead, co-organize, or just help someone else with are below. And I'm posting these here in case someone out there has a similar idea, or wants to steal any of these:
And BTW, I think a key for the legitimacy of a nonprofit is
getting a diversity of people working together to pursue a
nonprofit's mission, and being a leader that's so dynamic,
supportive, welcoming and inspiring you attract others that want
to participate in pursuing that nonprofit's mission. I'm not
sure I really have it in me for that.
First up, I have the entire eight-page
publication given to US soldiers during World War II to
explain what they were fighting for. “...you are risking
your very lives because of a thing called fascism… We Americans
have been fighting fascists for more than three years.” It
details what fascism is, how it takes hold of a population, and
the human misery it has fueled. It is just one of many examples
of how the USA has always been ANTIFA - anti-fascist - and to
not be a part of that fight is to shame the founding principles
of our country. This page provides more
info and a link to the PDF.
My ideas for projects I'd love to be a part of or co-organize
with someone else:
- Online knowledge
base, with an online community, focused solely on the
communications needs of nonprofits and non-governmental
organizations (NGOs). In a way, it would be the nonprofit
version of my own web site, particularly
this section, but with resources from others, not just
mine.
- Edit-a-thons
to improve the volunteerism-related information on Wikipedia.
- Nonprofit traveler's
Hostel in Louisville, Kentucky.
- Nonprofit wilderness hostel in
Tillamook Forest, Oregon.
- National movement to
create hostels across the USA - wilderness hostels like in
Canada and regular hostels like in England and Germany. With a
web site that outlines how a community can build support for a
nonprofit traveler's hostel, how to form a nonprofit for the
effort, what the different roles for volunteers are in
building support, an outline of a business plan, the variety
of ways a hostel can look and what it can offer, etc.
- Community
radio station wherever I'm living - and a movement to
create these across the USA. As
local newspapers continue to die, and as more and more
people get their information from podcasts and social media,
and as we become more and more divided socially, the need for
community radio has never been greater.
- Once a month living
room play readings.
45-minute readings, mostly from Shakespeare, but maybe from Moliere, Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson as well.
- My dream campground
in Kentucky.
Emphasizes quiet. Plenty of space for tent camping. Shelter for cooking by tent campers. Limited time for generators to run. 3 - 6 insulated, small, one-room cabins, no facilities to cook inside, just bunk beds, a table, a few power outlets, heating unit. Area completely surrounded by forests. Safe foot path to a gas station convenience store or town with at least a small grocery. Maybe a simple shelter, in the style of a small country church or small grange hall, with very limited kitchen facilities, for weddings and other social gatherings.
- Women's Retreat in
Kentucky, Oregon and/or Idaho.
A female-only space. For-profit or nonprofit, I don't care. Beautiful, somewhat isolated place, with beautiful, natural vistas and lots of opportunities to just sit alone and read (or think), or to talk in small or large groups. A one-room library full of a variety of books. Smart phones checked upon check-in - residents can go to a special room and spend up to one hour - no more - with their smart phone. Single room and dorm rooms available. Laundry facilities (but not laundry services) provided. Horse-back riding, hiking, tai chi, yoga, secular meditation, massage, drumming/percussion, delicious healthy food options (including MEAT), workshops on astronomy, history, cooking, keeping a journal, safety and protecting mental health online, how to relax (especially to fall asleep), how to recognize depression, and how to get involved in your community (how to find and test out volunteering options, how to find arts-related activities). Featured after lunch and evening movie showing or podcast-presentation followed by a guided discussion. No essential oils, no anti-science information, no lectures to carnivores regarding the evils of eating meat, no makeovers, no beauty tips. Alcohol-free. Facilities available for group rentals.
- Something like The
Rehearsal Club. A boarding house? Just a gathering place?
The Rehearsal Club was a boarding house founded in 1913 by Jean "Daisy" Greer for young women pursuing theater or dance careers. In addition to providing simple, shared rooms, it also provided a place for young women to rest between auditions, socialize and learn from each other, and receive simple meals. The Rehearsal Club served as the inspiration for Edna Ferber and George S. Kaufman's 1936 play Stage Door, which was adapted into the 1937 film of the same name starring Katharine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers. One of the most noted Rehearsal Club residents was Carol Burnett. I love the idea of providing a safe and affordable haven for young women in New York or Chicago or Atlanta seeking careers in... something. The performing arts? Nonprofit communications. International development? BTW, this idea has been somewhat revived in New York City.
- A working farm
retreat in Kentucky, Oregon and/or Idaho.
For-profit or nonprofit, I don't care. Beautiful, somewhat isolated place. Comfortable rooms that sleep two-four people each, and plenty of free ear plugs. Same-sex dorm rooms available. No electronics in the dorm rooms (no smart phones, tablets, iPods, etc.). Three meals provided (could be entirely vegetarian or with a vegetarian option). Residents guided by knowledgeable staff in working in gardens, in preparing CSA boxes, in preparing meals for residents, in attending farm animals: cows, pigs, chickens, goats, sheep, horses, donkeys, etc. Residents will gain knowledge and skills for after their farm-work experience. Maybe classes in wood working and using power tools. Opportunities for people who know how to use power tools or with plumbing skills to help with repairs. Residents expected to work at least three full hours a day. Laundry facilities provided. Plenty of free time each day for residents to read, sit by themselves and think, etc. Residents are invited to, on their own time, lead other residents in tai chi, yoga, secular meditation, drumming/percussion or singing. No essential oils, no anti-science information, no lectures to carnivores regarding the evils of eating meat. Available for groups to attend together.
I also would love to see many, many more footpaths between communities like what they have in England or in Germany, that wind their way in between different farms and ranches. I believe that footpaths between towns and villages, as well as between wineries - doesn't have to be a full hike and bike trail, could just be a simple, dirt footpath - would be absolutely transformative: wineries, restaurants and B & Bs would all see an uptick in sustainable business, and people would get to know their communities on a level they never, ever will from a car. Three I would love to help with:
- Hike and bike trail
from Atkinson Park in Henderson, Kentucky to Spottsville
(Kentucky). It would require a pedestrian bridge over Highway
41 to Barrett Blvd., and then the trail would be on the South
side of Highway 60.
- Hike and bike trail
from Forest Grove to Gaston (in fact, if a road and bridge
were added from the Southern most tip of SW Dilley Road,
across Dilly Creek, to the start of SW Old Highway 47, there
would be at least a bike route that avoids Highway 47
completely from Forest Grove to Gaston).
- Walking trails/foot
paths between most of the wineries in Forest Grove, Oregon.
Why share these if I don't have any concrete
plans to pursue any of them? Because maybe I will win the
lottery. Or maybe someone else will find this page and have
similar ideas and I can help that person realize the dream.
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