Wondering what the word “Choochokam” means? Choochokam is a Hopi word which roughly translates as “a Gathering of Stars.” Our “stars,” a diverse group of several hundred local artists, inspired by the early organizers to create what we now know as The Choochokam Festival of the Arts.

The Festival, which began as a dream, has been a reality for the past 35 years! This years event was a wonderful mix of art and music; the weather was just perfect.  The Choochokam Arts Festival has become a stage for our community artists and one can see that it is a true reflection of the richness and depth of talent found on the island.

On a warm sunny day what better than a root beer float!

Kay Stanley (pictured on the left) is a member of the board for the Good Cheer Food Bank. She headed the committee that put together this effort to raise money for our organization.

Kay organized 20 volunteers with shifts that included 3 volunteers per shift.

Good Cheer was spread through-out the weekend Food Bank fundraiser.

Total income from the event was $1090.55.

Another step in creating a hunger-free community.

Good Cheer!

Good Cheer is raffling off a custom built garden shed/greenhouse. The garden shed is on display in front of the Good Cheer Food Bank in Bayview. The proceeds from the raffle will be used to support the Good Cheer Garden. Last year the garden produced more than 5,800 pounds of produce for the Food Bank; a lot of good eats!

The shed was built and donated by Bob Bowling Rustics right here on Whidbey Island. Hanson’s Building Supply stepped in and helped to move the structure to Good Cheer just last week.

Bob Bowling Rustics creates a wide variety of unique structures that will enhance your yard and garden. Made from reclaimed and recycled materials, these functional art pieces are designed to invoke whimsy and a sense of playfulness to your outdoor living spaces.

Bob builds one of a kind playhouses, chicken coops, greenhouses, tool sheds, outhouses and garden chapels that are made to order. He will even incorporate your own treasured pieces into the design!

Tickets for the  for the 5 by 8 foot structure, valued at $6,500, are $5 apiece or five for $20 and are being sold at all Good Cheer Thrift Stores, the Food Bank office, and at Bob Bowling’s booth at the Bayview Farmer’s market. Tickets should be available at all the sites mentioned by the 4th of July weekend.  The drawing will be held at Good Cheer’s Harvest Party & Music Fest on Saturday, September 11 at 3 p.m. Winners need not be present to win.

If you don’t have a place for the garden shed; it would fit in nicely at the Good Cheer Garden:-) We can mark the piece with a copper nameplate for all to see!

The partnership of small businesses and non-profits or charities is not a new to Good Cheer; we have been blessed with strong business support from our community.

There are a number of reasons why businesses support  charities and non-profit endeavors in our community.

There is the opportunity to give back.  It allows the business to share and pass on some of its good fortune and success.

Being part of a community is vital for small business. In the days of the mega stores and the internet, it can be difficult to sustain a small business. One way to ensure that a business thrives in the community is to help build a thriving community.

When a business donates money, time, products or services; that enterprise gets instant recognition from the community.  People are more apt to support businesses they feel are part of their world. There is also the opportunity to support causes that the business believes in.

The opportunity to be involved in the local community is a great business strategy for many reasons. As you get to know others and work with others for a cause that you believe in, you will have fun and, you’ll become a part of the group. You will be involved and that can help you with marketing your business in many ways. You will know the needs of the community and be able to find ways to meet them.

All in all, supporting a charity or non-profit group can help a business grow, but most of all, it can be a great way to give back to your community and help support causes that need your help.

Our thanks goes out to Bob Bowling and the other businesses in our community that continue to support The Good Cheer Food Bank.

Good Cheer!

I wanted to show you some photos of the Good Cheer Garden. This is the time of year when we are able to bring fresh and healthy vegetables into the food bank.

Cary Peterson, Good Cheer Garden Coordinator, picking fresh broccoli in the garden.

Americorp volunteer Molly Zeigler; this is fresh!

Straight from our garden to You:)

Summer Squash

Chard and Bright Lights Chard

Kale

Lettuce

Leeks, Lettuce and Summer Squash

Broccoli and Chard

Peas

Beets

Two varieties of Kale

Peas on the Vine

Chard

Strawberries

What else is growing in the garden?

