Notes from the ServiceNation Panel

October 2, 2008

[Originally posted on http://handsongulfcoast.blogspot.com/]. Last Saturday’s panel discussion focused on the past, present and future of the volunteer movement in Biloxi and along the Gulf Coast. I took some notes which I’d like to share. Most quotes are paraphrased. First, let’s introduce our panel: Dorothy Noorbaar, Habitat for Humanity of the Mississippi Gulf Coast / AmeriCorps VISTA Nelson Walker, Hands On Gulf Coast / North Gulfport Community Land Trust Craig Snow, Project Coordinator, Hope Force International Juanita Gaines, Moore Community House Johnis Ross, Hope Coordination Center Moderator: Caitlin Brooking, Director of Programs, Hands On Gulf Coast Why do you volunteer? …

WLOX reports on Hands On

September 24, 2008

WLOX reports today on Hands On Gulf Coast’s transition to local non-profit status. And it’s a first look at our new executive director, Lillian Jenkins! Video (should open a pop-up window).

Hands On Gulf Coast to hold panel discussion

September 23, 2008

Fun with press releases! Make sure to get out and do some community service this Saturday for the National Day of Action. Hands On Gulf Coast to hold panel discussion The panel and discussion also will help identify the needs and opportunities for volunteer service. The event is part of a National Day of Action organized by ServiceNation, a national grass-roots movement advocating volunteerism and community service. A “Volunteers in Long-Term Recovery” panel and roundtable discussion will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at Hands On Gulf Coast, 2113 Pass Road, behind the Beauvoir United Methodist Church. …

KaBOOM Chicka Boom

September 23, 2008

Edit [12/26/08]: See these photos and more at my Flickr page. If you haven’t heard of the fine folks at KaBOOM!, they travel the country building playgrounds for neighborhoods that need them. Their goal: a place to play within walking distance of every child in America. Friday and Saturday, I helped prepare and lead the construction of a shade structure as part of a KaBOOM! build at the Isiah Fredericks Community Center in North Gulfport. The shade structure was designed by Jessie Zenor and built by Hands On and the North Gulfport Community Land Trust; it incorporated hundreds of tiles …

‘I just want to slap them upside the head’

July 7, 2008

This awesome quote comes from Bill Stallworth, the head of the organization where I work, in a CNN article about FEMA‘s misallocation of supplies intended for victims of Hurricane Katrina. I’ve also worked with the two ladies from Coastal Women for Change who are quoted in the article. It’s an interesting story, and one which implies three things: First, insufficient relationships with local organizations — word of the need for the supplies should have made it to FEMA much sooner. Second, dysfunctional communication within FEMA — those who did know about the need didn’t pass the message to the people …

Boston & Structures for Inclusion Part 2

April 11, 2008

This is mostly a picture post – click below for more! I also wanted to quickly elaborate on some of the themes that came out of the conference: Top-down vs. bottom-up: There was a lot of discussion about top-down (centralized) versus bottom-up (grassroots) approaches to planning and architecture. One strong point of view held that bottom-up work best engages the community and produces the most useful results. However, I think a large number of people also realized that architects and planners are uniquely able to mediate between top-down and bottom-up approaches. This theme came out in Teddy Cruz’s talk as …

Boston & Structures for Inclusion

April 9, 2008

Structures for Inclusion was AMAZING. The conference was eye-opening for a lot of people. It was certainly the first conference of its kind to take place at Harvard, and the students at the GSD put a lot of effort into setting it up and making it run smoothly. We had a great representation from Biloxi: nine from the GCCDS, three from Architecture for Humanity, five Mississippi State students, one Minnesota student, and one Hands On volunteer. I finally met the other Design Corps Fellows: Betsy Ramaccia, Megan Clark, Eric Goldman, Jared Hueter, and Ella Scheuer. We more or less got …

Going to Boston!

April 3, 2008

I’m very excited about going to Boston tonight for the Structures for Inclusion conference this weekend. Biloxi is sending a large contingent — 9 from our studio, 3 from Architecture for Humanity, and 6 students. I’ll report back — and I may even have a new camera, as my old one is broken.

Structures for Inclusion 8

March 18, 2008

SFI 8: SYSTEMS FOR INCLUSION April 4-6, 2008 | Cambridge, MA Design Corps, in association with Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, announces the eighth offering of the annual Structures for Inclusion (SFI) conference series. Entitled “Systems for Inclusion,” SFI8 explores the interface of design and systemic social action: Can design(ers) challenge globally networked systems of exclusivity and inequality? What are the relationships between design and political power, economic and ecological sustainability, justice and community? Targeted at students and young professionals who want to move beyond a purely aesthetic discussion–who see landscape/architecture and urban planning/design as an integrative and interconnected …

Joining Up

January 8, 2008

It’s back to work, but not yet back into the swing of things. I shifted as of yesterday to being paid by AmeriCorps, which doesn’t change much except that I have a new weekly meeting to go to, extra paperwork, and four days of “orientation” at Hands On this week. Orientation is tedious, and I’d rather be doing work, but so it goes. I’m looking forward to this weekend, however, and to hopefully getting a new client next week. Outside of architecture work, I want to resume learning Spanish. For now I am working on reading Los Diarios de motocicleta …

design, build, learn. repeat.