First a HUGE thank you to all those that came together to pull off the Car Wash yesterday — it was a certainly a success! We were humbled by all the volunteers and the sincere work you each put into every little detail. The Car Wash represents for us the deeper connection we have with Green Mountain Coffee Roasters that goes way beyond financial support – to see all those blue shirts work hard for hours lets us know that the entire community is truly behind our work. Thank you thank you thank you!
Our grand total from yesterday is (drum roll, please) $3240! This includes all raffle tickets, donations from detailing, general donations and GMCR match. Nice work!
A big thank you also goes out to Ben & Jerry’s for the free scoops, Gigi’s Cleaning for the detailing, Barry T. Chouinard and Aurum Organics for the great T-shirts, and of course The Growlers for the great music!
Oh, and thank you to everyone in the community who came out to get their cars washed, and to just have a fun day in the sun! We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect afternoon.
Before I go … a second drum roll for the winner of the Bodum Lime-Green Charcoal Grill is … GMCR’s very own Dori Austin! Congrats!
Amanda Eastwood has been working as a program assistant for Grounds for Health on the ground in Nicaragua since May. Recently, she travelled with the vice president of one of the co-ops Grounds for Health works with, to visit women in the co-op’s communities. The following is her account of that experience; a glimpse into some of Grounds for Health’s on-site work:
Amanda on horseback in Nicaragua
La Dalia is a small, charming town in the department of Matagalpa, Nicaragua located roughly – in terms of ‘generally speaking’ and the state of the treacherous dirt ‘highway’ leading there – two hours north of my home base in the city of Matagalpa. It is also the main site of a pilot project I currently focus most of my energies on. In collaboration with the Union of Agribusiness Cooperatives (UCA) branch in La Dalia, we’ve trained a solid force of community health promoters from the nearly twenty participating cooperative communities to return to their communities and share the lessons learned with their peers.
In the name of solidarity, a deeply rooted Nicaraguan value, co-op vice-president and inspirational figure Lucia and I have been visiting each and every of the communities to assist the promoters in sharing the good news of free cervical cancer screening services. Following the meeting, the women choose a date to all go together for their screening. Each woman receives a form with her name and other pertinent information on it to be turned in to the nurse at her appointment; a source of information that enhances the data I’m collecting at each participating health center.
Lucia, a mother, spouse, university student and coffee/community building/health promoting professional is an absolute warrior. At the ripe age of 23, she has taught me a thing or 500 about rural farming life, grass roots community development, leadership, getting the job done with strength and grace, and finally, generosity and friendship. Over the course of our last month spending two or three work days a week together forging the wilderness and the long held fears and taboos around reproductive health, she has proven to be one of the strongest links in my chain and one of my greatest sources of friendship and inspiration.
To provide a snippet of context, Nicaragua fought a civil war in the 1980’s where not only men but women and youth alike participated in the gruesome realities of battle in order to survive and progress as a nation and society. This important layer of recent history is still very present in every day sites, events and culture of the Nicaraguan people. I’ve been daily inspired by the inner strength of the women in these communities. While many rural farming women I’ve worked with previously in other places and cultures are timid and very slow to warm up to me, many of the women in these small villages have confidently spoken up in our community meetings with questions, comments, opinions and ideas. They are spunky and bold, blowing me away during each cooperative visit. While my days in La Dalia often begin for me with catching the two hour 6 a.m. bus followed by an hour and a half walk or horseback ride into the mountain communities and eventually end returning home, muddy, sweaty and exhausted around 6 or 7 PM, they are, without a doubt, my favorite.
We just got a great update from our former office manager and do-it-all extroidinaire, Brendan Downs-Dudley. Brendan has been studying to become a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), and she just passed her exam! On top of that she also found a job. Niiiice.
Congratulations, Brendan from all of us!
Here’s her update:
Hi all,
I hope all is well at GFH and you all are finding some breathing room in the “lull” of summer.
I wanted to let you know that I took my NCLEX on Monday, and found out yesterday that I passed. So it is official, I am an LPN!
I found a job doing wellness clinics in Clinton County (Plattsburgh area). Its doing preventive screening and immunizations for low income/un-insured folks in the area. I get to make my own hours, which will be perfect for being in school next year. The job doesn’t start until September, so I have been doing odd jobs this summer and finding myself hanging out on the lake a lot…truly what I needed to gear up for next year.
Last spring I had the opportunity to travel to Rwanda, Africa and speak with women coffee farmers about their concerns. I found that their main two worries were about money and health. It greatly disturbed me that these women worked year round tending to coffee most Americans guzzle every morning, and are paid less than 3% of the price you see on shelves.
Upon returning from my adventure, I wanted to find some way to help those who are struggling in developing countries. I visited the Next Step Office at Harwood Union High School, staffed by Ellen Bearings and Rachael Potts. After a few phone calls, Rachael arranged an internship at Grounds for Health (GFH), an international nonprofit that establishes sustainable health care programs for women in coffee-growing regions.
