#CaringForCommunity is a blog series that spotlights the work of writers, artists, or your next-door neighbors who, without being asked and without pay, carry the light in simple but meaningful ways. These are people giving back in order to lift others up. Real life examples of compassion, concern, and inspiration.
Inside
The last time I posted on #CaringForCommunity, I mentioned Tricklebee Cafe in Milwaukee, a pay-what-you-can community restaurant that serves organic, locally-sourced food. My husband and I ate there recently, and let’s just say I felt good all around, belly and soul.
For this edition of the blog series, I want to spotlight Curt’s Cafe in Evanston, IL. Curt’s Cafe is a nonprofit organization that runs along a similar philosophy, opening their doors to young people in need of compassion, acceptance, and a place to connect.
“The mission of Curt’s Cafe is to offer job skill and life skill training to highly, highly at-risk young men and young women and help them with those skills, then help them get a job and keep a job. . . . And we don’t turn anyone away, no matter what they’ve done.” ~ Susan Trieschmann, Executive Director
Watch That’s My Child (above, from Small Forces on Vimeo) about Curt’s Cafe. Checkout their website. Better yet, when in Evanston, stop in for a cup of coffee and a dose of kindness.
Outside
After you sip that coffee cup of inspiration, head home, pop a Zyrtec, and get back outside to spread more love. This time in your garden. Rebecca Straus in “Grow These 50 Pollen-Rich Plants to Help Your Local Honeybees” (Organic Life) explains:
It’s no secret honeybee populations are hurting. Colony collapse disorder, which occurs when the majority of worker bees in a hive disappear, abandoning the queen, baby bees, nurse bees, and food, is decimating hives at an astounding rate. And a shortage of honeybees can have a very real impact on our food supply. Farmers who grow crops from strawberries to squash to almonds rely on hives of traveling honeybees to pollinate their fields. No bees means no food.
I like food. So does Tricklebee, so does Curt’s. And you. Consider it #CaringForCommunity in the round, beginning on one tiny city lot and reaching well beyond.
“…one of the easiest steps you can take is to grow more plants that honeybees like to feast on for nectar and pollen. Here are the flowers, shrubs, trees, herbs, and—yes—weeds that will give honeybees (and native pollinators!) a helping hand.”
A little hay fever for a happy beehive? I say, Yes. And I bet there’s a patch of yard within eyesight that could use a little color.
Think coneflower and crocus and pretty, flowering onions.
“Tricklebee Café is a pay-what-you-can community café that offers healthy meals, food-service training, and spiritual nourishment. We offer a space to foster community, connections, goodwill, and a love for real food with simple ingredients. By offering an inclusive and welcoming space, we hope to bring some positivity to this neighborhood that greatly needs peace and understanding.”
There exists within all of us the need to reach out to others with an open heart. When we are offered a kind word, a helping hand, a patient ear, or an unexpected gift, our first reaction is gratitude – there is a softening that occurs. Perhaps our second reaction could be to pay-it-forward?
I wouldn’t be able to spread the word about Random Acts of Poetry and Art Day without the help of my wonderfully talented team of organizers, which includes visual artists: Sonya S. Sinha (New York) and Jennifer S. J. Peña (New Jersey). Each year, we ring the bell of hope, in celebration of the art of giving. It is our goal to encourage and inspire others to give back through the arts. We have an opportunity to connect people through kindness and generosity. We also have an opportunity to remind people of the essence of being human – to give and receive from the heart.
Cristina M. R. Norcross is the founding editor of the online poetry journal,