CasaSugar

YouthBuild Celebrates 30th Anniversary on the National Mall

CasaSugar — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 14:00:22 -0700

Today on the National Mall, YouthBuild AmeriCorps young leaders from across the country framed an energy-efficient, affordable home before it will be sent to Brownsville, TX, for a family whose home was damaged by Hurricane Dolly. The home will serve as a model for 84 additional green homes being developed in a rural Colonias neighborhood by the Community Development Corporation of Brownsville.

First Lady Michelle Obama stopped by to plant a seedling inside a rooftop gardening box while touring the YouthBuild AmericCorps energy-efficient home construction project, located in a tent adjacent to the homebuilding, the tent featured learning activities focused on green building, energy responsibility, and environmental awareness, which are all part of YouthBuild's programs throughout the United States. All of these National Mall activities are in celebration of the volunteer organization's 30th anniversary

To hear about YouthBuild's mission, read more.

YouthBuild is a youth and community development program that strives to address issues facing low-income communities, including housing, education, employment, crime prevention, and leadership development. In YouthBuild programs, low-income young people ages 16-24 work toward their GEDs or high school diplomas, learn job skills and serve their communities by building affordable housing.

As an AmeriCorps volunteer myself, I know the value in serving communities through volunteer work. The two years I spent in AmeriCorps were incredibly rewarding, and the fruits of my labor can still be seen in the communities where I worked, in the form of gardens and building projects. Have you ever worked with AmeriCorps, or a similar volunteer organization?

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Midday Muse: The True Meaning of Thanksgiving

CasaSugar — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 10:30:43 -0800

This year, some friends are volunteering on Thanksgiving Day to cook dinner for the parents of children staying at a Ronald McDonald House. Last year other friends spent time filling boxes at a food bank the day before Thanksgiving for families in need. One of my family members also makes it a point to volunteer during holiday weekends at animal shelters, since the dogs and cats get fewer visitors over those days. While I have yet to volunteer on the day of Thanksgiving, it's something that I am considering more and more. Perhaps next year I'll take time out from entertaining friends and family to volunteer at a shelter, church, or food bank.

Do you volunteer during the Thanksgiving holidays? Does anyone you know? If you have any great stories about giving friends, family members, or acquaintances, please share them below!
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Cool Idea: San Francisco's Urban Farm

CasaSugar — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:00:57 -0700

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to spend all day weeding garden beds, helping fix irrigation lines, and water seedlings in a 10,000-square-foot garden. But I wasn't on a rural organic farm, I was in front of City Hall in San Francisco.

Just last week, over 150 volunteers rolled up a huge swath of sod in front of City Hall, and over a few days, established this 10,000-square-foot edible garden. All of the organic garden beds are planted in rice straw wattles, which are essentially long tubes of rice straw. The project, called the Slow Food Nation Victory Garden, is open to the public from July 13 to Sept. 21. Stocked with beautiful, edible vegetables and native, drought-resistant Bay Area plants, the garden provides visitors with an up-close look at gardening, as well as inspiration for creating their own garden.

To find out more about the Victory Garden, read more.

When I wasn't planting seedlings or watering plants yesterday, I answered visitors' questions. A group of camp kids asked me if any of the plants had fruit yet, so I directed them to some yellow crookneck squash and green, tiny tomatoes. An older man asked me about how the rice wattles worked. Another woman told me that she could identify the corn plants, though nothing else, so I took her on a quick identification tour of the entire garden. Everyone whom I met was enthusiastic about the project, and said that it was relaxing to spend time in nature in the middle of the city, and also exciting to think about how much the plants were going to grow in the next two months.

The Slow Food Nation Victory Garden was designed and built in a collaborative effort by a number of local organizations, including the Garden for the Environment’s Victory Gardens 08+ Program, CMG Landscape Architecture, and City Slicker Farms. Seeds were donated from Seeds of Change, as well as individual donors from around the US, and support was also provided by several corporate sponsors, including Sunset magazine and New Resources bank.

Are you in the San Francisco Bay Area and interested in volunteering, too? Contact SF Victory Gardens to find out how you can help!

Registry Roundup: Giving Back

CasaSugar — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 15:00:32 -0700

Since my guy and I are pretty set up as far as our home is concerned, we didn't want to register for a lot of stuff. That's why we registered for a hodgepodge of art and home items on MyRegistry. We also wanted to give guests the option of donating to a charity in our names, instead of buying goods we don't need.

