Alive and Pedaling…

24 Hours to the Ride Weekend

Thu, 3 Sep 2009 11:36:38 -0400

My Garmin Edge has been a great help to planning and leading Adamah training rides this summer. I bought a license to RubiTrack, an application that imports GPS and training data from the Edge and offers a simple interface for tracking my routes, mileage, pace, cadence, heart rate, and more.

Hazon has kindly made this year’s routes available in GPS-compatible form via MapMyRide, so the Edge will be my cue sheet on Sunday and Monday. I’m figuring on doing the 80-mile route on Sunday and the 80-mile route on Monday, which departs Camp Kinder Ring instead of first busing to another start point.

So, with the Ride weekend starting tomorrow, now is a wonderful opportunity for you to reconsider donating to Hazon in my name, supporting projects in which people are growing and distributing healthy food, acting in favor of more outdoor experiences, and healing our environment. I’m living my dreams and changing the world.

If you can, please give $18 or more. If $10 is all you can pull out of your pocket, please send it to me via PayPal (to earthsaver (at) mac (dot) com, marked as a Gift in the Personal tab). Or, anyone can mail a check made out to Hazon to me at 116 Johnson Road, Falls Village, CT 06031.

Thanks for your support and all that you do to make the world a better place!

Finding My Way to $1800

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 20:47:56 -0400

One could hope that my fundraising goal could be easier to attain with my new bike GPS, but I think it requires a bit more effort. So, it’s time I started sending personal emails and making phone calls to y’all in search of your bits of unallocated cash. If you don’t want to receive one of these from me, now would be the time to give in and give away your dough.

Whether you’re able to give ten bucks or $54 or $180, what matters is the incredible work I’m doing to change the world and all the other people who are similarly involved in my community and network.

This afternoon, I led a Green Team meeting like no other. Not only did participants (mostly Adamahniks) share a ton of new project ideas that no one had previously mentioned, they also showed their tremendous support for the greening work we’re all doing here. Okay, that wasn’t the biggest surprise, given where we are, but Adamahniks also expressed their immediate interest in working on these projects as part of their Avodat Bayit work sessions that benefit the Isabella Freedman campus.

For me the best part was realizing the enormous number of resources who surround me here, whom I need to start organizing in smaller teams, offering tasks, and so forth. There are about three more weeks of Summer ADAMAH and I need to get working on a short list of small projects to capture their attention in the Kitchen, on the grounds, and in spaces where they previously would have worked for Maintenance. Perhaps I’ll even have some opportunities to supervise and work with them in some of these activities.

Once again, supporting young people changing the world, I hope you will sponsor me for this Ride. Poor economic conditions in mind, I'm seeking your donation of at least $10. Of course I welcome larger donations, really whatever dough you don't knead. If your heart permits a greater sum of Earthly change, I thank you for your $180 or $360 contribution. Also, please consider joining me as a Rider or as a member of the amazing Crew.

The Economy Sucks… But Can You Spare Ten Bucks?

Wed, 8 Jul 2009 12:19:22 -0400

The summer is upon me again with much joy in the air at Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center. We have a fresh new director, Ellen Carton, making strides and setting new standards of operation with both staff and guests' well-being in mind. And we have a new Elat Chayyim Director turning Program Director, Rabbi Steve Silvern, starting this summer to create integration and additional standards among our various programs.

Plus, some incredible teachers are here this year. We're already off to a great start with Talmud scholar Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, Torah thinker Avivah Zornberg, and our dear rebbe and spiritual leader, Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi. Zalman graced us with his wisdom and presence during Shavuot, the wheat harvest celebration. Check out our program catalog for all of the excitement coming our way this year.

My responsibilities continue to grow and flourish and I now have five job titles: Jewish Greening Fellow, Bookstore Co-manager, Master Dishwasher, Technical Guidance, and Communication & Systems Support. The first is part of a brand new creation of Isabella Freedman, funded by UJA Federation of New York, wherein 20 individuals who work for UJA agencies are networking, sharing resources, and gathering as a cohort for seminars and group activities, collaborating on greening all 20 of our organizations during this 18-month fellowship.

For the first time ever, Isabella Freedman has a Green Team (led by me) and we have all sorts of ideas spanning conservation and education about how to improve our living and working environments. Along with some energy and resource auditing, we're working toward greener spaces and great financial savings. And as the lead organization in this first cohort, we're trying to stay at the front of the pack, demonstrating cutting edge and innovative solutions.

This is the kind of really special and meaningful work I love most and I hope you'll support it too by offering a small token of green. Even more exciting would be you joining me on the ride!

During my management of the Bookstore in the last six months, I've witnessed the effect of our poor economy on customers' spending habits. I'm thankful that I have a great job and a stable salary and I appreciate that your funds may be limited. So, this year, I'm asking you to dig deep and find a way to part with ten bucks.

Can I find 180 individuals who can spare this small chunk of change—in both senses of the word? It's for a good cause. No, not a monster school, unfortunately, but between ADAMAH, the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, the Teva Learning Center, and more, the recipients are each working toward a healthier and more sustainable Jewish community as a step toward a healthier and more sustainable world for all. And as a treehugger, a Jew, and a super hero, that matters to me and I'm a part of this process, especially now as a Jewish Greening Fellow.

If your budget permits, I encourage you to return and give $10–15 a month totaling $36 for the summer or $54 between now and Halloween. And I think I can reach a few of you whose hearts are similarly directed and can support the Earth with a greater donation of $180 or $360.

Know that I'm in the middle of this movement that is incredible—and yet also true! I'm also a resource for many individuals who need just a little of your support to participate as well. ADAMAH, for example, is a core partner in Hazon's food and bicycling projects and has lost a tremendous amount of funding this year, so all the nourishment you can provide will send joy and love home to you from this extraordinary community.

Remember that your donation is tax-deductible. Please "save some trees for me, Mister," and donate online. (Or you can mail a check, made out to Hazon, to me at Isabella Freedman, 116 Johnson Road, Falls Village, CT 06031-1619.)

Thanks for your generosity this year, even in hard times. A little bit (a lot of times) goes a long way!