Center News

W.K. Kellogg Foundation Grant Awarded to the Center

We are pleased to announce that the Center has received a $10,500 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation for a project which will focus on raising awareness and increasing understanding of local community sustainability in the Grand Traverse Bay Region and to explore the potential of creating a local currency.

The grant will be used to help disseminate information on community sustainability. The Center will produce a radio program which will explore various topics relating to sustainability which will be aired on WNMC, the region's only community radio station. The radio programs will also be included on a CD ROM on sustainability which will be distributed free to the public and school libraries. The CD ROM will contain other relevant information and will be interactive with the Internet in order to access the Center's web site which will be continuously updated with additional information on this topic. The next four issues of Synapse will include a special section containing information on local community sustainability.

As part of this project the Center will conduct research on a comparison of ownership of two major retail areas in Grand Traverse County: the downtown retail area, and the new mall area on the east end of South Airport Road. As the economy becomes more globalized, establishing a local currency is one way of keeping more dollars circulating within the community, thereby helping to support locally owned businesses. As a first step, we will begin gathering and analyzing ownership information on retail businesses, to determine the flow of currency within, as well as leaving, our community. Any Center members who would like to help us with this project should give us a call.

Casa Materna

This year, the Casa Materna Collection Day, held on May 3rd, yielded about 15 boxes of supplies for the maternity house which cares for high risk pregnant women in Matagalpa, Nicaragua. The boxes will be taken there by caravan called the "Drive for Justice" organized by Xavier University students, and sponsored by the Central American Task Force and the Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center of Cincinnati. In addition, we collected $350 which will be donated to the Drive for Justice and Casa Materna. If you would still like to make a donation to this worthy cause, send your check to us here at Neahtawanta, made out to the Neahtawanta Center with a note that it is for Casa Materna.

Earth Day '98

Once again, bumblebees, ants, oaks, spiders, tigers, butterflies and many more species, showed up for the All Species Parade. The gathering in downtown Traverse City is a celebration of the diversity of life and is a chance to learn about the many environmental groups in the area who are working to sustain the environment. Speaker Stephanie Mills shared some profound thoughts about life on Earth, and we enjoyed music by the Bon Foule drummers, New Five Cents and Third Coast. The Many Hands Farm kids entertained us with song and dance as well. Thanks to all who helped to make Earth Day a big success!

Hiroshima/Nagasaki Candlefloat

The annual candlefloat down the Boardman River in Traverse City to commemorate victims of all wars will be held this year on Nagasaski Day, Sunday, August 9th. Participants should meet on the river by the Chamber of Commerce building at Cass and the Grandview Parkway at 8:00 PM for a short ceremony before we float the candles, which will be provided.

Summer Salons

Once again this summer, we invite all local folks to join us for a series of summer campfire salons at the Neahtawanta Inn. We'll hold them this year on the four Wednesdays in August, beginning August 5th. We've decided that we'll use the first salon to decide upon topics, so bring some ideas and a dish to pass! Please call us by the Monday prior to the salon to let us know you'll be attending.

Good-bye to Jim and Ruth

Here at the Neahtawanta Center, we have reluctantly said farewell to our dear friends and co-workers, Jim Crowfoot and Ruth Carey. They spent the past year at the Inn/Center helping us with everything from making beds to doing research on the Internet. Their presence here was an incredible gift and we will miss them very much. They have moved to Ann Arbor, (not TOO far away) and we hope they'll make it back for an occasional visit. (Jim's email address is crowfoot@umich.edu)

Return to the Index of Synapse 44, Summer 1998