Take Action and Plant With Purpose!

by Aly Lewis Hello Everyone! I just want to take a moment to introduce myself and share my excitement about the launch of Plant With Purpose. My name is Aly Lewis and I am PWP’s Grant Writer. I spend most of my time writing grant proposals and reporting on the use of the grant funds to foundations and other funders. In addition to writing grants, I enjoy (probably too much) sharing my musings on everything from community development to environmental stewardship to what it means to empower not only the poor but the people we see everyday. For now I’d like to share with you a few thoughts on getting involved with PWP: I was a meticulous organizer even as a child. I numbered all of my toy blocks and could only build up in numerical order. It was my way of constricting the overwhelming world of construction possibilities into manageable chunks—one block on top of another. Even now I am addicted to manageable chunks—one step at a time, one foot after another. But in this complex world of global crisis and catastrophe, manageable chunks are hard to come by and I often find myself paralyzed, unable to determine block number one. Of course my load is lightened considering I’m not the first person to ever care about social justice or the environment or try to make the world a better place—although sometimes I’d arrogantly like to think so. There are hundreds of radical people and organizations that have already laid the groundwork for meaningful change. They’ve done the research and not only uncovered the calamities but honed in on the root causes of these urgent problems and have come up with ways that we—the average person—can help. At Plant With Purpose the chunks are small, but meaningful. Seriously, every little bit helps—and it’s all just the beginning of a lasting journey toward environmental healing and transformation for the rural poor. So to help you get started, we’ve added a helpful new Take Action page on the Web Site, highlighting ways you can get involved (manageable chunks if you will). To Take Action click here.