Wednesday, June 22, 2011

A Seed Planted

I first met Brandon and Katherine on a clear and brisk Saturday morning as I was walking through Boise's Capital City Public Market. I was intrigued by the name of their organization, so I walked up and introduced myself. As I began to understand their passion, I was even more intrigued, and I quickly knew I wanted to share their work with others.


Basically, Brandon and Katherine are on a mission to feed the world! Yes, the world. And they plan to do this by planting one seed at a time. In their own words, here is their vision:

"A Seed Planted has two Goals:

To help others through our actions and to help the earth through our actions.

The mission of A Seed Planted started when my wife and I wanted to eat healthy but could not afford the organic/natural prices. We started to grow our own produce and wanted to sell the rest for extra income. That was until we realized that if we cannot afford this food how can people less fortunate than us afford it? We are fortunate in our lives, how can we forget the needs of others? Therefore, A Seed Planted was born.

The life Philosophy of A Seed Planted is to give in every aspect and not to take in abundance. Everyone’s philosophies in life are different but if we can focus them on helping others we can change this world.

Acting as a charity means that we help out the community first and foremost. So far we have given to the Boise Rescue Mission, the River of Life, and Life’s Kitchen. We also have given to individual families who are fighting cancer and have very strict diets. We have helped refugees as well as immigrants, churches and strangers. If you or your family needed help we would give to you too."

This is a breakdown Brandon shared with me to show that one dollar can feed 100 people and can eventually feed 5,000 people!

"Let me break it down for you. . .if 105 people gave us a $.01 we would have $1.05. . .
$1.05 can buy 105 seeds.
105 seeds produce 105 plants
100 plants feed 100 people
100 people are fed from $1.02

5 of those seeds are used to grow 5 plants
5 plants are grown out to be seeded
5 seeded plants produce 5,010 seeds
5,010 seeds produce 5010 plants
5000 plants feed 5000 people
5000 people are fed with $1.05."

What Brandon and Katherine believe is that from a few seeds, plants can self-perpetuate through seeding and thus a large amount of people can be fed. This engaging couple has devoted their life to turning otherwise wasted land into beautiful vegetable gardens. They plan to start locally, then spread to neighboring cities, then statewide, then neighboring states, nationwide and finally, go global.

If you live in Boise, volunteers are needed to help in the gardens. They are also looking for more land, and if you are so moved, a donation would be appreciated (all their contact information is listed below). And since they are a  legal charity, donations are tax deductible.

Some of the recent bounty.


Volunteering under a beautiful rainbow.


Brandon and Katherine would love to hear from you.  Here's their contact information:


Brandon & Kathrine Stankewsky
(208) 703-1050
aseedplanted@hotmail.com
www.aseedplanted.com
www.facebook/aseedplanted.com

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I want to also share this for anyone who is moved to start their own community garden.   The Mission of the American Community Gardening Association is a movement to build community by increasing and enhancing community gardening and greening across the United States and Canada.  It's a pretty cool site that not only offers a "how to get started" but also offers much support.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Happy Father's Day To All The Dad's Out There

"Any man can be a father, it takes a special man to be a Dad.
Author Unknown

Words we may have heard before, yet oh so true!

One of my favorite memories of my Dad is listening to him play the guitar and sing to me when I was sick. Anytime I had to stay in bed due to illness, he would find the time to sit by my side a sing a couple Mexican songs. Even today, over 50 years later, I am comforted by this memory each time I am in bed with a cold or flu.

What is one of your favorite Dad memories?

Thursday, June 2, 2011

The Power of Vulnerability

In this wonderful video, Brene Brown shares what she has learned about the power of vulnerability. It's worth the full 20 minutes.

After looking at the video, I'd be interested to hear what vulnerability means to you. Thoughts?