Saying Goodbye.. what?????

I will be a student at JMU for one more week… crazy to think about. I have so many things to look forward to, but naturally, all I can do is look back.

I started this blog in the hopes that it would motivate myself and others to get involved in the community and take advantage of all of the great things there are to do downtown. Maybe it was the blog… or maybe it was the fact that it was my last semester- but I think I love this town more than ever.

I said I have a lot to look forward to- and I do. I got a job at a great nonprofit in Charlottesville. People always ask why I’m not going back to the Northern Virginia/D.C. area. The truth is, I don’t want to go back to that type of lifestyle. I want to stay in an area that has tons of local businesses, live music, and eclectic people. I want to be able to walk places and go to parks. I have come to love the atmosphere of a “town”. I realize that to really make moves in the nonprofit sector, I will probably have to move back to Northern Virginia… but I’m not ready yet.

To everyone else who is graduating, I wish you so much luck. Enjoy your last few days as a JMU student! Those of you who aren’t graduating yet- get off campus..  go downtown.. you will certainly fall in love with Harrisonburg.

Some pictures…

My friend Meghan has a really nice camera, and I love to look at her pictures of downtown/JMU… Here are some good ones that you might like! With graduation so close I have been trying my best to remember every single detail about our campus and town- but I have the worst memory so I’m glad Meghan takes pictures like these…

Wilson

Another one of Wilson… with my friend Gailey’s dog haha.

New signs that Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance put up.

There are a lot more but they aren’t uploading! I’ll try again later…

Thank you!

I want to thank everyone who donated clothing for our advocacy event. We collected clothing and are going to donate the items to a local Goodwill store in Harrisonburg. I can’t think of an easier way to do some good in the community. I clean out my closet every few months and donate things. What is the point of keeping something that you don’t use if someone else could use it?

Many people clearly feel the same way… If you donated or encouraged your friends to donate THANK YOU! You can be sure that the items are going to a good cause. You can also be sure that the future owner of your items will be very grateful of your generosity. Thank you again!!

Springfest Recovery

Springfest is supposed to be fun- but at the end of the day it really wasn’t…

The riots this past weekend have left a bad taste in my mouth. I am frustrated that people are making light of the situation and joking about how crazy it was… it SUCKS that there were riots at block parties. They are supposed to be fun- not destructive. I’m annoyed that people caused so much damage and brought national attention to belligerency and immature behavior. I think that if students really thought about it, that is not the image they want people having of this school and its students. The vast majority of the students at JMU want to party and have a good time- doing no damage in the process. Unfortunately the actions of a few have brought down our reputation.

Since the riots occurred, I have seen multiple messages coming from students that want to help with the damage and rebuild a good relationship with the Harrisonburg community. It is more important now than ever that JMU students get involved with organizations downtown and in the local community. Our advocacy events are coming up, these are a great opportunity to get some credit for school and do some good in the community. Get your friends to come and support, it will help your classmates and help make their event a success.

Shopping Downtown

I was walking around downtown the other day and came to the conclusion that I needed to write a post about my two favorite stores downtown. You can find the most unique clothes, jewelry, or gifts downtown.

The Yellow Button is a great boutique downtown. The boutique carries Free People clothes, Lucky Brand jeans, TOMS shoes, Mavi Jeans, Gentle Fawn, Incognito Eyewear and even more. The owner is an independent buyer, so there is always new stuff coming into the store. She has a great eye for picking out unique and interesting pieces for her store. You can find the Yellow Button on Main Street.

Here’s the link to the owner’s blog… it hasn’t been updated that recently, but you can get a feel for the items that are in the store.

http://theyellowbutton.blogspot.com/

Another awesome store is A Touch of the Earth. This is the store that you could spend hours in just looking through all the jewelry, tapestries, crystals, and other home items. It is located on East Market Street, right off Court Square. Next time you are looking for a special gift (or just want something new for yourself) poke around in A Touch of the Earth, you will definitely find something special.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

There’s so much going on tonight in celebration…

Clementine will have great food and drink specials all night – 3$ Guinesses, Smithwicks and some other Irish beers. Dave’s has green beer.. and when I ran by Jack Brown’s this afternoon the party had clearly already started!

I have one class tonight and then I’m heading to Dave’s.. have a great night everyone!

I don’t need a break from Spring at JMU!

I spent my spring break in Mexico and loved every second of it.. but couldn’t help but think about all the great things coming up this spring in Harrisonburg…

Block parties, warm weather, laying out on the quad, walking places, gorgeous flowers all over campus, eating outside, concerts, even graduation (yes, I am ready to be done with school)…

With all these things coming up, I couldn’t wait to get back to JMU once I landed in America. I can’t wait for it all to begin!

