....with your crucial help. Now. Read below and pass on to everyone, let's see how fast we can get this around the world via the internet. If you are reading this and finding out about us and our project and community for the first time, welcome and stay in touch, and thanks.
Consider this: At a bad economic time of recession. At a time in our Tulsa area when community centers have been closed down, especially in our lowest income areas like ours. At a time when parks which are so critical to the life and health of communities and families have had budgets slashed. At a time when our state is dead last as the healthiest state. When our 74126 zip code has the lowest life expectancy in our area. When 40 percent of the vacant residential properties in our two mile radius have been abandoned, not for rent or for sale. When we live in a healthy food desert. When a recent survey we helped coordinate with OU showed a third of the respondents in our area feel insecure about feeding themselves and their families with healthy food. When nothing new is beginning for our children, and instead our schools are cutting out teachers, programs, in ways not seen before in our history...
...Being a group of "crazy" local northside residents in this area, we believe another world, another community, another response is possible. So working with the University of Oklahoma Graduate Design Studio and the University of Oklahoma Graduate Social Work Department which helped us with our initial brainstorming and dreams and project we are developing plans for a place for extensive community gardening, gazebo for entertaining, space for families, a living kitchen right by the garden where people who grow can cook and dehydrate healthy food on the space, where we can have cooking lessons, nutrition demonstration, even outdoors community health classes, community meals, play equipment, a firepit, where folks can watch fireworks and the stars at night, where it will be an outdoors "third place" environment, sustainable, bringing hope. So...
We, A Third Place Community, now have a chance to purchase a city block, an acre, up on a hilltop overlooking downtown Tulsa, at 60th and N. Johnstown Ave. where two abandoned homes are rundown and abandoned. Right across from where one of our community gardens started last summer is now located. A location bridging two ethnically diverse neighborhoods, one incorporated in the city of Tulsa and one in the unincorporated Turley part, where people and school children walk.
We have had our offer of $15,000 accepted for the property, paid in cash at closing. Now to make it real we have to raise the funds as soon as we can. Which means we have to ask everyone for help and to pass this on to their email lists and social media in order for us to reach our goal:
Be a part of this groundbreaking, ground transforming initiative, at this time, and at this place. Be a part of the group that makes another world possible. People from right here, and from around the country and even the world have a chance to make this real, to be listed on our sign at the site of Welcome Kitchen Garden Park Givers. Your name, your family, your children's names, those whom you want to give it in honor to or memory of.
We need as soon as possible to raise the $15,000, even as the OU Design Studio is finishing up the plans and visuals that we will pass on as soon as they are completed.
We need just one person to give $15,000, or 15 people to give $1,000, or 150 people to give $100. That is how we make it real. Be a part of this opportunity, right now, to be a part of this original list of
Garden Park Givers. Reply and let all know you are helping. Let's raise it by Easter, April 4. Talk about a resurrection of hope and spirit of life. Pass this notice on to all and let them know you are contributing at what amount and give them a chance to change the world too between now and Easter. We want it to be a global connecting park with donors from around the world.
Send checks made out to A Third Place Community Foundation to 6514 N. Peoria Ave., Turley, OK 74126. We are a 501c3 non profit organization. Sorry we don't have an online donation avenue possible yet, but don't let that stop you. Do it the old-fashioned way.
Send a message that another response, another world, another kind of community is possible.
Go to
http://www.turleyok.blogspot.com/ or become a fan of us on Facebook and follow how we are doing, what we have done, and our activities coming up and dreams. This initiative is a great one, but even greater is on the way.
Pledge, donate, surprise yourself and the world and all those who don't know that a small group of dedicated citizens can change the world. Pass on the Possibility.
Thanks so much,
Ron Robinson
A Third Place Community
"small acts of justice done with great love change the world"
6514 N. Peoria Ave.
918-794-4637, 691-3223, 430-1150
