funds, funds, funds
-or-
i hope this vista training pays off quick

. food cart for bar street
.. provide much-needed food to the drinkers downtown, as there are no good 24-hour places to eat anywhere in the city of charleston (southern kitchen, where are you???)
... why this will work: drunks love food, everyone in the bar & helping something that sounds rad: low cost due to food procurement methods & transportation: suggested donations cost on product keep us law-abiding & everyone fed: face-to-face, ear-to-ear, heart-to-heart community building: action, service & education: designated drivers, bouncers & bartenders love food too ...
.... supplies: food, mode of transportation, cart that fits mode, attention grabber, communication
..... our plan for now, as an example: use various methods to obtain cheap or free food. we have rocked with veggie sushi ( locally grown veggies & wild mushrooms) & dog treats, as organic as possible... carrots, peas, oatmeal, sunflower seeds, molasses, oatmeal, brewers yeast.
This was at yard sales, though, so we're going with a different approach for the bars: grilled cheese sandwiches (hopefully grilled on spot), baked potatoes w/toppings (mushrooms, cheese, corn & butter, gravy, sour cream.. all we need are thrift store spoons & aluminum foil .. both returnable for a deposit), pepperoni rolls, fruit, maybe something chocolate...frozen chocolate covered bananas?: bake sale on wheels- because we aren't selling, we should be able to bake in our own kitchens. If not, we may be able to use a dept. approved unitarian universalists kitchen (in-kind donations-i think that's on the quiz): some customers will be those we're trying to serve with the money, so donations allows for the working poor to support & eat, too: we'll probably use a handlebar jar for donations & make some cart side signs for education: we have a guy who can make carts. call if interested in a cart or know-how.

. jars
.. provide an easy low-profile way to support crazy & controversial community groups
… why this will work: low cost, low commitment way to fundraiser from those who want something quick & easy or silent...there are those who cannot openly support the hippies or the environmentalists: conversely, there are those who would become pissed if they saw the jar in the local gas station... because the proprietor can choose to display or not, this also shows us the level of support in an area for a group or idea: will give some control of outcome to those who now feel no ownership of a damn solution
…. our plan for now, as an example: distribute old jars to business counters everywhere, asking for donations: 100 jars in charleston, 200 in the kanawha valley outside the city: each jar, or every other one, something, should be different, with a new message or picture: we'll give a portion to the national council, keep some for our chapter & give some back to the community group we're supporting: jar will come (for free) from the recycling center or donated from community: printing or art supplies will be low-cost..donated or library

my own goals?
one. hand danny c. (seac guru) $50 for seac in thirty days … two. deposit $50 in cayen's* account in thirty days … three. hand out $100 in cash or supplies to community youth-driven environmental groups cayen supports in thirty days ... four. give the extra $500 we raised for being awesome over to the savings account … end of summer party, anyone?!?

p.s. I'm zoë beavers, a new seac vista focusing on sustainability … i'm in the kanawha valley & on the coal river in west by god virginia. reach me at 304.382.9282. *cayen is charleston adult & youth environmental network & we pretty much rock