Styrofoam Recycling

Hey Everyone - Don't Forget that the city of Lake Oswego will be hosting its annual Styrofoam Recycling collection Day on January 8th from 9am to 3pm at the West End Building. Bring your block Styrofoam from the holidays to be recycled! If you would like to volunteer to help at the collection, please e-mail us at beyondourbubble@yahoo.com
Happy Holidays!

Village to Village connections return to Lake Oswego

Exciting news - the first group of Village to Village connections has made it back to Lake Oswego! After Brent Hayes's return from Kenya this last month, we received packet-fulls of letters, photos, and interview forms from our newest Village to Village connections. The original participants from the American side will soon be receiving their packets complete with personal letters, photos, and information about their connections. In addition to these connections, five new individuals were identified on the Kenyan side to participate in the program. With each new round of communication, the involvement in Village to Village just keeps on growing. We couldn't be more excited!

If you are interested in exploring a Village to Village community connection, go to the Village to Village page on our website, or e-mail us at BeyondOurBubble@yahoo.com

Harmony

There is going to be an awesome movie on NBC tonight at 10pm West Coast Time. It's called Harmony, and it's a massive call to action to the global community to rise up and stop global climate change. Prince Charles will be sharing his passion for the environment and much more. Check it out!

Salim Joins Village to Village

GREAT NEWS FROM TARU! This last week Brent Hayes presented the Village to Village information to Salim, a student we identified in the village to help us with the program. Just a day or so ago we received an e-mail from Salim (he uses his teacher's cell phone to e-mail) saying just how excited he was to be a part of the project. He will personally connect with each of the Village to Village connections in Taru, and gather five new contacts to grow the program. We are so excited to have him be a part of Beyond Our Bubble!

Exciting News from Taru

We recently got a report from Taru. After sending the packets of information and letters with Kenya Keys, we have anxiously awaited news. Today Rinda Hayes, director of Kenya Keys wrote to us about her husband, Brent, who is currently working in the village. She reported, "[Brent] said he and Mwaka walked around town to V2V stuff. Said it was fun and interesting. TOO many people want to be involved, as you can guess, from the chief to the policeman... for the Kenyans this is the biggest things that’s ever happened to them." Way to go Brent! What a success!

VIllage to Village heads to Taru

After weeks of work, the Village to Village packets are just now being passed out in the Kenyan village of Taru. Three packets will be delivered to individuals who already have an identified connection here in the states. An additional five packets were also sent to the village to be given to new contacts on the Kenyan side. The program is growing, and we are so excited for all those involved!

350.org Awesome Day

So I know it's been a while since the 350.org day of action on 10-10-10, but I just wanted to give everyone the link so they could see all the amazing things people did worldwide. That's the coolest part too - it really was worldwide, starting with an event at sun-up right near the international date line. How awesome. Check out more at 350.org

Village to Village

The Village to Village program packets are finally complete and ready to be sent out here in Lake Oswego. If you, your family, organization or your business would be interested in participating in a Community Connection please sign up on the Village to Village page of our website.

Eco-Network

Last night we had the opportunity to attend one of the first meetings of the 2010-2011 Eco-Network here in Lake Oswego. What an awesome group! To get involved at one of the schools, or show your support go to www.loeconetwork.com

Entertainment Books

Hey everyone!

Entertainment books are on sale now to help raise funds to bring Stephen Kabani to America this winter. These little books are amazing, with thousands of dollars in coupons - the movie ticket savings alone pay for the book! To purchase your book, contact one of the Lakeridge Key Club members, or e-mail beyondourbubble@yahoo.com and get your copy today!

10-10-10

This sunday is gearing up to be one of the most intense and exciting days in the climate campaign to date! The special date of 10-10-10 has (for any of you who do not yet know) been designated as a global day of action by 350.org. All around the world, thousands of people are banning together to demand global climate policy. Right here in Portland there are a number of great events happening that day. Go to www.350.org to find out how you can be involved!

Solar panels on the White House

Hey all you wonderful people!

If you have been following any of the recent environmental buzz you would know that the Obama administration recently agreed to install solar panels on the roof of the white house! How awesome is that!?

African Students

School is in full swing here in Lake Oswego - but there are many students in Kenya who can't afford the fees to attend school. Families in Lake Oswego can help change a child's life by giving the gift of an education through a sponsorship. For less than a dollar a day, you have the opportunity to share the light of learning with a child in the Kenyan bush. Check out www.kenyakeys.org to learn about kids needing our help!

