As a start-up nonprofit, it was decided to ask folks to bring appetizers and we would just pay to have wine and punch and little bottles of water. We are an amazing group of cooks! Beautiful, delicious and tasty tidbits of all kinds. Puff pastry with gruyere and asparagus, cut into bite size tastes. Cucumber sandwiches. Sweet and sour meatballs. Caprese skewers. Amazing vegetable tray. Homemade hummus with pita bread and vegetables for dipping. Huge shrimp platter. Just everything. And a whole table of desserts ... chocolate dipped strawberries, mini cheesecakes, lemon bars ... and all of these in tiny one bites. It was so wonderful that several guests asked who catered!
The Mayor sent a letter and a $1,000 donation/grant. Several Board members of our "hub" said a few words, and the ribbon was cut! We got our first "request for services" last week and I volunteered to drive Miss Rose to our local Adult Community Center. She came to the festivities so I introduced myself. The local paper had a reporter covering it and he wanted a picture of the both of us. Then he interviewed each of us later in the evening.
We now have three drivers with two who are very close to the finish line. Today we got a request for a ride to and from church every Sunday!
The Village concept, to me, is like how small towns in the midwest in the 1950's were. My mother-in-law got to remain at home until the final moment! Family, friends, neighbors, church friends all circled round to help her out with just about everything. She hired a caregiver 3 days a week for bathing, setting up the weekly medicine box, light cleaning, etc. Towards the end, she decided she needed a new winter coat (Indiana). Her niece went and bought three different coats and let her choose in the comfort of her own home, then took back the other two.
I am a Village person.
I'm really happy for you. It's hard work to pull something out of nothing and make it into a valuable community asset.
ReplyDeleteThis time I skipped those first two years of all that hard work ... came in at the tail in to volunteer! Also a member just to see what kind of social things might happen!
DeleteCongratulations on a great start to your nonprofit roll out! It sounds like you've got some very talented cooks, bakers and food presenters in the group.
ReplyDeleteWe discovered another thing we have in common. Maybe I will start a Weight Watcher class for village people!!!
DeleteI love this idea. Eventually I will downsize from this house to an apartment or condo I suppose but I enoy living ina multi generational area and this would be helpful. Will you have social events for the group as well? I've been slowly making a list of services that my community has (like a free bus for seniors that takes you anywhere in our little town or to the shopping mall once a week).
ReplyDeleteYes, socializing is the second biggest resource for the Village concept. Since we just started, we have a coffee once a month, a lunch and a happy hour to start. Other Villages here have movie clubs, book groups, knitting, potlucks, organized outings (your cost), guest speakers and more.
DeletePortland's oldest Village is Eastside Village at http://www.eastsidevillage.org/ if you want to learn more.
You can also Google to see if your zipcode has a Village or is starting one or where the closest one is.