Basil, Beans, Blueberries, Bok Choi, Carrots, Cauliflower, Chives, Collards, Cilantro, Cucumbers, Herbs, Onions, Parsley, Parsnips, Pears, Plums, Pumpkins, Radishes, Respberries, Spinach, Tomatoes, Tulips and Zucchini!

Good Cheer or perhaps I should say Good Eats!

Just last week we had volunteers from Windermere at Good Cheer. This sets a tremendous example for the people in the community. It also affirms the efforts that are made daily by our volunteers at the Good Cheer Food Bank and its Thrift Stores.

Volunteering is a form of giving. It is sharing what we value with others without counting on the reciprocal expectation of recognition or gratitude.

“The value of man resides in what he gives and not in what he is capable of receiving.”

–Albert Einstein

True giving is done without expecting something in return. Most of the time we are giving someone something they need, and they usually don’t have the means to give anything back. Usually, the act of giving is to help and the only thing that could diminish that act, I believe, is to do it expecting something out of it.

Good Cheer is blessed to have many volunteers that know the true value of giving.  This past Father’s Day we had two Dads who couldn’t be with their children; so why not help out at the thrift store.

This is a photo of Mike and Sydney with Cary Peterson (Good Cheer Garden Coordinator) at the Summer Volunteer Party.

Mike Hoffman was recently assigned the new role of managing the Langley Thrift Store Hardware department.  Mike and his wife Sydney (a food bank volunteer) got together with Don and Anne Zontine and decided to spend some time organizing the hardware department. By day’s end they had spent 5 hours at the thrift store on Father’s Day giving back and doing what only comes naturally to them.

This is a photo of Don and Anne working at the Good Cheer garden this past week. Anne is a regular garden volunteer and Don is a truck driver volunteer for Good Cheer.

It was far from an easy task to organize the hardware area at the Langley Store; I know that Mike has been working on it for a while.

There has also been great progress at the Clinton Thrift Store where you will find a large selection of tools to help you around the home.

The Good Cheer Food Bank is a life line for families who get cut off from the work force.  Many who had traditionally supported organizations such as ours (prior to the collapse of the economy a few years ago) now find themselves as recipients of this service.

Corrine Bayley Food Bank Volunteer works the check in counter every Tuesday afternoon and is our professional volunteer photographer.

When many public assistance programs were eliminated during the 1980s local communities found themselves swamped to provide basic nourishment for the elderly, families subsisting on one worker income at minimum wage, the unemployed and their children.

Colby Snow volunteers at special events and is the driver of our soap box derby car and provided technical support at our talent show.

Volunteer efforts through churches, local clubs and private organizations came together in many communities to provide this vital assistance.

Lou Donaty is Damien Cotez’s back-up man in the Food Bank.

But for the self-sacrifice of individuals who themselves are not wealthy and the generous donations of many others, many children in this country would suffer developmental issues related to nutrition and diet; and elder citizens on a fixed income would have to choose between their food and their medications.

Jim Engstrom is a longtime volunteer worker at Good Cheer Two, in the Food Bank and also the Distribution Center.

The volunteers that we have highlighted are just a few of the people that are so essential to the Good Cheer Food Bank and Thrift Stores.

If you have any interest in giving through volunteer work here is a link to helping in the fashion that suits you best.

Good Cheer!

This  is a call for Art Entries for Good Cheer’s Harvest Party & Music Fest 2010 Poster.

Local artists are encouraged to submit entries for poster artwork for Good Cheer Food Bank’s second annual Harvest Party & Music Fest to be held September 11.

The winning design (as selected by the festival steering committee) will be reproduced on the event’s promotional poster, website, blog, ads, and other materials distributed throughout the area. The chosen artist will receive a $250 check and will be an honored guest at the festival. The artwork will become the property of Good Cheer.

Last years winning entry from Kathy Marshall.

