Today, WSB was able to make another $25 KIVA loan! The loan was made with money repaid to us and was lent to a group of 7 people in Vietnam. The group members will be using the funds to build a septic system & hand-washing station in their homes. Read their story by clicking on the photo below:
Since November of 2012 our lending team has lent over $1050 to people in over 73 counties. Check out our Impact Report HERE. (Hint: If you’re already a member, check in on your account . . . chances are you have a loan repayment that you can re-lend!)
In the months to follow we will be coupling this project with our TerraCycle program to involve our Student Council. You can join us by visiting our team page: Waldorf International Community. If you choose to make a $25 loan, WSB’s Student Council will be able to lend out another $25 on behalf of a 3rd party lender (effectively doubling your loan). Please consider joining us on KIVA!
Also! … consider giving the gift that gives back … a KIVA Card makes a great gift this Holiday Season!
KIVA
Kiva Update: Sept 2013
Today, WSB was able to make another $25 KIVA loan. The loan was made with money repaid to us and was lent to a group of women in the Democrat Republic of the Congo (see below). The group will be using the funds to buy more chickens. Since November of 2012 our lending team has lent over $900 to people in over 16 counties. You can join us by visiting our team page: Waldorf International Community
If you choose to make a $25 loan, WSB will be able to lend out another $25 on behalf of a 3rd party lender (effectively doubling your loan). Please consider joining us on KIVA!
KIVA Loan Update
Greetings! I just wanted to update you on our KIVA micro-lending program. So here it goes….
As of right now we have 11 members in our Waldorf International Community lending team — some are WSB parents and some are people from the greater Waldorf Community. In total, we have 14 loans attributed to the team which totals out to $425! This all started only 6 weeks ago with the Waldorf School of Baltimore’s initial loan of $25! Our team has lent money to people all over the world: Uganda, Kenya, Peru, Vietnam, Senegal, Samoa, Iraq, and the Philippines. And some of us have already started getting repayments on our loans.
If you’re interested in joining, please read about our work with KIVA in THIS former blog post. For everyone who joins our team and lends someone $25, WSB gets another $25 bonus to lend out — effectively doubling your loan! Click the image above to start lending. Remember, your loan of $25 goes a long way in some of these underprivileged countries and really helps out a lot of people. Thank you for your support! And have a wonderful weekend.
Welcome to a Greener New Year!
Happy New Year!
Let’s start with local news…. WSB has started 2013 on good note. Our indoor bokashi composting program has been launch. We now have composting stations at the end of the 1st and 2nd floor hallways. Over the course of the week the students collect their food waste into a clear, airtight container kept in their respective classrooms. Once it’s full the designated students bring it to the bokashi composters for fermentation. The 5th & 6th graders will be servicing the composters once every 2 weeks. Bokashi composting is a rapid process that utilizes microorganisms to breakdown the material. In just under 1 month we are able to use it in the garden! The best part is that it’s easy to do and keep indoors. The fermentation process is anaerobic — so no smell and no fruit flies. The students and I will be making the bokashi mixture from scratch; and I will be experimenting with actually making bokashi composters with the students in the near future. All this means that parents will be able to commission their student’s class to make them one! And they will even be able to buy the microbial mixture from WSB’s store. All the proceeds will help us grow our garden in the spring! (Back on the topic of clear, airtight containers…. We need more! If you have any you’re not using please donate them to us. Big, clear pretzel containers work great!)
In international news, our KIVA initiative has been growing steadily. In just 3 weeks time our Waldorf International Community sprouted 7 members and has $275 out in loans to people in need. Just today, WSB was able to lend another $25; this time to Haydar, a 30 year old blacksmith in Iraq — thank you, Sarah, for joining our team and making this additional loan possible! WSB has now lent $100 to people all over the world. Please consider joining us in our efforts to help eradicate poverty. KIVA is an online micro-lending organization — you can read more about WSB’s involvement (and how you can join) in the blog post previous to this one.
More fun stuff…. Over the holiday break, the garlic cloves the 3rd grade planted in our garden has sent shoots up to greet the winter sun! By next summer we should have about 20 yummy bulbs! Wanna come by for a salad or perhaps some pizza?
Ok… I’m going to cut this post off now. I got to get outside to turn some compost. I’ll be writing more later this week. I got some information about getting your house running on wind-turbine energy that you may find interesting.
Good Luck to You and Yours in 2013!
Michel
WSB Joins KIVA!!!
Did you know you that can help alleviate poverty through your internet connection? KIVA is a non-profit organization that connects you with microfinance institutions on five continents to provide loans to people without access to traditional banking systems. One hundred percent of your loan is sent to these microfinance institutions (called Field Partners), who administer the loans in the field. Check out this short video to see how it works.
WSB’s Sustainability & Global Awareness Committee (SGA) allotted $50 from our budget to kick-start our school’s profile page and create a lending team. We started by lending $25 to Adela to help her buy more bags of sugar, cartons of salt, boxes of soap, rice, maize flour, baking powder, Irish potatoes, soda, and cooking oil to sell in her store. Read more about her HERE. We chose Adela because she lives in Kampala, Uganda. This is especially relevant for us because our 8th grade international student, Linda, comes from a village very close to Kampala.
We also created a lending team WALDORF INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY which you can join. Start by clicking the link provided below and registering with KIVA. After you join our team, find someone you would like to lend money to. This isn’t a charitable donation, this is your money that you are lending out interest-free to entrepreneurs in need. There is some risk involved, but more often than not, you will receive all of your money back according to the loan’s terms. At that point you can retrieve it or lend it out to another. For everyone that signs up (using the link below) and joins our team our school will receive $25 to lend out! So please consider joining us and sharing KIVA with your friends and family. Gift cards are available and make an excellent holiday gift! Please use this link to register so WSB gets an extra $25 to lend out: http://www.kiva.org/invitedto/waldorf_international_community/by/waldorfschoolbaltimore
Oh! So we only lent out $25 of our funds thus far. We will lend the next $25 to an entrepreneur chosen by our 15th newest team member! So please consider joining us this holiday season and help alleviate poverty one step at a time.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS to you and yours! See you next year!
UPDATE: 12/20/12 – Our lending team now has 6 members and $225 out in loans across the planet! Join us.
Greening Your Holiday
Seasons Greetings! The time is upon us and I just want to toss out some last minute ideas and resources to you in the interest of greening your holiday…
- GIFT IDEAS! Support starving artists! Check out etsy.com. It’s chock full of high-quality, handmade goods. And you can narrow your search to “local” if you’re feeling extra green. Or give a KIVA Card! (you can read about WSB’s relationship with KIVA in this blog). And of course visit our school store! We stock a variety of green, socially-responsible gifts.
- USE BNOTES! Did you know Baltimore has its own local currency? When you shop at participating shops ask for your change in BNotes and use them at other participating shops. Wanna know more? …read about our green currency HERE.
- GIFT WRAPPING! Of course you are going to recycle your wrapping paper, but how about not using any? Years ago a good friend of mine wrapped all her gifts in sheets and linens, and ever since I’ve been doing the same. Give it a try! And did you know you can make a nice bow out of yarn?
- LIGHTS! You probably already have your house and tree decorated, but if you are in the market for more lights get LED ones. They’re safer, last longer, and use less electricity.
- FOOD! When possible shop local, organic, and buy what’s in season. Our farmers market on 32nd Street in Waverly is open year round. Check it out next Saturday!
So that’s my short, quick list for you. If you have any more green ideas please share them and leave a comment below!
Happy Holidays,
Michel
Green Dragon Bytes 