VOLUNTEERING

The 1st Saturdays of the month campaign

"The Maintenance"

Dr. Martin Luther King Day of Service is usually held each year on or around Dr. King's birthday.

On this day, volunteers gather to perform a number of activities including and not limited to: picking up trash, planting a garden, painting a school. However, what happens to that garden after the event? one month later? four months later?

1stSaturdays is a monthly effort to improve upon projects determined by the community.

What type of projects does 1stSaturdays support?

We support all projects that improve the community. However, since we the official events site of the Healthy Economics Campaign, we are in search of programs that build the food and educational system.

This means activities like building a garden, hosting a farmers market, a cooperative grocery store discussion, a PTSA mixer, a High School Student Government Association, an Alumni recruiting event, etc. are the types of monthly events promoted by 1stSaturdays.com and the Healthy Economics Campaign.

If you would like more information about hosting an event in your community
contact us on our blog.

If you would like to attend a volunteer event, click here

WHERE ARE THE AFRICAN- AMERICAN FARMERS?

Since 1996, Mo' Better Food has been working with the African American farmers of California to reconnect their produce to the food system of the West Oakland community.

If you are one of the 30,000 Black farmers in the United States, we ask that you fill out our survey. We would like to know who are, what you grow, and how we can assist you in continuing the tradition of farming within the African American community. Currently, African American farmers make up less than 2% of the nations farmers.

Partnering Black farmers with food grown within our urban communities, we believe, can reverse the current unhealthy ills of food insecure neighborhoods plaguing Black America. This partnership creates more access to fresh fruits and vegetable. This partnership create jobs, which creates economic growth within our communities.

We call it, building Healthy Economics!

The 4 steps of building Healthy Economics are:

Step 1 -Establish a Mo’ Better Food farmers market in your community.

By starting and managing farmers markets, school gardens, and other food related activities in the community, students and adults gain training in basic business operations and cooperative economics.

Join us - October 1st
Tassafaronga Farm in East Oakland

Step 2- Start a Friends of School at your school.
Friends of School’s role is to identify the stakeholders on campus, i.e. school leaders, alumni association, and network these organizations to serve the overall vision of the schools principal and the surrounding community. Friends of School Program connects youth to alumnus and other professionals who share the vision of improving the school and its surrounding community. visit: www.friendsofschool.org

Step 3 -Establish The Intergenerational Enterprise at your school.
The Intergenerational Enterprise is the name we use to describe the group of the generations coming together (as described in the Friends of School program mentioned above).

The Intergenerational Enterprise strengthens the school and its surrounding community by hosting meetings and events that bring the generations together. visit: www.intergenerationalenterprise.com

Step 4 - 1st Saturdays.com is the official monthly service day and events site to increase the awareness of positive events and to maintain the projects started each month. Join us October 1st at Claremont Middle School's Garden and Tassafaronga farm.