Active Neighboring News
Distributed by Allen Neighborhood Center
(Thanks for forwarding.)
Friday, April 2, 2010
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Here are resources, opportunities, and events that you might want to share with friends and neighbors:
1) See ‘FRESH’ tonight at the Hunter Park GardenHouse – free, 7:30 pm
2) New - City of Lansing Feed the Children- lunches for kids during spring break
3) New - CATA’s Annual Community Health Fair on April 23
4) New- Debbie Diesen, local author, at Schulers on April 17
5) New - Seasonal Yard Waste Pick Up begins on Monday
6) New -Personal Safety and Self Defense on April 27
7) GardenHouse News: films, hours, volunteer opportunities, and CSA
8) News from Fenner Nature Center
9) MSU Horticulture Classes (growing strawberries/blueberries), March & April
10) Walk with ANC for the Komen Race for the Cure on April 25
11) Volunteer with ANC Yard Sign Crew, Market, and More
12) Quote of the Week
Joan Nelson
1) See “Fresh” tonight at the GardenHouse, 7:30 pm
FIRST FRIDAY FILM Night screens ‘Fresh’ tonight (4/2) at 7:30pm at the Hunter Park GaradenHouse. Bring your neighbor(s) down to Hunter Park for a free showing of the movie that will make you think a little more about what you eat for dinner. We will have free popcorn and a light discussion following the film.
2) City of Lansing “Feed the Children” Spring Break Program
The distribution of FREE, sacked lunches, fresh fruit and juice boxes to eighteen different locations across the City from Monday, April 5-Friday, April 9 2010 from 11 am-1 pm or until meals run out at each site. For more information call the City of Lansing Human Relations and Community Services Dept. at (517) 483-4477 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (517) 483-4477 end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (517) 483-4477 end_of_the_skype_highlighting.
Where: Allen Neighborhood Center will be distributing food daily and so will:
LaRoy Froh Public Housing Southside Community Center
Cristo Rey Comm. Center Mt. Vernon Public Housing
Gier Community Center Southside Community Coalition
Letts Community Center Baker-Donora Community Center
Foster Community Center NW Initiative
Mt. Vernon Public Housing Black Child Family Institute
Summer Place Townhomes Hildebrandt Public Housing
3) CATA’s Annual Community Health Fair.
Friday, April 23rd from 10AM to 1PM at the CATA Transportation Center in downtown Lansing-420 S Grand. This is a FREE event, open to the public.
Providers Free Screenings and Services
MSU College of Cholesterol & Glucose
Osteopathic Medicine Blood Pressure & Body Mass Index
Height & Weight
Tri-County Office on Aging Senior Services & Resources
Beals Institute Osteoporosis (Bone Density) Screening
Carefree Medical Vision & Dental Screening
Allen Neighborhood Center Ingham Health Plan Enrollment
(free healthcare for the uninsured)
Downtown YMCA Muscular Strength-Grip Test
Wellness Center VO2 Submax-Cardio Test
Flexibility & Body Fat
Lansing Emergency Mgmt. Do 1 Thing & Nixle Programs
Emergency Preparedness Information
Ingham County Health Department - Special Needs Health Information - Women & Children’s Health
Ingham County-MSU Extension - Nutrition Education
NorthWest Initiative H1N1 Vaccines
Gift of Life Michigan Organ Donor Registry
Waverly Chiropractic Center Spinal Screening
U.S. Census Bureau Information on how census impacts healthcare—will accept completed forms
Sixty Plus Elderlaw Clinic Senior Legal Services
Gentiva Health Services Information Home Health, Homecare & Medicare
Need a ride? Call CATA’s fixed-route and Spec-Tran services. For more information, call 394-1100.
4) Schuler Books & Music presents author Debbie Diesen
Join New York Times bestselling author (and ANC’s Financial Manager), Debbie Diesen for a Free Story Time: Saturday, April 17, 2010, 11:00 a.m., at Schuler’s Books in Eastwood Town Center. Debbie will read her new book, The Barefooted, Bad-Tempered Baby Brigade and will lead children in fun songs and activities. Debbie is the author of The Pout-Pout Fish, which was one of Time Magazine’s top Ten Children’s Books of 2008 and was selected as the featured Michigan Reads preschool book in 2009.
