This is my first time blogging thanks to the advice of a Feed Villages friend who is "Being the Change" in her own inspiring way! Keep up the great work!!
~ Please check out ~ www.villagevolunteers.org
~ Please check out ~ www.feedvillages.com
So....may I introduce myself......
My name is Elana Greene (founder of the project, Feed Villages) and I am the daughter of my beautiful mother, hero, Executive Director, and founder of Village Volunteers, Shana Greene. Feed Villages has partnered with non-profit organization Village Volunteers and will be working in impoverished Kenyan rural villages with their successful non-profit local community based organizations. Without her support and her visions of a better world for us all, I might not have been inspired to start this project (and all the other projects I have also worked on before this!) that I am thrilled to share with ALL OF YOU!!!
I grew up on San Juan Island, WA and had the fantastic opportunity as a young woman (much of it solo) to travel abroad to 26 countries! So, let's just say that I feel very fortunate to KNOW and TO SEE with my own eyes the poverty and struggles people live every day of their lives. It gave me such a broad, eyes-open perspective of the suffering in the world. I vowed to do what I could because I feel blessed to not struggle for the basic necessities of life. I feel gratitude EVERY SINGLE DAY.
After much traveling, I ended up on beautiful Maui, HI. I have lived here for 5 years and absolutely love it. My energy and drive to help others has not faded so here I am once again starting a project that has taken off the ground and has already grown wings ...what can I say...magic happens.
In November of 2007, I came up with the name, the idea, and the vision for Feed Villages. It all popped into my head, standing in my garden watching the sunset. I thought, wow, if 200,000 people donated .50 cents, I could raise $100,000 to feed children. Imagine if they donated a dollar instead of .50 cents? Of course this is only the first goal and a start. Why such a big goal? I THINK BIG! What appeals to me is that if everyone donates a little, it adds up to a BIG IMPACT! There are a lot of people on this planet...imagine what could be done for so many people if we put the money in the right places.....this is why I am so frustrated with the squandering of funds by so many agencies, businesses, governments, and individuals. BUT that is another subject I won't discuss now.
So to continue the story, I was in Paia on a Friday night and I started telling people about my concept for Feed Villages. In two hours, I made $80. My ideas continued to grow and the more people I talked to the more ideas flowed...so this is a creative process....everyone has a part of it...it's not my project, it's everyone's project...and whomever wants to be a part of it...please be my guest and join me.
We are a global community. We can think outside the box, we can encourage our local communities to become global communities, and we can ALL make a difference by using our unique gifts and talents. I hope that in some small way I can facilitate, bring people together, work with others, network, raise money, and inspire others to feel gratitude and to BE THE CHANGE!
whew...long blog....
Signing off for now....
~ PeAcE ~ Elana Greene
1 comment:
I look forward to hearing all about the progress of your Feed Villages project and hopefully providing ongoing support. What could be better than an approach that addresses immediate need and long-term sustainability, all with an eco kick? So glad you started blogging!
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