The framed original artwork will be auctioned off at the event, and posters will be for sale as a fundraiser for Good Cheer’s on-site garden. In addition, all submitted artwork will be on display during the day of the festival. Last year the event drew more than 300 people to our Bayview facility.

Our theme this year is “Cultivate Community” which is appropriate since all funds raised during the Harvest Party & Music Fest will go to supporting Good Cheer’s garden. Last year our garden produced more than 5,800 pounds of fresh vegetables for our Food Bank clients. This is an opportunity for artists to use their talents to help create a hunger-free community!

Specifications for artwork and an entry form can be found on Good Cheer’s website or by clicking here. Deadline for submissions is June 11.

I have created a slideshow of last years event so that you can get a  feel for the atmosphere and perhaps assist you in developing a winning poster. Just click on the above photo to see the slideshow. For full screen viewing just click on the icon for full screen viewing in the lower right hand corner.

Everyone involved in this project is a winner; even though a selection must be made.

Thanks for your participation!

Good cheer!

WISH – Whidbey Island Share a Home is a non-profit program for affordable housing created almost six ago by the Soroptimists of South Whidbey Island.  WISH became an independent program one year later under the leadership of their  founders.  They have grown into an island wide program, serving the community for the last two years but have kept their roots in Freeland.  The WISH office is housed at the Trinity Lutheran Church on Rt 525.

Their mission is to provide affordable housing alternatives on Whidbey Island. They utilize existing housing by helping bring together home providers, who want to share their homes, with home seekers looking for an affordable place to live. Home providers are willing to share space in their home in exchange for rent, services or a combination of both.

For older home owners, sharing means remaining independent in their own homes. No two home sharing arrangements are alike. They vary according to the personal needs, time and abilities of the people involved.

What is unique about this program is that they attempt to match the home provider and home seeker through a process. This is not like sharing a home through Craigslist or through the newspaper.

The process has the following steps:

1. The first step is to request an application.
2. WISH then will contact references and conduct a criminal background check.
3. There is an in-depth interview to understand your housing needs and personal interests.
4. Profile listings of all approved home providers and home seekers are made available.
5. WISH is a “self-match” program. You decide who you would like to meet. If both parties are in agreement, WISH provides contact information.
6. Once you have met, you both decide if you want to live together.

Why do people want to home-share?

People enter home sharing arrangements for many different reasons. Some people want help with housing expenses, while others are interested in companionship or security. Some home sharing matches involve the exchange of home services in place of part or all of the rent. These services can help older adults maintain their homes.

Home sharing can help people of all ages through transitional periods such as a divorce, loss of a spouse, temporary unemployment, or educational pursuits. The rent will vary match to match. Rent is determined by the home-provider, and will depend on the type of services, if any, the home-seeker will provide.

Home seekers are looking for affordable housing on Whidbey Island. For those looking for a place to rent, sharing offers a better place to live for less.

Over eighty per cent of their clients are women and women with children.  The vast majority are over 60 years old. They may be homeless or they may face the need to be placed in a care facility. Many potential home providers can’t  safely remain in their homes alone or they face the threat of  losing their homes due to finances. People can help each other and help to overcome these circumstances.

WISH made 53 matches in the past year, more than doubling the previous year but with less funding.  Due to the economy their community outreach has been below expectations but the need continues to increase.

WISH works with the Rural Homeless population. These are not the street homeless that we see on the street corners in big city’s but the working poor and those on fixed incomes.

WISH strives to help everyone who comes to their door but the availability of affordable housing on the island does not come close. The vast majority of  home seekers have an income that is 30% of the national poverty level. Many of these are also the same folks who use our wonderful food bank to make ends meet and put a wholesome healthy meal on the table.

There is no “”housing bank’ to shelter people on a cold wet night in January. Imagine sitting in a car at the Park and Ride trying to put your life in order and just wishing for a real home.  We all know the need on this island. When people are hungry we all help to feed them; now please lets help them find a safe affordable place to live.

You can seek help by clicking on this link to WISH. Their website will answer your questions and give you an opportunity to help with a donation.

Good Cheer!

