Moxie Update
We are not setting up a formal food program today, as we are taking a moment to plan out a longer term food program with local farms and producers including Conscious Alliance and World Central Kitchen to dovetail our efforts for maximum success. Justin Brunson of River Bear is donating a whole flock of turkeys that we'll be cooking up soon and he's also going to bring his smoker up and serve up some of his out of this world BBQ soon. Lots on the horizon. If you need a meal today, just stop by any Moxie location and tell them you need a meal and it is on us.
Thanks to all of our volunteers who came out to make pizza yesterday. We served up over 200 pizzas and some dang tasty bagels. Special appreciation to two helpers in particular: Rainbow from The Mercantile Cafe in Jamestown, Erin from Lyons- both of these women have lived through disasters both in Jamestown and Lyons and St. John. Erin's family is still rebuilding after Hurricane Irma.
In fact Yeti made a beautiful film about it.
Kevin who lives up on Owl Drive and walks his 2 dogs down to Moxie every morning (and worked at Cosmo's Pizza for 20 years) came down to sling pies with us. Rumor has it Cosmo's is donating some Spicy Ranch. Kevin's neighborhood is very different now. His house was spared, but the neighbor sharing his wall lost theirs.
An old friend Phil from Fort Collins who was one of the early New Belgium Brewery guys (anyone remember Phil's Multigrain from Daily Bread? We got our malted barley from Phil back then and named the bread after him) is now part of a volunteer fire fighting team. Phil has a group of over 100 construction trade pro and recovery people that helped people understand and navigate the rebuilding process in other fires, and has volunteered to come and offer some of his experience and advice to those in need. More on that later.
Luke and Allison Johanson who are launching their amazing Sloyd Experience program this month offered this up last night, and I couldn't think of a better way to engage kids right now than through thoughtful wood work:
GROWTH RINGS
As Louisville residents, Allison and I are completely devastated by the tragedy of the Marshall Fire. Although we did not lose our home, we are still in a state of shock and disbelief - still trying to process various emotions as they arise. Our hearts and prayers are with all of you who lost so much. It is unfathomable…unbelievable…unreal. We stand in solidarity with the entirety of our community as we weather this storm together.
The subsequent outpouring of support has been nothing short of inspiring. The generosity, acts of kindness, servitude, and donations are a true testament to the character of our community. We were proud to be a part of it before this happened; the word ”proud” feels like a real understatement now. The stories we hear of neighbors helping neighbors, and strangers helping strangers…it has profoundly moved us.
Unfortunately, this tragedy is very real. The rebuilding and healing process is going to take a long time. This includes not only the rebuilding of material possessions, but also the rebuilding of mental and emotional well-being. The emotional rebuilding for all individuals affected by the Marshall Fire is an element of the healing process that should not be overlooked. Unfortunately, it is arguably one of the facets that is most difficult to provide meaningful long-term support on. Similar to the rebuilding of the physical structures themselves, this will take time, hard work, perseverance, and patience.
Even before this tragedy struck our immediate community, the worldly state-of-affairs over the last couple of years has led most of us to become quite good escape artists, forcing us to find numbing distractions to transport our minds away from the endless list of catastrophes as we scroll through our sad news feeds. However, intentional distractions, that provide mindful and creative outlets through the linkage of the hands, head, and heart, are far more likely to lead us closer to true happiness - and healing - as opposed to other less productive forms of distraction. “Hands-on-mindfulness”, as we like to call it, can create such a deep and intense sense of flow that we truly become oblivious to the rest of the worries in our lives. The same is true for our children.
Sloyd Experience is an organization that is dedicated to the development of children’s character and resilience through woodworking. We believe all children can derive many lifelong benefits from this unique method of learning. We are committed to fostering the development of the “whole child” through the educational completeness of the mind and body; we are deeply passionate about this mission. Now, more than ever, we are ready to serve the children of our community in this time of need. For this reason, we are offering free programming for the next six months to children who were permanently displaced by Marshall Fire. Please share this email, our website, or contact information with families in your networks that could benefit from this programming.
This offer translates to a value of roughly $750 per affected child. If you are interested in helping make this vision a reality, please consider becoming a patron of Sloyd Experience through a financial contribution. If you have provided a donation before, we humbly ask you to consider making a dedicated donation to support this special cause. Additionally, if you are interested in volunteering with Sloyd Experience, please contact us here.
"And here in this wide ring was a good year in which the tree grew apace, and here was a wild, cold, hard year when life was a battle for survival and growth was slow, a year which toughened the limbs and sent roots digging down deeply into the soil to keep the tree in heart." - Charles Hayward
Though this may go down as a “slow growth” year for our community, may we all be stronger for it. Let us all dig our roots deeper into the things that matter most in our lives, that our foundations be made unshakeable, and our limbs strengthened to reach out and help those in need.
Thank you so much for your interest, consideration, and participation. Without your support, none of this would be possible. We are excited to serve our community in this unique way.
Let's hear some Kate Wolf today.