Who Gives a Scrap?

I met up with my friend Teresa this weekend at Who Gives a Scrap. I just love this place! They have some pretty fun stuff. It's basically sort of a thrift store for makers -- you know, knitters, crocheters, sewists, artists of all kinds, scrapbookers... you can donate your unwanted crafting stuff (and it's a non-profit, so hello tax write off!), and you can buy pretty much any crafting supply you can think of here for cheap. Some of their offerings are pretty interesting and you never know what they're going to have in stock. I'm not exactly "crafty" but I do love to sew and knit, so Who Gives a Scrap is right up my alley. I think every city needs a place like this.

Spring Cleaning

Pat and I spent about a week last month working intensely on our to-do lists, which for both of us included getting rid of things we no longer need or use. This ultimately necessitated a trip to the ARC to donate these items. I waited in the car while Pat dropped things off. It looked like we weren't the only ones doing an annual springtime purge -- things were overflowing into the parking lot.

A Safe Place for Pets

On Saturday I had the great pleasure of doing a photo shoot at Safe Place for Pets, a nonprofit in the Rockrimmon neighborhood that finds new homes for animals who've been orphaned when their human parents have died. These people are saints. They mostly take in dogs and cats, and these poor fur babies are confused, sad and missing their humans, so you can just imagine how lonesome they must be. I did not mention it here on the blog, but our beloved cat Lilo, who was 19-20 years old, passed away in August of 2023 and it broke my heart. We are finally talking about adopting another cat, probably this spring. When we do, we'll be going to Safe Place for Pets. If you're in the area and are thinking of adopting a dog or cat, I highly recommend this place. They really, truly care.

Biking Across America for Multiple Sclerosis

I was driving north on Nevada Avenue yesterday when I saw this cyclist with an interesting mission, so I sped up and pulled my car over several blocks up, then got ready to fire off a few frames when he caught up and passed me. I think he must be part of THIS organization, and what a worthy cause! If you look at their routes, there's one that goes right smack through Colorado Springs. There is a page on their site where you can make a donation.

The Philanthropy Collective

I drove by one of my favorite Art Déco buildings the other day and saw this. The building has been recently rehabbed, for better or worse, but at least it's not decaying or under threat of being torn down for ugly apartments like my beloved old Art Déco Elks Club (I have murder on my mind because of that). Anyway, I didn't know what the The Philanthropy Collective was all about, so I looked them up. Their description is a little oblique, but at least on the surface it reads like a cool mission if they're on the up and up. But looking at the list of organizations, for starters the Gazette and the Anschutz Foundation jump out at me, and not in a good way. And the Pikes Peak Real Estate Foundation has me suspicious too, when you look at how badly developers have taken over our city, unchecked. I'm just so jaded by extremely right wing organizations here masquerading as a quasi progressive looking "philanthropic" outfits, when ultimately their collective goal seems to be dragging all of society backward into the Middle Ages. So I reserve judgment (and I'm also not saying those organizations have such a nefarious end game in mind, although the name Anschutz always sets off alarm bells for me -- and Anschutz owns the Gazette). Bah! Just glad that one of my favorite buildings will live on, I guess.

Bringing Awareness to Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women

This mural downtown replaces one that's been there for years and years (HERE, for the curious), and I must say I prefer it for its symbolism. If it looks vaguely familiar, see my 2020 Photo of the Year. The red hand across the mouth honors the more than 6,000 Native American women that have been murdered or gone missing in the last few years and represents how their voices have been silenced. To read more about this very important cause, visit the National Indigenous Women's Resource Center.

Peak Vista at Mitchell High School

This is cool. Peak Vista is our local, not for profit healthcare system, and they have a facility inside Mitchell High School. Since this is a generally lower income neighborhood, it makes sense to put a family health center in such a convenient location, making it easily accessible to one and all. I don't know of any other local schools that have this. Outstanding job, Peak Vista! Thank you for serving everyone in our community that needs you!

Colorado Springs Bike Library

Another fantastic local non-profit! Kids on Bikes gives low income children access to bikes and empowers kids to live healthy, active lives. What a wonderful mission! You can learn more about them on their website HERE.

Edit: I accidentally blogged out of order! I posted this picture yesterday when it was supposed to be today, so I republished it with today's date and filled in yesterday's post -- scroll down to see it.

Library Mosaic (Part 1)

The long mosaic that adorns the lower parking lot of our downtown library were created by Concrete Couch, a local non-profit organization that's responsible for a lot of fun local art. I'll show you more tomorrow.

Look What the Cat Brought In

This awesome mural decorates the building that houses Look What the Cat Brought In, a no-kill shelter on Boulder Street that specializes in cats that require extra time, medical attention and love before being put up for adoption. Many of the kitties they rescue come from hoarding situations. These guys are saints! And I love their mural, it's wonderful. You can learn more about this outstanding organization HERE, including how to donate or volunteer.

The Dilemma

This woman on the corner of Platte and Academy is just one of many, in every part of the city, practically everywhere you turn. I've mentioned our enormous homeless problem before. But we certainly aren't alone among big cities. It's just heartbreaking. It's true that when you give your spare change to panhandlers, it almost always goes to feed a drug or alcohol habit. What can you do? Instead of handing out money, volunteer at or donate to the Springs Rescue Mission, the Marion House, Ecumenical Social Ministries, or Care and Share. It's the best way to help.

