Organizers Meeting/Share Tompkins in Ithaca Journal again!

We were in the Ithaca Journal again! This time for getting a Sustainable Tompkins mini-grant:
Sustainable Tompkins awards $1,810 in grants

Here’s an excerpt:

Sustainable Tompkins recently awarded quarterly mini-grants totaling $1,810 to four community projects that encourage local self-reliance, strengthen neighborhood connections and promote long-term community well-being. The donor-supported program has distributed $10,270 to 25 projects since 2008. Mini-grants awarded this week were…

$410 to Share Tompkins for publicity expenses of the monthly Swap Meets and creation of an on-line directory. Share Tompkins began in May as a grassroots initiative that aims to build community self-reliance by facilitating the sharing and bartering of local goods and services. Swap Meets help residents save money while reducing the county’s environmental footprint by lowering potential pollution generated by production and transportation of new imported goods. Share Tompkins is run entirely by volunteers. Shira Golding, a co-founder, is [a] contact person for these increasingly popular Swap Meets.

Help us spend the grant money by coming to the organizers meeting tonight!

From McKenzie…

Thanks to all of you who were part of making Saturday’s Really Really Free Market a huge hit! Share Tompkins relies on the participation of all of you to keep us going. We ask that you please provide input as we prepare our next Share Tompkins swap meet in February! Whether you’ve helped organize a meet before, or have never even attended one, you’re invited to help!

Our meeting will be held on:
Thursday, February 4, 2010
7:30 – 9:30 pm
Danielle and Greg’s house, 322 S. Geneva St.

Everyone is invited to take part in the organizational process. We have a lot of decisions to make, like where and when the meet will be, if it will be centered on bartering or be another successful free market, and how to best promote the event.

Come share your ideas for continuing to make Share Tompkins a valuable community resource!!

As always, feel free to bring snacks, too!

RSVP on Facebook.

Really Really Free Market in the Ithaca Journal

The RRFM was in the Ithaca Journal! Anyone have an original copy of the paper for the Share Tompkins archive?

Photos from the Really Really Free Market

more about "Really Really Free Market", posted with vodpod

Over 200 people showed up!

Really Really Free Market Jan. 30th

Our eighth Share Tompkins gathering is a Really Really Free Market! That means that EVERYTHING is free – bring what you can, take what you need. The more we can provide for one another locally, the closer we are to sustainability! In addition to free food from Garden Gate Delivery, there will be free massages, button-making, and mini-workshops taught by Ithaca Freeskool. You’ll also be able to learn about local groups offering free services including BirthNet, Alternatives Federal Credit Union, SewGreen, and the Ithaca Free Clinic.

This event is co-sponsored by Wishing Well Magazine and supported in part by Sustainable Tompkins.

Really Really Free Market
Saturday, January 30, 2010, 1-4pm
Henry St. John Building
301 S. Geneva St, Ithaca, NY, Map

RSVP on Facebook.

What is a Really Really Free Market?

From Wikipedia:
“The Really Really Free Market (RRFM) movement is a non-hierarchical collective of individuals who form a temporary market based on an alternative gift economy. The RRFM movement aims to counteract capitalism in a non-reactionary way. It holds as a major goal to build a community based on sharing resources, caring for one another and improving the collective lives of all.”

What to bring:
- Food and Produce: veggies, teas, baked goods, jams, tofu, etc.
- Body Care: tinctures, soaps, etc.
- Handmade Crafts: ceramics, candles, art, etc.
- Stuff: electronics, housewares, tools, books, etc.
- Services: massage, bike repair, web design, accounting, shoveling, moving, etc.
- Space: housing, working, gardening, etc. + you can offer to host our next event!
- Bags, boxes and carts to take stuff home in

Guidelines:
- Our goal is sustainability – please bring stuff that is locally-grown or made from local materials
if possible, but everything is welcome!
- Be prepared to take back home with you left-over items.
- Please bring stuff that is in good condition or can be easily-repaired – no junk!

Please spread the word even if you can’t come!
Really Really Free Market Flier (PDF)

Share Tompkins on Shareable

We're on the homepage of Shareable!

Shareable, a website that “tells the story of sharing,” invited us to write a how-to article for their site and we seized the opportunity in the hopes of inspiring similar efforts in other communities.

Read the article: How to Throw a Community Swap Meet

Saturday: Free fabric gift-wrapping service at DeWitt Mall

SewGreen is hosting a free fabric gift-wrapping service from 10 am to 4 pm on Saturday, December 19 at its Rescued for Reuse store in the DeWitt Mall, corner of Seneca and Cayuga streets in downtown Ithaca.

