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Martin Luther King National Day of Service 2013 on the Richmond Greenway is definitely a collaborative effort. It depends on people who approach the world with optimism, love, energy, honesty, integrity, follow-through, courage and conviction.
This year on a chilly January morning over 521 people gathered in the heart of the Iron Triangle in Richmond California, ready to help transform the Richmond Greenway through hard work – trading their day off, for aday ON!
People from all over Richmond and all over the Bay Area gathered without a single conflict or injury, but instead with immense love.
Thank you everyone … it takes us all ♥
OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS
During this year’s event we:
- PAINTED a new section of mural honoring Jesus Vargas for his Greenway farming contributions
- PLANTED over 1000 understory, native, pollinator, and edible plants in the Edible Forest, Bioswale, Native Plant, Butterfly, and Community Gardens
- SHEET MULCHED the community gardens reducing the opportunities for weeds to grow
- WEEDED creating space for our newly planted native and butterfly host plants to thrive
- BUILT new log planter beds for the Neighborhood Gardeners’ garden at Harbour Way
- SCULPTED many miniaturesculptures celebrating each visitors creativity
- CLEANED trash tragically dumped on our Greenway
- CREATED herb satchels reminding us that plants can be our allies and have many uses
- SHARED INFORMATION with each other on healthier lifestyle choices such as the simple genius of drinking water, delicious sugarless beverages, herbal tea and healthy recipes for families on a budget
- REPAIRED AND RODEour bikes instead of driving, improving our own health and the health of our environment
- DANCED Zumba in the warm January sun
-
CONNECTED AND
RECONNECTED to ourneighbors, new friends, old friends, new organizations, artists and ideas
 
THANK YOU!
We wanted to say a special thank you to all of the folks who worked so hard for so many hours OUTSIDE of planning committee meetings BEFORE the event on all of the litany of behind the scene details that are so necessary to making this event happen:
Jay Moss, Najari Kio’Journey Smith, Stephanie Hervey, Ashoka Finley, Tania Pulido, Sherman Dean, Amber Doty, Adam Boisvert, Daud Abdullah, LaShonda Wilson-White, Michael Beer, Deja Dean, Marilyn Langlois, Ashara Ekundayo, Desi Wome, Rochelle Monk, Paula Kristovich, Greg Hardesty and his Parks and Landscaping Team, Chris Chamberlain, Michael Sullivan, Cheryl Maier and Toody Maher
* THANK YOU Kanchan Dawn Hunter for another fabulous year of beautiful and inspiring designs for our event T-shirts, handbills, flyers, postcards and banners.
* THANK YOU to Marinette Tovar and company who painted faces as their volunteer service all day bringing smiles to the faces of babes!
* THANK YOU to Ellen Choy who beautifully managed the 8th Street Street with love and grace.
*And THANK YOU to Melvin Willis who worked so hard helping us clean up after the event.
Thank you to all of the performers and speakers:
Jennifer Johns, Ashel Seasonz and Earth Amplified with Ambessa Cantave, RAW Talent of Making Waves, Voices of Reason, the Iron Triangle Ballet, Kalin Freeman, Richmond College Prep Elementary School choir and Traditional Mexican Dance Troupe, Steve Harris, Reverend Lawson, Mayor McLaughlin and George Miller’s Office
Also, we would love to thank the FRIENDS OF THE RICHMOND GREENWAY – MLK DAY PLANNING COMMITTEE for their tireless contributions:
Otheree Christian, Cheryl Maier, Amahra Hicks, Toody Maher, Amanda Elliott, Nancy Baer, Michael Beer, Michele Seville, Marilyn Langlois, Patricia, Paula Kristovich, Daud Abdullah, Rochelle Monk, Iyalode Kinney, Lena Henderson, Ricardo da Cruz e Sousa, Najari Smith, Stephanie Hervey, Steve Harris, Malik Seneferu, Tania Pulido, Sherman Dean, Michael Sullivan, Jessie Alberto, Karen Seneferu and Eduardo Martinez
And thank you to all of our community partners who helped get out the word, organized a volunteer project and/ or volunteered in some way to help make this year a resounding success:
City of Richmond, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Bridge Art Space, Building Block for Kids, City of Service Project of the City of Richmond, Contra Costa Interfaith Supporting Community Organization, Communities United Restoring Mother Earth (CURME), Community Rejuvenation Project (CRP), Daud Abdullah, DJ Goodbeer, East Bay Center for the Performing Arts, EcoVillage Farm, Friends of the Richmond Greenway, HUB Oakland, H.E.A.L. Collaborative, Iron Triangle
 Neighborhood Council, Live Real, Malik Seneferu, Movement Generation Justice and Ecology Project, Neighborhood Gardener’s, Poder, Pogo Park, Raw Talent, the Red Cross, the realRICH, Rich City Rides, Richmond Co-op Fund, Richmond Grows, Richmond Food Policy Council, Richmond Main Street, Richmond Police, Richmond Fire Department, Richmond Progressive Alliance, Sip to Live Herbal Teas,The Watershed Project, Weigh of Life, World ONE (keCg) radio, the US Forest Service, Youth Enrichment Strategies (Y.E.S).
Of course this event could not happen without the generous contributions of our funders:
City of Richmond, The Corporation for National and Community Service in partnership with the Cesar Chavez Foundation, Acapulco Rock and Soil, Bi-Rite Markets, Catahoula Coffee, HandsOn Bay Area in partnership with Kaiser Permanente, LISC, Marin Clean Energy, Mechanics Bank, NUTIVA and US Forest Service.
Always thanks to URBAN TILTH Team who worked for so many days and nights sometimes into the wee hours, making sure everything got done:
Doria Robinson, Jessie Alberto, Sherman Dean Jr., Kenji Warren, Nicole Valentino, Kadera Anderson, Deja Dean, Adam Boisvert, Brandon Stevenson, Zhondon McDaniel, Juan Magana, Bienvenida Meza, Joanna Pulido, Teresa Jimenez, Allan and Brandon Clark, Amber Doty, Tania Pulido, Kelli Baram, Paula Kristovich, Ashoka Finley, Jamar Johnson, Giovanna Velasquez, Maria Navarro, Mama Pulido, Cheryl Vaughn, Rich Walkling, Richard Boyd, Eli Moore, Leslie Geathers and Jesse Kurtz-Nichol.
Finally, THANK YOU Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who fiercely led with love and persistence and fearlessly lived with integrity, speaking out against racism, injustice, inequality and war even under the most dangerous circumstances and ultimately, at the great cost of his own life so that we may all see this brighter day. What a tremendous and magnificent debt we owe.
Until next year our BELOVED COMMUNITY ♥
With immense gratitude,
From our Urban Tilth familia to Yours |
