From creating tea ceremonies for traumatized veterans to plays for helping homeless dogs “Presentation Night” was the opportunity for the good willed and recently educated members of Cascades Hub to strut their ideas for an eager audience.
The event took place in Meese Auditorium at SOU Friday, May 1st in the evening to let the community see ten new nonprofit projects. The presentation is just the beginning, now the real work begins in the real world.
The evening started with a video narrated by Donnie Maclurcan, an affiliate professor of SOU in social science and co-founder of Cascades Hub explaining the nine week training program the projects go through called “The Not-for-Profit Way,” followed by each project’s presentation. Nine out of ten projects presented, “The Not-for-Profit Way with Donnie has taken me through a journey of self-discovery. When I began, I only had a general idea of what I wanted to do. It was only until the final weeks The Tea Ally came into form. It has been such a gift.” described Joshua Young when asked about the training.
Each project creator individually spoke in front of an attending audience of 60 people about why they started, what their needs are, and the stage they’re currently in before becoming a nonprofit organization. As each project creator spoke, audience members individually voted on their favorite. They also wrote on sticky notes or note cards offering suggestions, how they could help meet needs, or a detail they enjoyed hearing from each project.
Attendees were able to donate money. A total of $450 was raised. Half the proceeds were split evenly between each project. The other half went to the winner who received the most votes from the audience.
The winner was Tommy Letchworth of Foxtail Forestry which is a nonprofit offering to pick up, drop off and plant used Christmas trees.
The eight other not-for-profit presentations were Comedy Tribe, The Tea Ally, Be the Change Bully Breed Rescue Inc., Thrive Education, Green Power Project, “The Canticle of the Black Madonna” Opera, “Dogpark the Musical,” and Rogue Valley Church. More information is provided below on the other projects.
Each project will use the feedback they received from the community to further their organizations.
Cascades Hub was co-founded in 2014 to bring the local community together by offering tools for start-up nonprofit organizations. It was located at SOU in Cascade Hall, but recently moved to the Art Building. Donnie Maclurcan also co-founded Post Growth Institute to reach the international community in helping foster global prosperity. He splits his time between both organizations.
Post Growth Institute Secretary of Board Bella Uribe commented on Friday night’s event saying, “Tonight was phenomenal. It was so great to see these passionate people bringing their compassionate work to the public eye.” She also claims they “…contributed to the evolution of business models and a redefinition of success and prosperity.”
Currently, Cascades Hub is putting together another nine week training for nonprofit start-up businesses in the near future.
To find out more on these not-for-profit organizations, you can visit:
http://www.cascadeshub.org/
https://www.facebook.com/CascadesHub
http://postgrowth.org/
https://www.facebook.com/postgrowth
Other projects presented:
Comedy Tribe intends to connect people through local training programs in creative activities and is run by Scott Derrico.
The Tea Ally’s goal is to use Tea Ceremony as a form of rehab for veterans, incarcerated populations, and at-risk youth. It is run by Joshua Young.
Be the Change Bully Breed Rescue Inc. is seeking to bring attention and educate the public about specific dogs breeds deemed dangerous while reducing their shelter population. It’s founder is Kaye Geyler.
Thrive Education wants to target students of low income families to assist with college skills and is run by Dee Perez.
Green Power Project’s goal is to introduce solar energy to low and middle class families at affordable rates. It was founded by Marni Koopman.
“The Canticle of the Black Madonna” Opera intends to help veterans with PTSD and is run by Ethan Gans-Morse.
“Dogpark the Musical” is Theater for Good’s first production and is being offered as a fundraiser for humane societies throughout Oregon and Northern California. Jahnna Beecham is its founder.
Rogue Valley Church is a nonprofit wanting to bring authenticity into relationships with local citizens and is run by Rob Leonis.