Special Thanks

The Final Challenge required the help of many, many people in this community. There are a few who deserve our special thanks for their great work on the Final Challenge

Mckaila Egan and the Home Depot Team

Ben Hoskins and the 1-800 Got Junk team

Evie Fuson

Peter Haralabatos from Organic Landscape Solutions

Ike and Oscar our amazing floor guys

and many many others

Thanks to you the Teen Challenge was a complete success! We cannot thank you enough

Teen Challenge 2010 finale

On Saturday the 24th the Teen Challenge 2010 came to close. After six months of trainings, acts of kindness, service, and team building, the team at last completed their final challenge. For two intense weeks, the team worked with a family out in South East Portland, doing everything from flooring to gardening, painting, to shelving. Thanks to all the great networks who donated their time, effort, and money to the cause, the team was able to make an enormous difference in the life of this family. Congratulations Teen Challenge 2010 team!

Home Depot Wonder Team

On Thursday the 15th, the team from the Tigard Home Depot came out to help on the Final Challenge project. The Teen Challenge team has been in touch with Home Depot for the past several months, and Thursday, all our talk and discussion became action. It was incredible! While the Teen Challenge Team finished removing furniture from the house, the Home Depot team got started working.

Over the course of the day, this team changed the face of the little house forever. They tore up the old, molded carpet; dug out and replaced fence posts; reoriented a bad door frame; built shelves in the back room; put up black-out curtains in the bedrooms; helped remove old, broken tile from the kitchen; refinished a broken drawer; and even replaced the old post on the front porch.

Thank You Home Depot - we could not have done it without you. You truly made a difference for a family in need. Thank You

We need a vacation home!!!

This is your time to shine! The Teen Challenge team is in need of sending the family away for the days of wednesday, thursday and friday of this week. To do so, we need some vacation home sort of location to send them to. If you or anyone you know has a vacation home and would be willing to donate 2-3 nights to the cause, please let us know by writing to beyondourbubble@yahoo.com. We absolutely need your help. Thanks for your support of the Teen Challenge!

Thank you Home Depot

We'd just like to thank the team from the Tigard Home Depot for their involvement with the Teen Challenge. They met with the team to see the home on Monday, and we are looking forward to seeing what all they can do. A special thanks to Mckaila Egan for her dedication and generosity in helping out the team. THANK YOU

Final Challenge Begins

It's official, the Final Challenge for the 2010 Teen Challenge has begun. We have a wonderful family: single parent with two very energetic young kids. The team is completely psyched to get working, and already plans are made to dramatically improve this family's life. If you would like to get in on the action, visit our partnering page by clicking on "partner" on the Teen Challenge page. Every donation and volunteer means just that much greater of an impact we can have on this family's life. Thank you for all your support

Teen Challenge Final Challenge preperation

As the Teen Challenge group gears up for its Final Challenge, it is looking to expand its networks in some very specific areas. If you or someone you know have professional expertise in the area of roofing, hardwood flooring, kitchen appliances or remodeling, we want to hear from you. Go to the Teen Challenge page on our website and sign up as a partner. It's not a binding contract, but it lets the team know you're out there and interested in helping make a difference!

Thanks

We would like to thank PDX Design for its great support and contribution to our beautiful website. Without you none of this would be possible.

Growing our Networks

The Teen Challenge is looking to really expand its networks for the final challenge this summer. If you or anyone you know has a skill, business, passion, or expertise that could be put to use helping a family in need. Please sign up to be a partner of the Teen Challenge on the TC page. Don't know if your skill could be helpful? I bet it will be. We're looking for everything from plumbers to tutors, roofers, to financial advisors, appliance retailers to car experts, and everything in between. If you simply want to get involved this summer as a volunteer, let us know at beyondourbubble@yahoo.com

Final Challenge Family

Beyond Our Bubble is currently seeking a family in need for the Teen Challenge's Final Challenge. If you or someone you know would be interested in applying - please e-mail us at beyondourbubble@yahoo.com

More Acts of Kindness

Last Sunday the Teen Challenge group decided to hand out flowers as an act of kindness in our community. Sharing flowers, and smiles, the team touched the lives of many.

Oprah's Angel Network

Beyond Our Bubble was recently featured in the Oprah's Angel Network newsletter for our Teen Challenge. We are really excited to be a part of such a fantastic network, and would encourage everyone to check out the story online at Oprah's Angel Network.

Lake Oswego Sustainability Action Month

It's that time of year again! During the month of May, Lake Oswego will be hosting its second annual Sustainability Action Month. Put on by the city's Sustainability Advisory Board, SAM as it is affectionately called is a month full of opportunities for local citizens to learn about, and get involved in sustainability in their city. For more information and a complete list of events go the Lake Oswego City Website.