Good Cheer knew that South Whidbey had talent and it was on full display last weekend at our fund raising event “The Mother of All Talent Shows”. Once again Good Cheer is indebted to so many, more than we could ever individually list in this space.  This was a concerted effort from everyone in the community pulling together to help people in need.

There is something about this community that engenders a certain warmth and a feeling of belonging. It was no more apparent than at this wonderful display of local talent; a definite “10”. The quality of the performances went way beyond everyone’s expectations. The beauty of the show was in the diversity of talent and the participation that came from young and not so young.  When you combine talented performers and the first class theatre at South Whidbey High School it spelled success.

A young man by the name of JaNoah Spratt and a State Representative Norma Smith gave the show its wings and I’m sure that it will become an annual event.

Good Cheer has traditionally relied on Thrift Store sales and community monetary donations to support Food Bank operations, but because of increasing client numbers, the Board of Directors have asked the staff to add a fundraising component. The talent show proceeds were $5090 which was pleasantly $1890 over what Good Cheer staff had budgeted.  We are so grateful and wish to extend a “BIG” thank you to everyone who played a part in our first annual talent show.

South Whidbey has a tradition of hosting talent shows and we will make sure that the tradition continues.

The highlight of the evening was when Representative Norma Smith, having made prior arrangements with Good Cheer, presented JaNoah with a flag that had flown over the state capital and a document acknowledging his exemplary service to our community. JaNoah was the driving force behind the talent show; he secured all the raffle donations, assisted with production, and was a performer as well. JaNoah continues to set an example that we call all look up to!

We have put together a slide show of the event; all you have to do is click on the above photo. You can view the slide show in full screen by clicking on the icon in the lower right corner of the slide show screen. The photos came from two of our volunteers who gave of their time to leave us with their photo memories. Thank you Hal Seligson and Corrine Bayley!

Together we are creating a hunger-free community!

Good Cheer!

I’m trying to be your eyes and ears about going green and sustainable practices. The Nature Conservancy has some rather simple ideas on building sustainable fisheries; simple ideas to complex problems always get my attention. Kate Frazer, senior writer for The Nature Conservancy, is getting the word out and I’m spreading her words. There is a video at this link that you should watch (top right). The video is excellent and talks about the fisheries in Maine.

We, as a nation, take so much for granted and that may originate from the vast natural resources that we were endowed with.

The reality is that we are depleting every single resource that has been a part of our culture for so many years. When you have everything you don’t think of ways to keep it around; you just expect it to continue.

People talk about organic and buying local and there is a reason for that. There is a cost to the environment; transportation of products means that we use other natural resources to bring the products to the market.

Kate points out that  “An average meal in the United States travels at least 1,500 miles before it reaches consumers, but when it comes to seafood in Port Clyde, Maine, the distance from ocean to plate is often just a few miles. Connections between coastal Mainers and the food they eat have always been easy to trace — long before eating locally became a hot idea.”

The hot idea is green and sustainable living. All good ideas originate from one thought; the thoughts of many create successful results!

Now here is a novel idea; why not subsidize fisherman to learn good sustainable practices?

The Nature Conservancy is “purchasing fishing permits and allowing fishermen to use those permits to develop more sustainable harvesting practices — like using more selective gear and avoiding sensitive habitats.”

“When I first started fishing, we’d go to the same places we go to now,” says fisherman Glen Libby, his breath disappearing into the fog as the first slivers of light appear on the Port Clyde waterfront. “An average steam might be an hour and a half out and you’d catch all the fish you’d need: 3,000 to 4,000 pounds.”
“But last spring, some of the guys had to steam 100 miles out and couldn’t even catch 1,000 pounds in 24 hours.”

Geoff Smith, The Nature Conservancy’s marine program director in Maine, says the situation in the gulf surfaced from a combination of factors:

He says that there was a lack of robust information about the gulf’s species and habitats. Fisheries regulations were allowing over fishing and discouraging good stewardship. The results ware depressed prices and that forced fishermen to catch more and more fish to make ends meet. The dominos start to fall; just look at the chart of the condition of the world’s fisheries above.

