Lots to tell about...sit back and enjoy the ride.
Meetings:
Monday - Merchandising and T-Shirts in Claire's room - 3:30-4:00
This will be a quick meeting - The M group has to pick 2-3 items
for productions and the T-shirt group has to finalize their design. Orders
will be placed this week for t-shirts and RK gear.
No other meetings scheduled right now due to conferences. Mentoring Group
does have its gathering on Friday. Check with Charlotte for details if you
aren't sure of time and location.
Group Updates:
Herbie, Jr. - Sam and Carson are collecting ideas all week for how to
decorate the VW. They will be developing a fairly informal presentation to
give to the officials at City Museum in a couple weeks. Date TBA.
Rain Harvesting - No we're not promoting heavy drinking, but we are buying a
couple old whiskey barrels. After some deliberation, the Building and
Grounds Committee, Bill Sprung, and the River Kids decided that the best
option for new rain barrels would be to reuse something old. We will be
purchasing two old whiskey barrels that have been reworked to serve as rain
barrels. They will be installed in the next month or so next to the garden
pavilion. Bill is already beginning the gutter installation. The two
barrels together could potentially collect about 18,000 gallons of run-off
from the garden pavilion roof per year given regional precipitation trends.
Realistically, given the size of the barrels, we expect to harvest at least
1800 gallons to supplement our sprinkler system. The barrels will have hand
pumps on top so that kids can fill a bucket and water the plants themselves.
Way to go, rain harvesting group!
Mentoring - This group will be spending a good chunk of time this Friday
training to be mentors and group leaders. They will learn how to lead
activities, build team skills, support participants emotionally, and even
basic CPR. Later in the day, they will get to meet their new friends from
Neighborhood Houses for the first time. Hard work with great rewards.
Kudos to these girls!
Singers - This group has been working on a two-part harmony for Roll On
River (a song by Betty Elders) and are practicing our originals. Curt
Carter will be joining them for practice in coming weeks. We will hit the
studio in March and release the CD in April, possibly at the benefit.
Songwriters - Rock on, St. Louis!! Thanks to a few rockin' River Kids,
there's a new RK rock song brewing. If it's ready in time, it will be on
the CD and performed live at the benefit.
Benefit Dinner - Lots of action on this front. The kids who have met on
Thursdays have been able to accomplish a great deal already. Here are some
of the stories from this group:
- Title of Event Chosen - "Willy Wonka's Wonderland" - Break out your
sweet tooth...or it'll rot out anyway, 'cause this party calls for nothin'
but candy and associated junk foods. Chocolate fountain, buckets of WW
candy, River Kids chocolate bars (with one having a Golden ticket inside -
BIG prize of course), cotton candy maker, popcorn machine and more...I
suggested that we forgo all the planning and just place bags of pure sugar
all around the room, but the kids want to work for their sugar.
So for all the healthy people out there cringing at the thought of giant
Pixie Sticks and Dippn' Stix packs washing out in your laundry, please look
the other way for this one evening...we'll bring extra carrots on the
campout.
- Artwork - The flyers, signs, posters, tickets, and such will be sent
off to a graphic artist at Lipic Recognition this week along with an order
for new merchandise.
- Donations -
- HUGE thanks to Major Brands Premium Beverage Distributors for
donating the drinks for the dinner!
- More HUGE thanks to the City Museum! They have donated the
Architectural Hall for the event!
- More HUGE thanks - AEP Rivers has donated $2000 to support the
event. We will use the money to purchase the kayak and canoe packages for
raffle.
- Keep your eyes open for new opportunities for donations. If
you're out and about and happen to swing by a store that might like
supporting our organization, take a moment and ask the manager what they
think. You never know!
- There are some organizations (such as Dick's Sporting Goods) that
only offer donations in response to written or online inquiries. If you're
interested in filling out forms, let me know. That's something that can be
done with your child so they can learn those ropes.
- Catering - The kids were on the phone calling the caterers last week.
Not surprisingly, some caterers weren't very responsive to a child calling
about such a big contract. However, there were three that passed the test
and resisted the temptation to underestimate these kids. Proposals are due
back this week. A caterer will soon be under contract!