5) SEASONAL YARD WASTE COLLECTION BEGINS THE WEEK OF APRIL 5, 2010
Residents can begin setting out leaves, grass clippings and other yard waste materials at the curbside on a weekly basis beginning the week of April 5th on their normal service days for recycling and city trash collection. Yard waste should be placed in paper bags. Brush and tree trimmings must be less than 4 feet in length and less than 2 inches in diameter and bundled with string or twine. All bags and bundles must weigh 30 pounds or less.
Residents may NOT use City trash or other plastic bags or trash carts for yard waste removal. Also, due to health and safety concerns, the use of rigid containers to collect yard waste is not allowed. Disposal of beehives or wasp nests in yard waste is prohibited, as they are a danger to our yard waste collection staff.
For more information, contact the City of Lansing, Waste Reduction Services at 483-4400 or [email protected]. More information is available at www.lansingrecycles.com
By the Way - The Good Friday holiday will not interrupt City of Lansing trash and recycling collections on Friday, April 2, 2010. Residents contracting with private refuse haulers are urged to check with their collection companies for scheduling changes. For more information, call the City of Lansing Waste Reduction Services Hotline at 483-4400 or visit the website at: www.lansingrecycles.com.
6) Personal Safety Awareness and Self-Defense Seminar
As many of you know April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Neighborhood Watch will be offering a general Personal Safety Awareness & Self Defense seminar on Tuesday, April 27th empowering our neighbors, family and friends. Everyone 18+ is welcome, violence does not discriminate. The seminar will be instructed by Sgt. Southworth and Officer Churchill from the Lansing Police Department.
Course design is to aid in preventing and overcoming a spontaneous, blitz or otherwise unexpected attack. Topics include: Awareness of environment, Mind set, Defense, Active violence incidents,
Physical skill demonstration and practice (voluntarily physically interactive), Open discussion for remaining questions & concerns
Grace Lutheran Church 528 N. MLK (corner of Lapeer and MLK), Tuesday, April 27th,
5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. pizza and salad dinner fundraiser suggested $10.00 donation,
6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Free Personal Safety Awareness & Self Defense seminar
RSVP helpful but not mandatory. For more information call 517-372-1455
7) From the GardenHouse Gazette
Published weekly; email [email protected] to sign up!
GardenHouse SUMMER HOURS; NEW VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Beginning in May, the GardenHouse will be open M-F 10a-12n and 5-7p. On Saturdays and Sundays, it will be open from 10a-2p. With all of these new shifts, we will definitely need more help from friends and neighbors to staff the place. If you are willing and able to work a regular morning shift, please let me know. We could really use the help! New projects we plan on pursuing this spring include:
- Building raised beds for community gardens to the north end of the greenhouse
- Expanding the YSC garden and building more raised beds for a bigger CSA plot
- Community outreach, including a weekly door-knocking trip to get direct feedback from the neighbors of the park
- Workshop and community event set-up and tear down
- Kidstime- a special gardening program for the elementary set.
GARDENHOUSE CSA- COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AGRICULTURE
Pick up a bag of fresh organic veggies each week during the summer months in exchange for work only, cash only, or a combination of the two.
The GardenHouse June through August CSA is accepting applications from new members until April 15th, at which point previous CSA members are welcome to jump in. This is a fun and surprisingly educational opportunity for anyone interested in gardening, comraderie, and in guaranteeing a bounty of veggies every week. Please contact Jackie Dillinger for more details: [email protected].