The new research sponsored by The Conservancy and with the help of The Island Institute and Penobscot East Resource Center will research ways to modify fishing gear to minimize the catch of juvenile fish and unintended species and reduce impacts on bottom habitats that provide shelter for young fish.

“This program will give these fishermen additional time on the water to develop more sustainable fishing methods,” Smith explains. “If the cost to underwrite these changes fell solely on fishermen, it’d drive them closer to bankruptcy. Instead, we believe conservation organizations should share some of the cost.”

But true sustainability also depends on what happens on shore when these fish are brought to market. That’s where consumers have an important role to play.

“Developing markets that allow fishermen to make ends meet catching fewer fish while depleted populations are recovering is an essential part of this plan,” says Smith. “We envision communities up and down the coast where fishermen can land their fish and get a premium for their catch because customers know it was caught locally and in a responsible way. Identifying more sustainable practices is the first step.”

A fantasy world?

The big question is whether the consumer will be willing to take those first steps and be a partner in the stewardship of our Oceans.

Good Cheer!

Just a reminder on Good Cheer’s presentation of “The Mother of All Talent Shows” Saturday evening, May 8th at 7:30 p.m. in the South Whidbey High School auditorium.

The idea of a hosting a talent show started when Good Cheer volunteer, JaNoah Spratt was giving State Representative Norma Smith a tour of the Food Bank. JaNoah is pictured on the right of Damien Cortez. Damien our Food Bank Coordinator has been deeply involved in making this program a real success. We are very lucky to have them both on board.

Here are some photos of a few of our participants in this years Talent Show; you get feel for what you might be seeing at the show.

We couldn’t have found a better venue than the South Widbey High School Auditorium! What a perfect place to celebrate the talent that we have in our community.

The initial response to the event has been very good and we want to thank you all. We are expecting strong ticket sales at the ticket window on the day of the event. Let’s not disappoint; we want to make this an annual event:)

Tickets for the talent show are available at all Good Cheer locations for $10 and include a raffle ticket for people over 18.

You can also purchase raffle tickets separately: one ticket for $2; three tickets for $5; seven for $10; or 20 for $20 (the best deal).  You need not be present to win. The money from the sales of event tickets and raffle tickets will be used to support Good Cheer Food Bank programming.

Good Cheer!

Sunday May 9th “Myth, Magic and Romance” a concert benefit for the Good Cheer Food Bank will be held at  the Trinity Lutheran Church in Freeland at 3 p.m. This will be a great Mother’s Day event; a chance to spend the afternoon listening to classical piano music.  Admission is by donation; whatever you feel comfortable with is just great.

Judith Burns and Satyavati D’Antoni met at Artists of South Whidbey and discovered their mutual interest in classical piano.

There are other coincidences about these two musicians that bear mentioning.

Judith and Satyavati were each recovering from a serious injury to a hand and had each faced the dire possibility that they would never again play the piano. Judith had fallen and cut her left hand open at the base of the thumb necessitating surgery. Her surgery had recently healed and she was working on restoring the use of her hand. About 15 years ago, Satyavati had injured her right hand – catching the right little finger and folding it all the way to the back of her hand. She had severe nerve damage. It was thought that she would never play again. After more than a decade, she discovered that the nerve had regenerated. She had just started practicing again when she met Judith.

The two started getting together to practice once a week. They explored a lot of music. Rejected some, decided to give some a try. People started asking when they were going to get to hear what they were up to. So, they got serious about creating a program that other people might like to hear. For 8 months, they rehearsed and they performed their first concert in June of 2008.

In Dec 2009 they put together a Holiday program and entertained folks at local senior centers. Finding interesting and satisfying music written for two people at the same keyboard is quite a challenge. They started trying out various pieces and rehearsing for the May 2010 Mother’s Day concert last Fall.

They considered how they might share great music and at the same time benefit a community service organization. They called Good Cheer and there you go!

Judith Burns and Saytavati D’Antoni are honored that their joy in making music can be translated into support for Good Cheer.

Music is a  great way to celebrate Mother’s Day. We hope you will come!

Good Cheer!