Los Angeles is bustling city that is known for its movie stars, sunshine, and traffic. For those who have ever visited the 2nd most populated city in the US, you know that there are tons of pedestrians, bicyclists, skateboarders, and other non-driving citizens of the City of Angels. These very people are gaining momentum to bring Ciclovia(bike way) to Los Angeles. An organized community and open space gathering that is to occur every Sunday in Los Angeles where major streets and intersections will be temporarily closed down to allow anyone without a car to take a stroll, ride a bike, or walk their dogs throughout the city.
The movement originated in Bogota, Colombia 30 years ago when activists and city officials organized major street closures on Sundays to alleviate the terrible traffic and car congestion in the city. It also gives neighbors a chance to get acquainted with eachother and brings a sense of community to the once crowded streets of a major city.
Last fall a small group of bicyclists, pedestrians, and open-space activists teamed up to bring a weekly community/traffic free gathering to Downtown Los Angeles. LA's version is called cicLAvia(get it?) and is aiming to get the first cicLAvia in the spring of 2010. So far, they've launched small scale events with help from the LAPD to gauge how different communities would react as well as to figure out the most effective routes. New York, Portland, and San Francisco already have versions of a Sunday road closure and Los Angeles looks to have their very own Ciclovia very soon.
For more information be sure to visit the official cicLAvia blog.
Last week I was fortunate enough to make it to the 4th annual Healthy Neighborhood Festival held at the California Endowment’s Center for Healthy Communities near Chinatown in Los Angeles. It was a block party for downtown Los Angeles residents that offered fun ways to get fit and lead a healthy lifestyle. All activities were free and included hoola-hooping (a serious workout that I highly recommend), dancing, rock climbing, making fresh salads and health screenings for families.
It was great to see all of the kids enjoying their salads and fresh fruit; no one was asking for chips or candy. They were running around from one activity to the next with big smiles on their faces. Check out the video to learn more about the event and see some kids learning a new dance…
And check out the California Endowment for more information about how you can join the healthy lifestyle movement! www.calendow.org
For the month of October, Just 1 Click will support The Greening of Detroit and its mission to "guide and inspire the growth of a 'greener' Detroit through planting and educational programs, environmental leadership, advocacy, and by building community capacity." From community vegetable gardens to park restorations, The Greening of Detroit is making important change in its backyard. Click to support its efforts!
Click to support the Greening of Detroit, and organization that is improving the quality of life in Detroit through educational, environmental and community-building programs. 100,000 clicks = $500!!
It only takes a second to help out a great cause, so what are you waiting for?! Help now!!
Over the last year a new innovative project has come to my attention
that being Orange RockCorps. The idea behind the project is to get
young people to volunteer for four hours to help out with a project
that benefits the community in return for getting a ticket to a special
concert only for Orange RockCorps volunteers headlined by some of the
most popular and biggest musical acts.
I am a huge fan of big
companies like Orange giving back and getting involved with helping the
community and young people. Mobile phones are so important to young
people and its great to see them using that influence they have with
young people to get them involved in volunteering. I think every
commercial company that sells product and services to young people
should be doing something to give back to them.
The one thing I
hope is that the Orange RockCorps experience encourages the young
people that volunteer with the project to continue volunteering after
their four hours commitment is over. The principal behind volunteering
is to do something selflessly for other people without expecting a
reward so there are some issues with this project.
The problem
comes when the young person who volunteers with Orange Rock Corps then
goes to do more volunteering and expects to get something in return
where that charity or organization may not be able to afford to reward
their volunteers no matter how much they might want to. Some people may
not even get involved in volunteering expecting a reward they may
instead not even apply to be a volunteer without a guarantee of a
reward.
The other problem is if the young person is just doing
the volunteering for the ticket and don’t get anything out of the
experience or have any intention of volunteering again after the
project. However if they never planned to volunteer regardless of the
project if we can get four hours out of them is that better than
nothing some may argue.
I think projects which encourage young
people to volunteer and get more people involved in volunteering are
great and much needed. Projects like Orange RockCorps need to be
careful though. I know Orange RockCorps do work to try and help people
to continue with their volunteering but if you give people a big reward
after just four hours what is there to encourage them to continue to
keep involved.
Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"
”Shaking up the Youth of Today”
Yes, it's another Friday in July. The sun is kickin' it in the sky, the sounds of flip-flops fill the city streets, and gravity pulls dribbles of chocolate ice-cream down the chins of the little ones, staining both shirts and shorts. There's no excuse to be bored on a day like today, especially when you've got programs like B-Ball on the Block bringing basketball and soccer to your doorstep.
Every Friday from 4 - 8pm in the summer, Chicago nonprofit Beyond the Ball closes a street to traffic and sets up some hoops. They construct a makeshift street soccer area and bring in coaches, volunteers, sports equipment, and—most importantly—the local community. This traveling basketball and soccer league mainly serves the Little Village and North Lawndale neighborhoods, but the teams also travel all over the city for the Finals tournaments at the end of the summer.
In addition to being a whole lot of fun, B-Ball on the Block also helps to break down barriers in the community. The locations cross rival gang territories and bring together participants of varying ages, races and ethnicities. Through community sports, B-Ball on the Block encourages Chicagoans to "come out and see how much they actually have in common."
[Below: Video from last Friday's event. Yeah, these guys know how to play.]
If you're in Chicago, you should check out the calendar and think about becoming a volunteer for Beyond the Ball. It's a good excuse to get outside and enjoy the summer while helping to build your community.
Also, if you have two seconds right now (and I know you do), click here to help Beyond the Ball raise $500 for programs like B-Ball on the Block. The Just 1 Click campaign won't cost you a cent, but it will help Chicago youth to keep playing in the summertime. That's right - click it.
Yes, it's another Friday in July. The sun is kickin' it in the sky, the sounds of flip-flops fill the city streets, and gravity pulls dribbles of chocolate ice-cream down the chins of the little ones, staining both shirts and shorts. There's no excuse to be bored on a day like today, especially when you've got programs like B-Ball on the Block bringing basketball and soccer to your doorstep.
