CELEBRATE EARTH MONTH WITH NC GreenPower GIFT CARDS! In this issue:
Featured Green Business – Our visit to Larry's Beans! Kevin, from Larry's Beans in Raleigh, was kind enough to take the NC GreenPower staff on a tour of their roastery and to show us all the sustainable practices they have put into place at their office. Find out more about their eco-friendly tips and where to purchase Larry's Beans on their website: www.larrysbeans.com
Our Purpose in Life is to concoct wondrously luscious works of coffee and make the world better at the same time. We slow roast in ridiculously small batches to bring out every rich layer of indigenous flavor. 100% of our coffee is Fair Trade, Shade Grown and Organic or Transitional Organic. (Our Organic and Fair Trade practices are certified and audited by Quality Certification Services.) We honor the work of our farming partners by transforming their extraordinary beans into marvelous coffees. Making the world better goes way beyond coffee. So we've green-o-vated our roasting plant with passive solar, wind-powered vents, rainwater harvesting, fruit bushes and even dual flush toilets. We deliver locally with recycled veggie oil. We operate Raleigh's only gasoline-free 100% biodiesel pump. And, to get other folks up to speed, we created sustainability-school.org (Courtesy of Larry's Beans) GREEN tip of the month
The SmartCommute Challenge is an annual non-profit public service campaign that works to reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality in the Triangle. From April 15 through May 30, any employee or college student who commutes to work or campus in Wake, Durham, or Orange County can participate. To enter the Challenge, make your online pledge that at least once before May 30 you will carpool, vanpool, bike or walk, ride the bus, or telework (work from home). The Challenge’s GREEN GOAL is to reduce the carbon footprint of Triangle area commuters and increase awareness of greener commute choices. With your help, we can reduce 2.2 million pounds of CO2 during the 2009 campaign. Everyone who takes the Challenge will be entered into a drawing to win one of several PRIZES, including $2,500 cash! Find out more at smartcommutechallenge.org!
Fan Fest with the Durham Bulls and NC GreenPower's sponsor game NC GreenPower was the sponsor for a Durham Bulls game on Thursday, April 16th. The turnout was great! And we were honored to receive an honorary game baseball from Bill Law, the Bull's long time PA Announcer who now serves as the Bulls Ambassador. We'll be out there quite a few times this season, so stop by our table, sign up for NC GreenPower, and you'll be invited to our end-of-season "Field of Dreams" with the Durham Bulls!
Recent Speakers Bureau activities - While Earth Month still isn't over, we so far have attended 25 events in April alone! Beaufort County Arts & Music Festival
This was our first year at the festival on the waterfront in Washington, NC. While the wind was blowing hard, the weather was perfect and we were able to reach an audience that we had not reached before. We were stationed beside Blue Sun Development Group, who markets The Windspire by Mariah Power - affordable, low profile and virtually silent, this clean, renewable energy source now available to more people in more places. Find out more by visiting their website. Our thanks to the organizers for planning such a great event!
Raleigh Planet Earth Celebration – Sponsored by Burt's Bees and the NC Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh's Planet Earth Celebration featured Burt's Bees Happy 25th Burt Day Bonanza Tent Sale, Paperhand Puppet Intervention and the Trash March and lots of local businesses & non profits whose good works support sustainable living. NC GreenPower is always happy to be a part of such a wonderful event! Other notable activities included Whole Foods Market “Bag-Out in Style” fashion show, live music with the Connells, the 9th Annual Sustainable Design Competition and the “Ask the Experts” tent with answers to all your questions about designing and building a sustainable home. Thanks to John, Denise, Ann and Mark for your help with the Raleigh staff!
Charlotte Clean & Green – We were invited to Charlotte Clean and Green 2009, and the celebration was a tremendous success! It was a gorgeous spring day on Saturday, April 18, and thousands came out to the Central Campus of Central Piedmont Community College to be inspired to play, live and save green! Festival attendees took advantage of the many free workshops and presentations, strolled among the green vendors and exhibits, checked out the smart cars and hybrids, shopped the farmers market and enjoyed some delicious food! NC GreenPower's table was very busy – many festival-goers stopped by to find out about renewable energy and carbon offsets in NC. With help from our Charlotte volunteers, Frederic, Morgan, Bill, Randy & Jim, we were able get the word out about how folks in the Queen City can help NC’s environment and economy.
Piedmont Earth Day
NC GreenPower was happy to be invited this year, with estimated crowd of 7,000 that attended the 4th annual Piedmont Earth Day Fair on the campus of Wake Forest University on April 18th. The 4th annual Piedmont Earth Day Fair was a Zero Waste Challenge Event, which meant that everything used by the vendors was either recyclable or compostable. The fair featured more than 120 exhibits on a wide range of environmental topics, sustainable solutions, and local initiatives, as well as local entertainment and all natural food and drinks. For the kids, there were stations featuring fun, interactive children's activities and hands-on demonstrations on a wide variety of topics. This year, a green jobs booth featured information on green jobs now and in the future, and a stationary Green Car parade showcased gasoline, hybrid, natural gas, electric, bio-diesel and solar vehicles. We look forward to being a part of this event next year!
Wilmington - NC GreenPower took part in Wilmington's celebration of Earth Day at Hugh MacRae Park on April 18. This free event was very well attended, with good food, including local and organic options, live entertainment, a learning center, children's zone, and even shopping — all to celebrate our planet. With more than 70 exhibitors involved in some type of environmental issue or resource, thousands of attendees enjoyed the event. We appreciate all the visitors to our table, and thanks to our volunteers Victor, Dee Dee and Patricia for staffing! NC GreenPower would like to extend a huge THANK YOU to all the event planners who contributed to our renewable energy and carbon offset programs to minimize the impact on the environment of the Earth Day festivities. Find out more about how you can green-up your next event online.
JOIN US! – Become an NC GreenPower Speakers Bureau volunteer NC GreenPower would like to take the opportunity to give special thanks to volunteers who helped with recent events across the state, especially during April. The Speakers Bureau would not be possible without your valued support and dedication to North Carolina’s environmental future! Click here for a list of upcoming NC GreenPower events. Training sessions are periodically held for new speakers. These sessions include tips about presenting, speaking points regarding the program, and instructions for using the speaker toolkit, provided at no cost. The toolkit includes information and material needed to deliver an informative presentation with a compelling call-to-action message. Anyone may be trained to serve as a volunteer for the Speakers Bureau. We really need the help of volunteers to continue to spread the news about our program. Current volunteer opportunities include staffing various Durham Bulls games now through September, and the Eno River Festival July 3-5th. If you are interested in being trained and becoming a member of the Speakers Bureau, please contact Lane Smith at 866-533-NCGP or speaker@ncgreenpower.org.
Add GoodSearch to your web browser, and support NC GreenPower! What if NC GreenPower earned a penny every time you searched the Internet? Or how about if a percentage of every purchase you made online went to support our cause? Well, now it can! GoodSearch.com is a new Yahoo-powered search engine that donates half its advertising revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities its users designate. Use it just as you would any search engine, get quality search results from Yahoo, and watch the donations add up! GoodShop.com is a new online shopping mall which donates up to 37 percent of each purchase to your favorite cause! Hundreds of great stores including Amazon, Target, Gap, Best Buy, ebay, Macy's and Barnes & Noble have teamed up with GoodShop and every time you place an order, you’ll be supporting your favorite cause. Just go to www.goodsearch.com and add it to your web browser. Then be sure to enter NC GreenPower as the charity you want to support. Spread the word! |