I love this picture of flowers in front of Greek Row…

Harrisonburg Farmer’s Market

Buying locally is one of the easiest ways to help your community. Buying locally supports farmers and craftsmen in your immediate area, and is also ‘greener’ because the food and products don’t travel as far- which helps the environment. That is a very succinct argument for buying locally…

The reason I prefer buying locally when I can is because Harrisonburg has an awesome Farmer’s Market. The Market is located on South Liberty St., in the Turner Pavilion in the Municipal Parking lot (kind of behind the city council building) The people at the Farmer’s Market have a WordPress blog too! Here’s the link… http://harrisonburgfarmersmarket.wordpress.com/

The Harrisonburg Farmer’s Market is open all year-round, offering fewer hours in the winter months. Until March the Market is only open on Saturdays from 9-12. In April the Market will be open Tuesdays and Saturdays from 7 am to 1 pm.

The vendors at the Farmer’s Market are some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. They’re so helpful, and they grow some of the best produce and flowers you’ll ever see. Look at these flower arrangements… they’re stunning.

Last summer I bought a plant at the Farmer’s Market. Not only did it bloom gorgeously, I was able to keep it alive all summer- longer than the plants my mom bought at a garden center at home.

Here’s another picture of a Harrisonburg resident buying some produce. Look at how fresh all the food looks.

I can’t wait for the first warm Saturday morning this spring. The Farmer’s Market is a great place to enjoy the weather and support local farmers and merchants in our area. You also will get great deals on the freshest produce that money can buy. There is so much more to offer at the Farmer’s Market, so check it out and maybe you will be inclined to visit more often!

Local Support for Global Causes

On Friday night I went to a benefit concert at Clementine and witnessed a great example of how local businesses support greater causes. The event was coordinated by the Amnesty International group at JMU to raise funds to send to Haiti. There was live music, dancing and speakers.

Clementine hosted the event for free, and there were countless other local businesses represented. Obviously the event was put together rather quickly, but still the support from other downtown staples was evident. Dave’s, Artful Dodger, and Earth and Tea Cafe gift certificates were raffle prizes among countless other prizes that were donated. A local clothing store owner happened to be at the event, and was so inspired by the community support that he donated gift certificates on the spot for prizes.

This event is a great example of how JMU students getting involved with local businesses in Harrisonburg can bring about great things. The Amnesty International group was able to raise close to $400 in donations- all of which is going to a Haitian non-profit whose sole mission is to rebuild the country.

Our Community Place

Our Community Place is a wonderful nonprofit organization on the North end of downtown Harrisonburg. I can’t paraphrase the mission and vision statement adequately, so I copied them from the website, www.ourcommunityplace.org/about

“Our Community Place seeks . . .

• To accommodate, foster and provide activities and programs related to personal growth and community well being.
• To be a resource in the community for individuals seeking information or services already provided by other organizations.
• To educate and empower individuals toward self-sufficiency, thus creating social capital for the community at large.
• To nurture a community that appreciates diversity and sees differences and conflict as opportunities for spiritual growth.

Our vision is to build, around our free noon meal, an atmosphere of love, safety, education, spiritual awareness, healing, and fun.  We want to create a community center that functions on the same principles as our Soup Kitchen: anyone in the world is welcome to help or participate.

We are dedicated to breaking down barriers that tend to separate humans from the joys to be experienced in loving community. We are particularly dedicated to including in our activities those struggling with poverty and difficult life circumstances.  We have found over the years that incredible healing potential, for all parties, exists in the simple act of sitting down and eating or socializing together across social barriers.”

OCP is the brainchild of Ron Copeland, a former owner of the Little Grill. A few months after opening, Ron began to offer a free meal at noon on Mondays for “anyone in the world”. Instead of this being a charitable meal, Ron wanted the meal to have more of a communal, familial feel. He wanted everyone to be welcome, to volunteer, and to be served “family-style”. The meal was a huge success, and the donations that were contributed were able to go towards buying the building across the street that is now known as Our Community Place.

The organization soon became a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization (means that people who make donations can claim them on their taxes). Various “fun-raising” events were held, and several large donations from members of the local community helped to pay for the building. Soon after renovations began. A lot of hard work went into fixing up the building. Another gigantic donation came in from a donor and then the board felt comfortable paying for the remaining repairs needed to apply for an occupancy permit.

That was a year ago. Since then, OCP has grown exponentially. Free meals for “anyone in the world” are offered three times a day, an incredible vegetable garden has been planted, conflict mediation is available, NA and AA meetings take place, pregnancy support and education classes are offered, yoga classes, prayer services, educational lecture series… and so many more. OCP offers many other programs that encourage both personal and community growth.

I have tried for a few years to work with OCP and now I’m so glad that I can help plan advocacy events. I went to meet with someone to talk about what needs to be done, but he was busy finishing up a grant. We set up another meeting time and will start planning soon.

If you want to learn more about OCP go to the website- www.ourcommunityplace.org. It’s incredible how so few people can make such a big difference in our community. When I go to OCP it just reminds me how blessed I have been and how much potential I have to help others. Anyone in volunteering or working in the nonprofit sector should read more, it’s so inspiring!