- Costumes - Break out your orange make-up and green wigs, we're all
invited to dress the part for this party...I've been elected to dress as
Willy Wonka himself. Go figure. Oompa-loompas will abound, I'm sure!
- Guest Speakers - Many kids spent a good chunk of time writing to those
that they thought would be interested in hearing about River Kids and their
event. Emails were flying out to Al Gore, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and
Oprah, as well as many more...Wouldn't that be an attendance list?! Really,
we are seeking out a top-notch speaker for this event. No one secured just
yet. Who will it be?????
- Entertainment - Some discussion about the lack of organization
surrounding last year's games. Games this year will be at least more
structured, possibly limited, and may be eliminated. There will be live
music - several bands are being contacted and considered. DJ will be
quieter if there is one.
- Ticket Sales - Tickets will look like the "Golden Ticket" from Charlie
and the Chocolate Factory. There are plans to make it possible to buy
tickets online this year. Prices are set at $30 per adult and $20 per
child. This includes dinner, drinks, all entertainment, and admission to
the City Museum until 2am. There will be only 200 tickets sold at this
price. We will sell after-dinner tickets, which will include entertainment
and admission to City Museum for $20 and $10 starting at 9pm. We have not
set a cap on the number of these tickets to be sold.
- Raffles - There will be a canoe package and a kayak package at least.
We are seeking other large raffle items. The canoe will be the same as last
year's. We are considering a sea kayak (one that would be typical of those
used in river races). We are also seeking new ideas for raffle packages
that we should make available. Please forward your ideas. If we receive
enough donations, we are planning on having small/medium raffle items on
tables at the event.
RK Spring Break - Based on the feedback I'm getting, (and this may change)
it looks like it might be a good idea to shoot for the middle weekend of
spring break - 3 days/2 nights. Sounds like there may be several parents
who can go, as well as several kids that would come alone with other adults.
We are thinking we'll provide cabins, ropes courses (low for younger and
high for older), canoeing/kayaking, and another major activity TBA. Keep
sending your thoughts. We'll continue to build the trip to meet your common
interests. Mud football anyone?
Parent Opportunities - There's been some talk about maybe having some
parents chip in to help supervise/facilitate groups of kids as they tackle
the many varied tasks associated with organizing the benefit. There are
lots of other ways parents might want to chip in as well. One parent
suggested a morning coffee to discuss parent opportunities. If you're
interested in such a meeting, please let me know. I'll be around NCS Friday
all morning, so maybe that would be a good day. Friday anyone? 8am?
So, I really don't TRY to make these emails this long...there's just so much
to talk about. Those darn youthful upstarts of yours keep producing new
material.
On that note, some of the coolest moments in meetings have come from
unplanned announcements regarding issues that one or more River Kids have
discovered. It's good to know that these kids are really paying attention
to the world as it evolves. They are the kind of kids that won't ignore an
issue. Thanks to all those kids that use our meetings to share their
concerns and for the passion they exhibit.
A couple extra dates to consider:
- Saturday, April 12 - Big Cleanup in connection with Trailnet. This is
a great kid-friendly event including some planting opportunities.
- Sunday, April 20 - Earth Day - 10am-6:30pm - kids will work in shifts
- may work with or without parents
- Friday, April 25 - Benefit Dinner - Kids (and any available parents)
will be working set-up from 3:30 until 7pm - then we will all party. We will
need help with break-down at 11:30pm as well. We'll have a truck to haul
everything.
- May ???? - RK Member Camping Trip with Land for Learning (kids only)
- July 7-11 - Ben and Claire run a Naturalist Camp for 4th-6th graders -
camping on the river for three days. See Tobie for details.
- July 21-25 - Ben and Claire run a Naturalist Camp for 6th-8th graders
- 5 days in Tennessee on the Hiwassee and Ocoee Rivers. See Tobie for
details.
- August 23 - Operation Clean Stream - HUGE river cleanup. River Kids
have been invited to run a booth.
Have a great Monday! Of course it may be Tuesday by the time you get to the
end of this email...
Ben
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