April Change for Good Recipient: Pollinator Project Rogue Valley
April's Change for Good Recipient is
Pollinator Project Rogue Valley
Pollinator Project Rogue Valley is a volunteer nonprofit organization based in Phoenix, working to inspire, connect, and educate people and communities to create and support pesticide-free pollinator habitats full of native plants. This mission will help create pollinator corridors between private properties, public spaces, wetlands, and wildlands throughout the Rogue Valley and beyond.
This Change for Good month's funds will help fund their initiative From Fire to Flowers: to distribute native pollinator plants to those who lost their homes and gardens in the Almeda Fire.
Your support will make this program a success and also help PPRV continue to inspire and educate our community about pesticide-free pollinator landscapes.
After the tragedy wrought by the Almeda Fire, there is an opportunity to grow back. From the Fire, we see Flowers.
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From Fire to Flowers project is a new initiative to distribute free native species of plants, specifically selected to support pollinators, to people who lost their homes and gardens in the recent Almeda Fire. PPRV will offer two options to fit a variety of locations: either for partial shade (Western Columbine and Bolander's Phacelia) or full sun (California Poppy and Western Verbena). These plants are well suited for growing in containers and will be perfect for a porch or balcony. Their goal is to distribute 120 pesticide-free plants in EcoForms biodegradable pots to members of the fire-impacted community who are otherwise without a garden during this time.
It is their hope that these native plants and the pollinators they will attract, will provide many reasons to smile this year and inspire many new future pollinator gardens in the Rogue Valley.
The plants and information on how to care for them all year long will be distributed in May 2021.
This project would not have been possible without the generous support of their donors and volunteers. They’d like to thank Ecoforms who donated pots made of rice hulls, Klamath Siskiyou Native Seeds for seedlings, and the Grange Co-op for donating BioLive fertilizer, potting soil, and gloves for their hard-working volunteers. And lastly, the creativity of Karin Onkka Design coupled with the hard work of Courtney Buel made all the difference!
Your support will make this program a success and also help PPRV continue to inspire and educate our community about pesticide-free pollinator landscapes.
PPRV is a local nonprofit that strives to inspire, connect, and educate people and communities to create and support pesticide-free pollinator habitats full of native plants, providing pollinator corridors between private properties, public spaces, wetlands, and wildlands throughout the Rogue Valley and beyond.
Pollinator Project Rogue Valley envisions people, communities, and landscapes all working together to support and increase healthy and thriving pollinator species everywhere.
Learn more about the From Fire to Flowers project by visiting pollinatorprojectroguevalley.org
The AFC Gives committee focuses on ways that the Co-op community can support local organizations and groups doing important work in the Rogue Valley.
2020 is the first year of Change for Good, a register round-up program to benefit a slate of ten organizations, voted on by Co-op owners, through the cumulative donations of shoppers choosing to round-up their shopping total to the nearest dollar.
From one cent to 99 cents, it all adds up to feeling good about supporting the community.
More Co-op News
October news at the Co-op
October is typically Co-op month, to highlight how differently cooperatives do business. But instead of talking about the 7 Cooperative Principles, or the ownership benefits of being part of the Co-op, we only need to look at the past four weeks to see what being a cooperative really means.
As part of the co-op family, you've helped the entire community immensely.
Lecture recording: "Nutrition for autism and related conditions"
Lisa Shelton, BioIndividual Nutrition Practitioner & Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, put together this recording to discuss nutrition for autism and related conditions including, ADHD, anxiety, and learning disorders as well as strategies for picky eating.
Click here to watch the lecture at your convenience.
Password: p!=Fw6R7
Support Co-op staff to rebuild
The Ashland Food Co-op is dedicated to helping our community and our staff rebuild after the Almeda Fires in early September.
For immediate support, the Co-op gave $1,000 to staff who lost their homes in the fires, as well as $250 for food and other household needs for anyone displaced due to a level 3 evacuation order.
Change for Good in September: Southern Oregon Land Conservancy
For the month of September, Ashland Food Co-op shoppers can round up at the register to support Southern Oregon Land Conservancy. Since 1973, SOLC has been working on multiple fronts to improve land quality and conservation for humans and nature alike. Check out some of the projects below that SOLC has been working on recently. And mark your calendar for Saturday, October 24, as SOLC hosts an Open Lands Day hike and tour on the Rogue River Preserve.
Free Monday Night Lecture - Some Cool Science about Breathing
Join Kelly Martin as she explains how your breath impacts everything from ankle sprains to headaches. Learn why belly breathing isn't good for you, how to breathe correctly, and how to maximize lung health, improve posture, enhance walking efficiency, reduce anxiety, and improve sports performance.
Access the Zoom recording here.
Zoom access password: 2zu@KQWU
Chatting about community giving with JPR's "Jefferson Exchange"
Recently, Julie O'Dwyer, Ashland Food Co-op board vice-president, joined a panel of guests on Jefferson Public Radio's "Jefferson Exchange" to discuss how the pandemic has led to an even greater need for community giving and support of local non-profits.
Change for Good in August: KS Wild
This month's featured organization in the new Change for Good register round-up program is KS Wild (short for Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center).
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Get to know Ashland Emergency Food Bank
The sixth cooperative principle, "Concern for Community," has become even more important since the pandemic began and economies, locally and globally, started to constrict. To address this, the Board of Directors agreed in April to release 100% of patronage dividends and designate Ashland Emergency Food Bank as a donation option for those dividends - resulting in over $20,000 in donations. And with the early launch of Change for Good register round-up, AEFB was a natural choice to receive round-up donations.
July / August GM Update: Walking the Walk
I wrote at the beginning of the year that the Co-op model of business was a blueprint for the future. The concept of “planet, principles and people before profit” is a guide for how cooperatives can run a successful business that puts more back into the community and local economy than national chains, while using less resources and creating less waste.
2020 Co-op Election Results
2020 Co-op Election Results
Ashland Food Co-op owners voted for three open seats on the Board of Directors, and for ten non-profit organizations for the Change for Good register round-up program.
Click a name below to read more about that Co-op Board member.
A statement from the Board of Directors on racial justice
Dear Ashland Food Cooperative Family and Community,
Co-op Owners Step-Up to Support the Ashland Emergency Food Bank!
AFC and AEFB Press Release - Local Strength!
Release Date: 5-26-2020
In April, the Ashland Food Co-op Board of Directors announced to the community that the Co-op would be returning 100% of the 2019 Patronage Dividend to its owners. The 100% Patronage Dividend return to Co-op owners converted to over $628,000.
The Co-op Board felt in this time of great need it was not the right time for the Co-op to put away funds for the future, but rather to support owners fully so they may have more strength to weather these stormy times.
Free Monday Night Lectures - virtual and recorded
Thanks to the many agile and adaptable experts in the Rogue Valley, the much-loved Free Monday Night Lectures live on - even if everything is moving online.
While we miss seeing community members with a joy of learning showing up at the Co-op Classroom, we hope these recordings teach and inspire you.
An update on Strategic Energy Management at the Co-op
By Nina Friedman, Strategic Energy Management intern