Goals & Projects
Learn about what we are building and how you can be involved.!
Our Web Presence
Community Calendar
Vision
One of our most important goals is community involvement. When we started looking to become more involved in events and organizations, we couldn’t find a central point where we could see all the amazing things happening in our community. People in the community had to know someone directly involved in a particular event in order to be included. We have started a community calendar to connect opportunities to participants, volunteers, and events. We would like members of the community to help out by bringing these events to our attention through our calendar, social media spaces, and website.
Get Involved
We are in the process of building the calendar but these are the things we need from the community to make it a reality.
- A dedicated person from each organization to commit to sending us notifications of events
- A webmaster to monitor the functioning and use of the website hosting the calendar
- Volunteers to fill out our contact form – this allows us to pair individuals willing to donate time and resources to projects that are in need of their specific time and resources
Partnering with local organizations
Iron County Fairgrounds
An event at the Iron River Fairgrounds is an exciting opportunity to bring diversity and resources to the area. However, there is no map, no inventory, and little infrastructure. It is a logical next step for us to facilitate a comprehensive map of the fairgrounds. And on that same note, updating and installing a sound system. This would make events like the concerts we wish to create more enjoyable, but it would also deliver a better experience for anyone else who uses the fairgrounds (ie the county fair, rodeo, mud boggs, etc).
Taproot Community Farm
Taproot Community Farm is another exciting local organization with whom we would like to work to create local, sustainable food sources. In addition to fresh, local produce, we would like to aid them in creating a composting station and home composting pick up service. We would also like to work with local farmers to address their animal manure disposal to eliminate pollution and turn manure into usable energy and soil.
Other Opportunities?
We are always looking for other opportunities to assist and support our community; please contact us (via the website’s volunteer form or through its board members) and we will do our best to offer assistance and presence to your needs.
Long Term Goals
The next steps will be longer in their realization, but we think it’s important to lay them out so the community can see where we are heading. By outlining our path, it makes it easier for volunteers to be able to contribute time and resources for our future goals.
House Rehabilitation initiative
- Rehabilitating distressed structures to address the need for increased demand and lack of availability for low-income residents creating safe, affordable, long-term housing solutions
- Create emergency shelters to accommodate people in crisis
- Partner with community associations to ensure support and resources for those in need
Local Food Initiative – Greenhouses (L.F.I.G.)
This initiative will strive to create a point person to figure out the grant processes and available government resources to procure greenhouses and make them available and repeatable for anyone wishing to have a greenhouse on their property. We will then use these greenhouses to produce foods for our programs and to produce plants for our edible lawn programs (mentioned below). Any excess production will be sold to fund day to day operations for the greenhouses and to expand the program. Further, the foods produced will be available for local restaurants and grocery stores willing to participate. Overall, a more sustainable, fresher, cost-effective food supply for the community, both as a whole and individually. Programs to be funded and sourced by the L.F.I.G. –Meal Preparation and Delivery
- Volunteer based delivery (pick-ups and drop-offs on residents’ already traveled routes – i.e. the neighbor’s house you pass on the way back from lunch)
- Cost friendly meals to encourage a ‘pay-it-forward’ attitude and easy solutions for local businesses to provide nutritious and ready-to-eat meals for employees
- Work with local greenhouses and farmers to encourage local, fresh, and sustainable ingredients
- Utilize current programs (Locker Lunch Program, Taproot Community Farm) to support local community
Landscaping Assistance
- Another division of our local food initiative, this creates independent food sources conveniently located in your own yard
- Creates self reliability and eliminates supply chain issues
- Increases safety and security for the community on an individual basis
- Creates beauty with very low maintenance and easy to care for plants
- Utilizes native plants to control insect and pests
Solar Roof Project – Amasa Battery Company (ABC)
- Further encouraging self-sustainability and minimizing utility interruptions so common in this climate
- Making alternatives cost-effective and easy to attain
- Generate extra income with excess power generation
Water
- Create income generating bottling facilities to offset the rising costs of delivering clean water to residents
- Update, upgrade, and create maintenance programs to ensure quality and quantity for decades to come
- Address the needs for more qualified persons to be responsible for the day-to-day operation of municipal water systems
Older youth programs for 16-21 year olds to encourage face to face interaction
- Addressing the ‘not old enough for a bar but still desperately needing an independent place to be themselves and interact with others their age’ crowd
- Battling the rising teen depression and suicide rates by encouraging social interaction
- Encouraging positive activities to reduce crime and other risky behavior
Recurring Event Goals
Some of the things we would like to do will be on an annual or recurring basis. These are events that will be focal points to bring together the community and allow for greater resource sharing and clearly show our progress throughout our journey.