Sunday Style!

A final post featuring donated clothes at the wonderful Women's Resource Agency, styled by my friend Paula and modeled by intern Makayla. This great nonprofit is dedicated to helping women find jobs and succeed in their lives, in part by providing wardrobe assistance. If you have any gently used career-wear to donate, would like to volunteer, or know someone who could use their services, get in touch with WRA via their website.

Sunday Style!

Another great outfit from the Women's Resource Agency, modeled by intern Mashayla. This fantastic organization exists to help women and girls achieve financial independence. One of the means they do this is by providing career wear. All of the clothes are donated, and my friend Paula, who volunteers as a stylist at WRA, helps clients put together outfits. She's got a real knack for creating flattering, fashionable looks.

Next Sunday I'll make another Sunday Style post with a WRA outfit styled by Paula. Meanwhile, you can learn more about this great organization in last week's post.

Sunday Style!

Today and the next couple of Sundays I'll be posting fashions from the Women's Resource Agency, whose mission is "to empower women and girls to attain and maintain self-sufficiency and economic independence. At WRA, women and teen girls find the support, training and resources they need to seek employment and to become economically self-sufficient." It's a wonderful organization! My best friend's sister, Paula, volunteers for WRA as an image consultant (you may remember Paula from THIS Sunday Style post). It's her job to assist in putting together professional looking outfits to help launch or further their clients' careers. After being referred by another agency and attending an orientation class about job searching, WRA clients receive a free outfit for job interviews and, once they get a job, they are entitled to four more outfits at no cost over the course of a year. All of the clothes and accessories are donated, and Paula has a wonderful gift for creating great ensembles out of disparate pieces. Consider this business casual look modeled by Mashayla, a grad student who is interning at WRA. I love the cropped jacket and red pumps! And that necklace is vintage. Everything you see here was donated, and their stock changes constantly.

Stay tuned for another WRA Sunday Style post next week! And if you're interested in volunteering or you have some gently used clothing that you'd like to donate, please contact these wonderful people via their website HERE.

Mountain Equipment Recyclers

Pat is currently in search of the perfect backpack, which led us to this great place. It's called Mountain Equipment Recyclers (1024 S. Tejon St.), and it exists solely to donate its profits to charity. What a wonderful idea! In fact, to date they've donated roughly $125,000 to local nonprofits. That's amazing! MER has a great variety of outdoors-related stuff, like backpacks (of course), tents, sleeping bags, cooking equipment, climbing equipment, bicycles of all types and sizes, even clothes and shoes. Some of the items are (gently) used, some are new. I was really impressed with their large, diverse inventory and their fantastic mission! If you want to consign the gently used outdoors equipment that's cluttering your house, this is the place to do it -- and you can donate some or all of the proceeds to the charity of your choice. It's a win-win!

Rocky Top

It's that time of year again! Did you know that we have a wonderful place here called Rocky Top Resources, where you can get all manner of topsoil, humus, mulch and even fertilizer by the truckload? You can also bring your yard waste there for them to recycle. On Saturdays, if you bring a food donation for Care and Share, they'll accept your yard waste for free. It's a win-win!

Plants for sale

The Horticultural Art Society had its big annual plant sale last weekend in Monument Valley Park, and of course I went. I bought some ice plant, daisies, columbine and basil, all of which are now (or will soon be) happily growing in our garden. The annual H.A.S. sale, held every May, is a great way to pick up cheap plants while benefiting a good cause. It's a win-win!

Sunday Style!

On Friday I shot an event for the local nonprofit organization where my friend Amber works. Amber is one of those people that you wish the world had more of. She's kind, generous, funny and has boundless energy in her passion for nonprofit work. She is, in a word, lovely. Everyone that knows her adores her. All of this and she's stylish too! (Just like her mom Crystal, whom I featured HERE on the blog a few weeks ago.) I would describe Amber's sartorial leanings as delightfully quirky yet utterly professional. I managed to get a couple of snapshots of her in between duties on Friday. She looked great, of course, even though she was right in the middle of pulling off the biggest event of the year for her organization, and any other person in her position would have been completely frazzled by that point in the day. Fabulous, Amber! Thanks for letting me take your picture, you're a star! And the conference was a huge success -- kudos to you and your team!

COSILoveYou

I randomly came across this food truck when I was out and about earlier this week, and was immediately taken by the URL printed on its side, COSILoveYou.com. Of course I was intrigued! I love Colorado Springs too! (Duh!) So I went straight to their site and found that it's a collaboration among many local churches, in conjunction with the City and the Springs Rescue Mission, to feed the hungry and the homeless in and around Colorado Springs. I think that's wonderful! If you'd like to learn more or to volunteer, go to their website and follow the bouncing ball.

Late summer

It's late summer, time to harvest your vegetables! I cannot claim to be the farmer of this magnificent potager. In fact, it's not just one garden but many. This is the BCGA Charmaine Nymann Community Garden in Bear Creek Regional Park, below the equestrian center. BGCA stands for Bear Creek Garden Association, and you too can have a plot here for a very reasonable fee. There are 104 full size plots, and you can grow any kind of vegetable you want, as long as you do it organically. Learn more abut this wonderful nonprofit HERE.