News from Fenner Nature Center
SURVEY
Help plan the future of Lansing’s parks and recreational facilities. Please take 10 minutes to fill out the following online survey. Your input will make a difference in how the City spends money for park improvements! You can also view survey results (see where Fenner and other City parks rank) and the 5-Year Parks and Recreation Master Plan (2010-2015) at the following website: http://www.lansingparks.info/
SPRING PROGRAMS
Please see attachments for information on the following programs:
- Knee High Naturalist (Ages 3-5), April 15 & May 18, 1:00-2:30pm
- Nature Trek for Toddlers (Ages 2-3 with adult), Mondays, April 19-May 17, 9:00 -10:00am or 10:30-11:30am
- Spring Break Nature Explorations (K-5th grade), April 6,7,8
- Spring Bird Walks, April 10, 17, 24; May 1, 8, 15, 22, 29; June 5
VOLUNTEER FUNDRAISING OPPORTUNITY
Van Atta’s Greenhouse and Florist in Haslett MI is still in need of Volunteers to help at their Spring Festival Sunday April 18th from noon until 5pm (check them out at VANATTAS.COM). In exchange for our help directing traffic and loading up customer’s beautiful plant and garden ware purchases, they will give us a donation for each hour served for each volunteer. Shifts are as follows:
Shift D 12:00-2:30pm Need 4 volunteers
(loaders)
Shift E 2:30-5:00pm Need 4 volunteers
(loaders)
Shift D 12:00-2:30pm Need 4 volunteers
(traffic)
Shift E 2:30-5:00pm Need 4 volunteers
(traffic)
Please contact Barb Ringlein, Fenner Volunteer Coordinator, at [email protected], no later than April 1st with the time and shift/tasks you prefer and a second choice alternative (or list as `floater’ if you don’t have a preference). They’ll be time for shopping, music, food and more, if we get enough folks (or visit them on Saturday!) Thanks for your help! Barb Ringlein Fenner Volunteer Coordination Team
9) MSU Horticulture Classes for April
ABC of Garden Pesticides, April 12, 2010, 7-9 p.m, Hilliard Bldg., 121 E. Maple Street, Mason, cost $10, this class will cover conventional versus organic products, how they work, application tips, equipment and safety issues.
Growing Blueberries, April 22, 2010, 7-8:30 p.m., Foster Community Center, 200 N. Foster, Lansing, cost $10, learn about weed control in you beds, moisture requirements, pest problems & management, cultivar selection, site location and much more.
Please contact Connie at 676-7207 or email her at [email protected] to register for any of the above classes!
10) Komen’s 2010 Race for the Cure- Join the Allen Neighborhood Center Team
As you know, the 2010 Race for the Cure is coming soon – Sunday, April 25 at the State Capitol grounds in downtown Lansing. The Race starts at 2:00 p.m., and folks can stroll, walk or run—from 1-5 miles. As grantees of the Komen Foundation, Allen Neighborhood Center has a 600 person Breast Health Club comprised of folks who receive a monthly post card that reminds them to do a breast self exam and also offers other information about how to support breast health, e.g., nutritionally. Members bring their cards to the Allen Street Farmers Market and redeem them for flax seed and walnuts—cancer fighting foods!
The Annual Race for the Cure is more than just a fundraising event – it is a celebration of hope. ANC is pleased to participate in this fun and lively event; and each year we gather a large number of Eastside neighbors and friends to walk with us. It is an especially wonderful way to celebrate breast cancer survivorship – so please encourage your family members and neighbors to attend, especially survivors. And, we appreciate your support in joining the ANC team to participate in the Race, if you are able to do so. Here is the link for joining the ANC’s walking team; thanks for helping spreading the word about this!
11) Volunteer Opportunities at Allen Neighborhood Center
Hey friends: If you are inclined to volunteering, we have a couple of fun opportunities coming up, including becoming a member of our Allen Street Farmers Market Yard Sign Corps—see below:
- ASFM Yard Sign Corps: Market season is upon us once again. We are currently recruiting Yard Sign Corps members to help us advertise the Allen Street Farmers Market by placing one of our lovely signs in your front yard from Tuesday night until Wednesday night during the market season. If you are interested in joining, please contact Heather ([email protected]).
- The Allen Street Farmers Market is currently looking for volunteers for the 2010 season. There are many positions available for a few hours between the hours of 12:30 and 8:00pm every Wednesday from May 12 through October 27. Help us create a fun and lively market—become a greeter, or part of the set-up crew, or staff the Food Chatter Table or the Kid’s Table. We couldn’t create this ‘event’ each week without you! Thanks for considering this. If you’d like more information, please contact Heather at [email protected].
12) Quote of the Week
“In the last 100 years, every important idea for social change has come from the nonprofit sector.”
-Peter Drucker
Reminder:
Join ANC staff every Friday at noon in Hunter Park & walk with us!
Good health is contagious; catch some on the Eastside!