Fabric gift wrap is more earth-friendly than paper because it can be reused, saved for future projects, or returned to the giver. Have your gift wrapped by SewGreen volunteers, wrap it yourself, or just come to get ideas about creative reuse.

SewGreen offers sustainable sewing classes for all ages, free youth apprenticeships, reuse and resale. Find out more about them:
www.sew-green.org

Photos from Share Tompkins Holiday Swap

more about "Share Tompkins Holiday Swap", posted with vodpod

Share Tompkins is Acknowledged as a 2009 Sign of Sustainability by Sustainable Tompkins

more about "this is so encouraging – thanks susta…", posted with vodpod

On December 6, 2009 at the Women’s Community Building in downtown Ithaca, Sustainable Tompkins presented over 140 Signs of Sustainability Awards to new local initiatives. Travis Knapp, a musician and farmer with Dancing Turtle Farms, accepted the award on behalf of Share Tompkins.

Gay Nicholson of Sustainable Tompkins: “This really is going to be an important part of a sustainable community and an important piece of the self-provisioning that any resilient community needs to create, so I’ve really been very glad to see you guys step up and offer this to us.”

We really appreciate the support and were excited to share the stage with so many great local projects!

Food security in America: Are we learning to share?

The New York Times tells us this week that 1 in 8 Americans (and 1 in 4 children) is on food stamps. Let’s just let that sink in for a second. That’s a lot of people who need food. That’s us, that’s our neighbors – not just statistics.

The NY Times thinks the stigma around receiving nutrition assistance is fading, but Gawker has written an insightful follow-up pointing out that the comments on the Times article and even quotes in the article itself reveal that there is still a lot of shame and shaming going on when it comes to hunger in America. Here’s yet another piece from the Huffington Post about elders using food pantries that touches on these issues.

Meanwhile, Times of India reports that Americans throw away 40% of food. What is going on America?

Some of us are so hungry that, even if it shames us (though it’s this author’s opinion that there should be no shame in receiving, just as there is no shame in giving), we are seeking assistance to feed ourselves and our families. Others are in need and haven’t reached out for help, trying to make do on their own and suffering.

And yet, others of us are worried that hungry folks are leeching off the system, that they aren’t working hard enough, that they should be shamed into getting off the assistance they need so much. And we’re throwing away food, instead of giving it to those who are going without.

Despite this lingering us-them shame game, the fact that the media is having this conversation, and that people are signing up for assistance in record numbers, could just mean that America is learning to share. Maybe we’re finally discovering together that we have enough food, and that no one should go hungry, and that we can solve this problem – we just have to act like helpful neighbors, not spiteful enemies.

As these articles show, any of us can go hungry and need help. It’ll serve us all better if we can remember that and treat others as we would like to be treated. My mom taught me that (and how to share) when I was a little kid. If little kids can obey the golden rule, and share their toys, adults should be setting a good example and doing the same with food.

What are your thoughts about sharing food? Have you seen hunger in Tompkins County? Have you or people you know gone hungry? Have you helped out at Loaves and Fishes, or participated in food reclamation / waste reduction? How can our community ensure that no one goes hungry – how can we share better? Please leave a comment below.

Holiday Swap at Southside Community Center Dec. 12

Our seventh Community Swap Meet is all about the holidays. What better way to get unique gifts for everyone on your list than to share and barter for crafts, services and other goodies?! This event is hosted and co-sponsored by the Southside Community Center.

Holiday Community Swap Meet
Saturday, December 12, 4-7pm
Southside Community Center
305 S. Plain St, Ithaca, NY 14850
Map

RSVP on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=203720536936

You can post haves/wants to the Share Tompkins email list:
https://lists.aktivix.org/mailman/listinfo/sharetompkins

All are welcome to bring stuff to swap. You can expect to find:
One-of-a-kind fabric collage sweatshirts by Lea Elleseff
Photo prints by Frank Muller
Hand-knitted hats and cozies by Shira Golding
Personalized button-making by Ari Moore
And much more!

What to bring:
- Food: teas, baked goods, jams, chocolate, etc.
- Body Care: tinctures, soaps, creams, etc.
- Handmade Crafts: ceramics, candles, art, etc.
- Stuff: electronics, housewares, books, etc.
- Services: massage, yoga, music lessons, etc.
- Bags, boxes and carts to take stuff home in

Guidelines:
- Our goal is sustainability – please bring stuff that is locally-grown or made from local materials
if possible, but anything is welcome!
- Be prepared to take back home with you whatever you don’t end up bartering or giving away. Left-over items will be donated appropriately.
- Please bring stuff that is in good condition or can be easily-repaired – no junk!

Please spread the word even if you can’t come!