Archive for August, 2012

I have read several books lately about business and the call to “give back”. I am always left feeling that not only is this something I should do, but something I want to do. When I wrote out my New Year’s Resolutions this year the 8th one said “Find SOMETHING to get behind.”

I’ve struggled.

Writing a check to some cause seems too easy, too “right now”. I have been looking for something that can live on, past that initial donation.

I had a conversation last weekend and I realized, this could be it.

Our oldest son goes to an amazing school with an amazing staff. The teachers at Red Hawk Elementary genuinely care. They teach with passion and their dedication shows off not only in grades and scores, but in the obvious sense of pride that each child has been taught to see in themselves. This is what every parent wants in their child’s educational experience, and if it all stopped there, we’d be fortunate to have such a resource in our community. There is so much more at Red Hawk.

Red Hawk has an amazing (award winning) movement program, they’ve built a green building and incorporate the building’s features into the curriculum, they promote healthy food choices and the reduction of wastes.

This past weekend while at a celebration for the movement program’s $100,000 grant I was talking to Principal Cyrus Weinberger about the community garden (funded in part by a grant from Whole Foods). He explained to me how the school uses the garden not only to support the good food choices and zero waste values but also to support math and science. He then shared with me his vision for the future of the garden with a greenhouse behind it that would not only extend the growing season, but allow Red Hawk to provide seedlings to other schools who wanted a garden of their own.

Suddenly, the proverbial “light bulb” went off. This was something to get behind. In doing so, not only would I be supporting something that has an impact right now, but something that creates a ripple effect as it impacts others.

I asked Principal Weinberger how much a greenhouse like this would cost. He said that their goal was to raise $15,000 for the project.

$15,000

That’s really not THAT much money.

It’s 10 donations of $1,500

it’s 20 donations of $750

30 donations of $500

50 donations of $300

150 donations of $100

I want to help get this venture funded.

I am pledging that my company, Invisible Window, a company of ONE will donate $1,500 to this project.

Can you help? Can your company kick in $1,500? $500? $100? $50?

I don’t know how to coordinate these efforts, but let me know you’re in to help, and I’ll figure it all out.

I asked Principal Weinberger to write me up a little statement about the project and his vision. Here is what I received from him today.

Red Hawk Elementary provides a rigorous academic environment with a focus on math, science, integration of the arts and technology embedded in an environmental platform. As a school we teach students how to take care of themselves through exercise and diet, while working on reducing the amount of resources we use. A big part of this program is our school garden. Each classroom has an indoor grow station and is responsible for planting an area of the garden. Students not only take care of the garden, but explore math and science by keeping journals documenting growth and identifying possible variables. Due to the Colorado climate we would love to extend our learning possibilities by adding a greenhouse. This would allow us to grow plants all year. In addition, we would like to supply other school gardens with start up plants as well as possibly sell plants to support the annual expenses associated with our garden program. Research shows that students who are involved with garden projects think more about the kinds of food they eat and are more likely to try healthy foods they otherwise might not try. Thank you for your support. All donations to this project are tax deductible.

Please help me make this vision a reality. My donation doesn’t help much without the help of yours…

As we get pledges, I will update this blog – let’s all be a part of something that lives on.