Purgeport II

Richmond Free School is a project I started working on in the Fall of 2007. Although the progress has been slow, it is still moving forward. I’ll be logging updates of my progress as often as possible. Check out the website if you’d like to know more; there is not much information on the website yet, but there is much planning going on behind the scenes.

I recently met with the executive director of Hands-On Greater Richmond and a gentleman responsible for various community organizing projects in the Richmond area. Their invaluable insight and williness to help get RFS off the ground was very refreshing. It seems the more you ask the more you shall receive. It’s wonderful to see how many people are doing good things in the commnity… and willing to do more. We’ve planned to meet agian soon to iron out some ot the technical details fo the website. We also brainstormed some initial ‘workshops’ to market and get the word out. From making homemade lasagna and hemming garments, to automotive service and hanging a ceiling fan.

To market RFS in a manner that opens the door to all community members, we thought about placing flyers next to the computers in the libraries and community centers. It was also brought up that we might find some well known community members to host the first few activites to help put a spotlight on RFS.

The follow is a short explanation of the program. Should you find yourself reading this and have ideas for activities, please be sure to drop me a comment with your ideas.

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How does RFS work?Community members (hosts) submit proposals to RFS describing an upcoming project, craft, event, etc. RFS posts the projects on the website where other community members (potential participants) can view the event descriptions. Those wanting to participate can then e-mail the host to reserve a ‘seat’ or spot for the project. The host decides how many can participate.

Project is loosely defined and can include anything from making baked spaghetti to re-shingling a garage. Here is a list of ideas to help get your creative thoughts flowing..

Cooking a favorite meal
Tuning a guitar
Creating a stone path in a garden
Creating a garden
Hemming garments
Performing service on a vehicle
Creating a mosaic table
Weaving a basket
Installing a ceiling fan
Painting a room

The idea is to share your skills, knowledge and talents with others in your community.

We all have talents and skills that we can share. Sometimes we take our own skills for granted… having done something to the point that the skill or process becomes almost involuntary. To someone who has never attempted the same skill, it may seem too much to even try.

The benefits of sharing our skills are many; enriching the lives of our neighbors, creating a do it yourself community, creating economic opportunity by saving on the expense of having someone else do a project, but perhaps one of the greatest benefits is the creation of bond within a community through these shared experiences.

While visiting a friend on a recent trip to Vermont, I was taken aback by the strength and closeness of the community in which she lived. The postman let himself in the front door and placed the mail on the radiator. In the late evening, a policeman knocked on the door and reminded us to move our car before morning as to avoid getting a parking ticket. Our communities are only as close as we allow them to be. I’m not advocating leaving your front door unlocked, but I do hope that we will all consider our relationships with our neighbors and do what we can to strengthen our communities.

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