As an intern at the office I am not a bystander, but an active member of the program. The experience has been priceless, for I am not only aiding the good work happening abroad, but also learning how non-profit organizations function—from the inside out. Over the course of the year, I have assisted with events such as the Grounds for Health Annual Green Coffee Auction. By focusing on outreach, GFH made over $140,000 in this fundraiser. I feel confidant that the information I have obtained over the past year will aid me in my further endeavors in the non-profit world. I appreciate the support of the Next Step Office as well as the dedicated individuals at Grounds for Health throughout my experience.
The Grounds for Health Coffee Auction rallies the coffee industries together in a meaningful way to generate funds for our programs in coffee-growing communities. It is our biggest fundraiser of the year—last year it helped raise close to $100,000.
Even though it is an event for coffee importers, producers, roasters and retailers, everyone can get involved to help spread the word.
How You Can Help
Print this Simple Postcard, and then the next time you pick up some coffee from your local roaster (this week or next week), do the following:
Ask the barista: “Do you guys roast your own coffee?“
If the answer is “Yes” – then say: “Could you pass this on to your roaster” (hand him/her flier) “It’s a green coffee auction that benefits a non-profit.“
If the answer is “No” – then just enjoy your coffee
We know this is a long shot … but you can’t blame us for trying, right?
If you have any luck (good or bad), come back to this page and leave a comment. Or if you have any other ideas, let us know.
Thanks, and keep your fingers crossed for another great auction.
Emmanuel Mtiti is the Jane Goodall Institute Program Director of the Greater Gombe Ecosystem Program. On our trip to Tanzania in February, we sat down with Mtiti to discuss his perspective on Grounds for Health.
Editor’s Note: We recently asked Lynne a couple questions about why she chose to contribute some of her precious time to serve as an Advisory Board member. We found her words so spot on, that we wanted to share.
Grounds for Health (GFH) is addressing a critical women’s health problem, cervical cancer, that inequitably persists in areas of the world where proven screening and treatment programs are not routinely available. Reasons for this are mainly socio-economic. Thus, solutions must consider these field realities and help turn constraints into opportunities. GFH’s approach does just this by focusing its efforts in rural coffee growing communities around the world. Even though the health intervention is for women, the approach targets the whole community which is key to success. Male community members contribute by helping to transport women to the clinic and with community sensitization, so the effort is “owned” by all.
As we begin another fiscal year, we look back at the last 12 months and want to thank all our volunteers. We’re continually amazed by and thankful for the energy, expertise and compassion of our volunteers. During five campaigns this last year, Grounds for Health volunteers took a break from their busy lives and careers to donate over 1,840 hours of their time.
Words cannot express our gratitude. Thank you for all that you do.
After a three-year tenure as our Treasurer, Frank Dennis has accepted a nomination to become the new Chair of the Board. Mr. Dennis takes over from Dan Cox, two-time President and co-founder of GFH.
“I am deeply honored to accept this role,” Frank answered in an email. “I’m hopeful that I can add as much value as those before me. Both Dan Cox and Jon Wettstein have done so much for the organization through a period of rapid growth.”
Executive Director August Burns lauded Mr. Dennis for his organizational leadership, mentoring experience, and strategic planning skills, adding “Frank is the perfect candidate to see our organization into its 15th year. He has the right combination of passion and expertise to take Grounds for Health to the next level.”
Where Women Have No Doctor was a collaborative project of hundreds of women worldwide to bring information on reproductive health and women’s lives to poor women without access to basic health care and information. It is now translated into over 30 languages from Iban (language of the Longhouse People of Sarawac East Malasia), to Bengali. Written in simple language and with more than 1500 illustrations, it depicts women from all cultures and their shared problems and solutions. It was written to be used by the village health worker or anyone who could read or be read to and who wanted to improve women’s health and lives.
While it is a valuable resource that we at Grounds for Health would like to share with our community partners, it is also valuable for any woman who wants to learn about her body or address a health concern. Its 600 pages packs in information ranging from pregnancy, cancer, family planning, to domestic violence, refugee issues, and substance abuse. It includes practical information on basic health exams and contains a wealth of information on treating illnesses with 40 pages dedicated to complete information on medicines including info on their indications, use, and contraindications.
It’s an excellent resource available to low-income groups at an affordable price and is available to download for free at Heperian.org. Check it out and spread the word about this useful resource.
First a HUGE thank you to all those that came together to pull off the Car Wash yesterday — it was a certainly a success! We were humbled by all the volunteers and the sincere work you each put into every little detail. The Car Wash represents for us the deeper connection we have with Green Mountain Coffee Roasters that goes way beyond financial support – to see all those blue shirts work hard for hours lets us know that the entire community is truly behind our work. Thank you thank you thank you!
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