$700 billion September 25, 2008
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“It’s not based on any particular data point,” a Treasury spokeswoman told Forbes.com Tuesday. “We just wanted to choose a really large number.”
WLOX reports on Hands On September 24, 2008
Posted by Vincent in Non-profits.add a comment
WLOX reports today on Hands On Gulf Coast’s transition to local non-profit status. And it’s a first look at our new executive director, Lillian Jenkins!
Video (should open a pop-up window).
Hands On Gulf Coast to hold panel discussion September 23, 2008
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Fun with press releases! Make sure to get out and do some community service this Saturday for the National Day of Action.
Hands On Gulf Coast to hold panel discussion
The panel and discussion also will help identify the needs and opportunities for volunteer service. The event is part of a National Day of Action organized by ServiceNation, a national grass-roots movement advocating volunteerism and community service.
A “Volunteers in Long-Term Recovery” panel and roundtable discussion will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at Hands On Gulf Coast, 2113 Pass Road, behind the Beauvoir United Methodist Church.
The public is invited to attend to hear community volunteers recount their experiences in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and reflect on their role in the recovery. This will be followed by roundtable discussions with audience members.
Hands On Gulf Coast was established in Biloxi after Katrina and continues to provide many services as it transitions from a disaster response organization to a community-based service organization.
Details: bethechangeinc.org/servicenation.
KaBOOM Chicka Boom September 23, 2008
Posted by Vincent in Architecture, Design/Build, Non-profits.3 comments
Edit [12/26/08]: See these photos and more at my Flickr page.
If you haven’t heard of the fine folks at KaBOOM!, they travel the country building playgrounds for neighborhoods that need them. Their goal: a place to play within walking distance of every child in America. Friday and Saturday, I helped prepare and lead the construction of a shade structure as part of a KaBOOM! build at the Isiah Fredericks Community Center in North Gulfport. The shade structure was designed by Jessie Zenor and built by Hands On and the North Gulfport Community Land Trust; it incorporated hundreds of tiles decorated by children from across the Gulf Coast school system.
- Total number of KaBOOM playgrounds as of Saturday: 1,500
- Number of tiles decorated by kids in Gulf Coast schools: 620
- Number of total volunteers: 400+
- Number of Air Force volunteers: 225
- KaBOOM playgrounds on the Gulf Coast since Katrina: 107
- Time we finished prep work on Friday night: 11:30
- New picnic tables: 4
- Shade structures built: 1
See below for more! (more…)
Jonathan Haidt on the moral roots of liberals and conservatives September 18, 2008
Posted by Vincent in Random.5 comments
Here’s a 20-minute video that I highly recommend. Jonathan Haidt was my professor for Psychology 101 at UVA; he’s a great speaker and presents psychology in a logical and accessible way. Follow it up with a visit to http://www.yourmorals.org/ if you’d like to quiz yourself and help out some of their research.
Link: see the video on Ted.com.
Edit (9/19/08): “Are you a born conservative (or liberal)?” A new study suggests that your political attitudes are wired in from the beginning. Die-hard liberals and conservatives aren’t made; they’re born. It’s literally in their DNA. [Los Angeles Times, September 19, 2008] Thanks mom for the article (and the genes).
Ike in Pictures September 15, 2008
Posted by Vincent in Architecture, Random.add a comment
On a roll with posts of photos and posts about photos, I came across this powerful collection of images from Hurricane Ike.
Also, flickr user anthonyturducken has posted photos of several Make It Right houses, under construction and completed. Very interesting to see the (somewhat wild) designs translated, with varying degrees of success, into real houses.
Still Wet September 12, 2008
Posted by Vincent in Explorations, Mississippi, Random.Tags: Hurricane Ike
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Ike brought more inland flooding to Biloxi today, probably around 7 feet above normal sea level. That’s the highest it’s expected to get here; there will likely still be 5 or so feet of flooding tomorrow. I spent the early afternoon biking through the water, when the water had just started to recede. See my photos below.
