April Connections and May Mini-Grants

As a network of Friends who are carrying a concern for Earthcare, we meet twice a year to set policy, reconnect with each other, share stories of our work, and help each other strengthen our spiritual core. We do this through Meeting for Worship, worship-sharing, Meeting for business, time for committees and working groups to meet, informal discussions and sharing meals, walks to the Lake (we will meet six blocks from Lake Michigan) and (often) impromptu singing. This April 10-13 our Steering Committee will be meeting in Chicago (register by going to http://secure.quakerearthcare.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=6). Steering Committee meetings are open to all QEW Friends. If you have wondered who keeps this organization going and where we are headed, please join us this April!

One of the many projects that QEW has developed is our Mini-Grant program. We offer matching grants to support projects whose primary purpose is to benefit the environment and/or promote environmental awareness and education in local communities. Friends’ organizations–whether a school, meeting, or other group–are eligible to apply for these annual awards, up to a maximum of $350. Partnerships with non-Quaker groups in the community are encouraged. The deadline for applications is coming up soon (May 2).

Last year we were able to support several significant projects, including grants to:

• Create a peace garden planting demonstration project in Kigali through Rwanda Yearly Meeting
• Plant an edible garden with Sarasota, FL Monthly Meeting’s First Day School
• Install a solar water heater at Casa des Amigos in Mexico City
• Design and install a community compost site to benefit local gardens by Milwaukee, WI Monthly Meeting
• Plant trees in Uganda as a joint project between Uganda Yearly Meeting and Weare, NH Monthly Meeting
• Establish a rain garden to control storm runoff pollution as a joint project with Green Street (Philadelphia), PA Monthly Meeting, Green Street Friends School, and the local community

If you would like to support Mini-Grants for 2014, please click Donate on our website (www.quakerearthcare.org) or send a check to QEW, P.O. Box 6787, Albany, CA 94706.

To learn more about QEW Mini-Grants or apply for a grant, please visit our website or contact Bill
Holcombe at bholc7@hotmail.com.