Good Job Lake Oswego School District Green Schools

The Green Teens would like to commend the efforts of the Lake Oswego schools that have earned their Oregon Green School's classification. Palisades, Hallinan, and Bryant elementary along with Lake Oswego High and Junior High have all received their entry level Oregon Green School award. Additionally, Oak Creek and Uplands elementary schools have now earned their OGS Merit Level awards.

A recent article in the regular Clackamas County Trash Talk newsletter featured 5 Lake Oswego schools for their accomplishments at going green. Other schools in the district are following suit. Lakeridge High school is submitting their application for entry level green school, and will be performing their final waste audit Monday, May 3rd.

Congratulations Lake Oswego Schools, and keep up the good work!

Teen Challenge at Bethany Lutheran

Last Sunday the Teen Challenge team had a great opportunity to prepare for their final challenge while making a difference for someone. Bethany Lutheran is a small church in North East Portland that is working to revive its congregation and establish itself as a community center. After many years, lots of general stuff has accumulated in the various side rooms, classrooms, and other parts of the beautiful little church. With an aging congregation, there has been little done about some of the larger, heavier items, and the clutter has simply accumulated.

As a team, our goal was simple - in two hours do as much as we could to help clean up and clear out the messy rooms. After a little tour by one of the board members and a quick meeting as a team, we split up and got to work. Heavy lifting was our main task, as much of the stuff was far to heavy for the older congregation. The guys took the downstairs - clearing up a game room, and office, while the girls set to work sterilizing and clearing up two children's rooms. The result was spectacular. "It's amazing just how much brighter it looked afterwards," said Jake, "it made a real difference in the place"

Lunches downtown

A big thanks to LOCR and March of Dimes for donating their leftover lunches to the cause. Today we were able to deliver lunches to people at the The Transition Project (a shelter for homeless men in Portland). Many of the lunches were happily received before we could even get in the door. If you have an event where extra leftovers would otherwise be thrown out, consider giving the food to those who would appreciate it the most.

Gubernatorial Debate on the Environment

Bill Bradbury, John Kitzhaber, and Allen Alley will be debating their ideas and positions on the environment at Portland State University's Smith Ballroom at 6pm March 30th. The debate is hosted by Oregon Environmental Council, Oregon League of Conservation Voters, the Oregon Chapter of the Sierra Club and Environment Oregon. Candidates will address a range of topics including climate change and clean energy, toxics and public health, and the management of the state's natural resources and wild places. Several of the Green Teens will be in attendance and encourage you to attend.

March 27th Hour of Darkness

On March 27th a 24 hour-long wave of darkness will sweep around the globe as people and corporations turn out the lights from 8:30 to 9:30 pm local time to mark Earth Hour - sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund to promote effective climate change action. The Green Teens will be supporting the effort by shutting off our lights and encourage people everywhere to do the same. For more information visit http://www.myearthhour.org/

Meeting with Home Depot

On Monday the Teen Challenge team met with Mckaila Egan from Home Depot about partnering for the Final Challenge. Thanks to Mckaila for meeting with us and we look forward to working closely with Home Depot during our project.

Looking for networks

The Teen Challenge team is currently working to grow our networks for the final challenge in July. If you or anyone you know would like to get involved please let us know by writing to beyondourbubble@yahoo.com We look forward to hearing from you!!

Meeting with the LO review

The Teen Challenge team met with the LO review yesterday. Thank you to Barb Randal for meeting with the team. We are looking forward to partenering with the review to get out the word about the Teen Challenge.

Valentines Act of Kindness

Today the Teen Challenge Team performed their first planned act of kindness. The Team passed out sack lunches to the less fortunate in downtown Portland. Along with the lunches, the team passed out handmade valentines cards and a smile, brightening the day of well over 60 people. After today's experience, the team is greatly looking forward to their next opportunity for a similar act of kindness.

Help for Haiti

The earthquake in Haiti has been devastating. We encourage everyone to help in whatever way they can. One way is to donate $10 to the Red Cross by using your cell phone: simply send the text message "HAITI" to 90999. A charge of $10 will appear on your phone bill, if you reply "yes" to their text reply. We can all be part of the solution - let's reach beyond our bubble, and help those in need.

Styrofoam Recycling Success

We'd like to thank those of you who helped out at the Styrofoam Collection day Sunday. Another thanks to Justin Bates and the whole team from Master Recyclers and the City of Lake Oswego for putting on the recycling day. All in all we collected carloads of Styrofoam from over 100 families in Lake Oswego! Thanks for your great work guys.

2010 Teen Challenge Applications

Beyond Our Bubble is now accepting applications for the 2010 Teen Challenge!

Check out the teen challenge page for more information