THREE WAYS MAKE A STATEMENT ABOUT SINGLE USE PLASTIC

Hey Nurture Community, let's come up with a cool group project to participate in this exhibit. We could do something specific to family-life...

Connect with others around the globe and participate in the International Plastic Quilt Project (IPQP) as a 1-Squaremaker, 2-Challenge-Taker or 3-Change Creator!

You may participate in one of three different levels ranging from creating and submitting a square to the nearest IPQP exhibit, making a square while taking a plastic-free challenge, and/or organizing a local group. Groups are forming in Portland and Lincoln City, Oregon, the San Francisco Bay Area, Mexico and Kenya. Details, including entry forms and work from previous exhibits, are online at www.LNPB.org. Entry forms and small support fee due March 15, 2010. Email cheryl@createplenty.org if you have questions. Families wanted!

LNPB is a campaign of the non-profit organization Create Plenty (www.createplenty.org), an organization dedicated to increasing the production and consumption of more local products, reducing waste and creating plenty! "Think Ahead, Leave No Plastic Behind."

Buy Local and Help Haiti

More Buying-Local Goodness (or: As If I Needed Another Reason to Love Portland)...

The warm-hearted, community-spirited, globally-concerned Milagros family is donating 10% of all of their sales to the Mercy Corps' emergency response to the earthquake in Haiti. Jennifer and Tony have invited other local businesses to join them in this effort and the response has been huge. For a list of all (of the very many) participating local businesses and their commitments visit the Milagros "Wave of Support for Haiti From Local Businesses" post. The list will be updated as more businesses join in to support Haiti.

I also wanted to pass this along from Supportland's Katrina Scotto di Carlo:

Our friends, Josh + Kelly, are traveling to Haiti to provide midwifery and basic medical services. They are disaster relief specialists and any funds donated will 100% go towards supplies for the Haitian people. They are amazing, selfless people. Donate and/or send them some positive energy. US BANK Acct. name- Dragonfly routing # 1230002200 acct.# 153690811358

Supportland: Buying Local Just Got Better

My holiday shopping goal this year was to only buy local gifts, and I felt pretty good about reaching that goal. Supporting your local businesses is supporting your community, your neighbors, and your local economy. And as if that isn't enough incentive, Supportland comes on the scene and buying local gets even better...

Created by Katrina and Michael Scotto di Carlo (radical North Portland parents of two fabulous daughters), Supportland is a Portland based network that offers patrons rewards for frequenting local businesses. It works much like the little cafe stamp cards--after you get so many stamps you get a free latte--only better. With Supportland one card (or, if you prefer it can be on your iPhone) is used and points are tracked through the Supportland system. And it is FREE!

Of course, they do a much better job of explaining how it works in this video (if you can't see the video go here):

Supportland is starting out in North Portland and will be spreading throughout the city and beyond. I am excitedly awaiting my card's arrival. You can sign up to get one here.

Baby Love Blanket Drive

Crafty/Creative Families! Get out your knitting needles, crochet hooks, or quilting tools...your love is needed. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a cause near and dear to my heart. Ayla Birth is hosting a handmade blanket (as well as other items) for babies exposed to domestic violence. After working with families who had experienced domestic violence, I am more than happy to participate in and pass on the information about this drive:

Baby Love Blanket Drive
What is the Baby Love Blanket Drive?
The Baby Love Blanket Drive is a 2 month long, charity craft-along (Oct- Dec) where people in Portland, Oregon (and beyond) will knit, crochet and quilt blankets for newborns in need.

In addition to blankets, we are now
accepting: Baby Clothes, Baby Toys, Hats, Mittens, Socks, Shoes, Scarves & Slings. If you have a large amount of non-blanket items, please call (503) 809-1721 for pick up.

Who Benefits?
YWCA Yolanda House and the the Foster Closet
All of us at have seen the price babies pay in the Northwest when they are exposed to domestic violence, abuse or neglect. We can't save them, but we can give them comfort and we think you can too.

Why are we doing this?
In 2007, five doulas decided to help keep babies warm over the winter by sponsoring a handmade blanket drive for the Portland area. In 2008, Willow Birth ran the drive and Ayla Birth has taken over the drive for 2009. Regardless or who runs the drive each year, the mission is always the same: comfort for those in need.

Why handmade blankets?
We believe that an item made by hand and with love is more valuable than a store bought one, and we believe that all babies deserve to have something special made just for them. Each of us has the power to create something lovely, but if we band together, we can create a thousand lovely things, a thousand loving hands creating comfort for newborn life. Of course, any item that you personalize with love is
handmade, so if your idea of handmade is a bit of embroidery or a fleece kit, we
welcome those too!

Blanket Requirements:
Size: Any standard size
baby blanket size
Fiber: Any machine washable fiber
Weight: Any
Deadline: 12/20/09

Where do I drop off my items?

The Knitting Bee
18305 NW West Union Rd.
Portland, OR 97229
(503) 439.3316

Twisted
2310 NE Broadway
Portland, OR 97232
(503) 922-1150

Designer Yarn
38871 Proctor Blvd.
Sandy, Oregon 97055
(503)
826-0123

By Mail:
Baby Love Blanket Drive
4408 SE 67th Avenue
Portland,
OR 97206

Warm Baby Blessings,
Anne Lenzi
The Baby Love Blanket Drive
President, Ayla Birth – Community Doulas
(503) 809-1721

And...if you enjoy the company of others while you click away with your needles, join us at Nurture's Knit~Together group. Check back soon for details or join our e-village and join the group now.

Diaper Changing Station at Green Sprouts Organic Baby and Family Fest

We have been hosting a diaper changing/nursing area (and more) booth at the King Farmers Market on Sundays. This Saturday (9/26 from 10-5) we will be bringing our booth to the Green Sprouts Organic Baby and Family Fest.

If you have not been to the Green Sprouts Festival, I would like to personally say that it is a fun family event. Last year, I had a great time sneaking away from our booth (that's me with my daughter strapped to my chest in that picture!) to enjoy some activities and educational workshops.

This year we will be over by the picnic tables and restrooms, stop by and say hello, learn about all of the wonderful services Nurture has to offer, change a diaper, or hang out and nurse your child in a comfortable chair. We will have a changing table, wipes generously donated by the Alberta Cooperative Grocery, a few extra plastic bags for soiled cloth diapers in case you forget your wet bag, hand sanitizer, a comfortable chair for nursing, a play space for siblings, and more.

Children's Book: Stone Soup

Jon J. Muth's community-building Stone Soup is my favorite version of this tale. Set in China, three monks, Hok, Lok, and Siew are roaming about the misty mountain paths, come across an insecure village made weary by war, famine, and floods. The monks start a pot of stone soup in the village square and the villagers respond, first with curiosity and then with generosity, to the subtly disguised lesson of cooperative spirit. Muth has filled this book with symbolism both in the story and in the illustrations.

In his informative author's note, Muth shares his inspiration for this book,

There have always been Zen poet monks wandering through cloud-embraced mountains, and it seems to me they must have at least once found a village with sad houses and done just what Hok, Lok, and Siew have done here.

At Nurture we have just started a small pot of stone soup; it is not quite boiling. Come by for a bowl and fill your community spirited heart.