If, like us, you have a well-established home without a lot of need for specific registry items, you might also want to consider giving guests the option of donating to a charity. You can do so in a number of ways, but perhaps the most effective method is by linking to the charities on your wedding website. To give you some ideas, I've linked to some home, garden, and environmental charities in the widget below. Take a look and see if anything inspires you!

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Cool Idea: Park(ing) Day

CasaSugar — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 05:57:40 -0700

When I lived in a third-story apartment, I really longed for more green space, and would have definitely taken advantage of Park(ing) Day, which just finished its second annual event this past Friday. Park(ing) Day is an event where businesses, government offices, and volunteers in several corners of the world take the time to construct parks in parking spaces. In San Francisco alone, over 55 parking spaces were occupied, including this pedal-powered park, constructed and operated by Oakland, California, collective Rebar, which started the whole phenomenon a year ago, with help from the Trust for Public Land.

To find out if your city participated in Park(ing) Day, just read more

Participating cities included:

Atlanta, Georgia
Austin, Texas
Berkeley, California
Bend, Oregon
Boone, North Carolina
Boston, Massachusettsli>
Charleston, South Carolina
Chicago, Illinois
and many, many more.
What do you think? Cool concept or driving nuisance? Would you rather have fewer parking spaces and more parks?

Before and After: Real Simple Meets P.S. 346

CasaSugar — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 05:00:44 -0700

The folks over at Real Simple (70 of them, to be exact) recently took part in New York Cares Day, and volunteered at the P.S. 346 elementary school in Brooklyn. In just five hours, they assembled 37 pieces of new Ikea furniture and applied their design expertise to an uninspired multi-purpose room. At the end of the day, the room had been transformed into a stimulating space that looks contemplated and composed. To see the after photo, read more.

Be sure to head over to Simply Stated to hear more about the project and see another photo. Wanna read about more deserving design makeovers? Be sure to check out this slideshow, post, and interview with Vern Yip about his facelift of two Bay Area community centers.
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Link Time!

CasaSugar — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:00:43 -0800

I love this girly pink tree! - Making It Lovely
Make a wreath out of recycled coffee cup sleeves. - Craft
Get the look of Charlotte's house in A Single Man. So chic! - AT:LA
Find out what it's like to volunteer with Habitat For Humanity. - Charles and Hudson
Would you hang a living wreath? Or have you already? - Shelterrific
Try these art prints for a perfect nursery present. - Simply Stated
See if you agree that this is the most romantic hotel in the world. - PointClickHome
Decorate with these nature-inspired porcelain objects. - The Style Files

Link Time!

CasaSugar — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:15:18 -0800

Take a tour of this modern rustic loft. - AT:Chicago
I never thought tomatoes could look this cute in the bedroom. - Shelterrific
A beautiful journal is always a good present choice. - Simply Stated
Turn cereal boxes into houses for a mini Christmas village. - Craft
Learn more about volunteering opportunities this holiday season. - Charles and Hudson
Make a no-sew tablecloth in 20 minutes. - ShelterPop

Coveted Crib: James May's Lego House

CasaSugar — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 06:00:21 -0700

Trix may be for kids, but Legos are for building. British TV presenter and journalist James May and a group of volunteers have been building a house from over three million Legos at Denbies Wine Estate in the town of Dorking, in Surrey. Construction had reached the upper floor of the house last week. When completed, hopefully next week, the house will include a staircase, toilet, and shower, and more importantly, breathtaking views across the vineyard.

My childhood bedroom was often mistaken for Legoland, so as you might expect, I'm completely coveting this crib. I love the modern stripes, and the contrast of the colors with the green vineyard. At the very least, it would have been fun to help build this house! Would you want to live in a Lego house? I think a smaller version would make a great playhouse for kids. Check out more pictures over on GeekSugar.

10 Great Urban Farms Across the United States

CasaSugar — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 09:00:42 -0700

Who says that farming has to happen exclusively in rural areas? These 10 farms prove that you can grow veggies in any city in the country. Better yet, many of these farms also run substantial education programs, providing city kids with great information about where their food comes from. Check to see if your city's urban farm made it in my slideshow, and then go volunteer!
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