Surviving the Challenges

"We're not going to ask for donations."

I got a blank stare from the small gathering...two to be exact...staggered across the front patio of Chilao School, getting our first practice in social distancing. Cheri and I were a proper six feet apart. Joe was so far away I might have missed him if I'd thrown a shoe.

It was mid-March. We were all new to social distancing.

"We've been signed up with Amazon Smile for several years" I explained. "But I don't push it very hard. I'm a soft sell, mentioning it on Facebook every couple of months, maybe, when I remember. I don't want to ask for donations right now. Things are weird and people are going to lose their jobs and have their lives all upended. Let's see what we can do with Amazon Smile."

Amazon Smile is the charity arm of Amazon. And with all the talk of people flocking to Amazon to make purchases they might normally do in a store, whether by choice or necessity, it seems pretty logical. We should probably have been more assertive about utilizing Smile all along...but now there's some serious motivation. Like no events, no presentations, no gatherings...and no income.

Amazon Smile donates on your behalf when you shop using Smile. It is free to sign up. There are no hidden fees. Amazon does not share your information; we don't know who our donors are, or what they purchase, or how much those purcahases mean in terms of donations.

If you've read enough and you'd like to sign up, here's the link, and it will take about a minute or less for your device to do all the heavy lifting for you. https://smile.amazon.com/ch/77...

What is Redbird?

Redbird began as a Native American and environmental non profit organization, gaining state and federal non profit recognition in 1994. In 2011, Redbird acquired the Chilao School property in the Angeles National Forest from La Canada Unified School District. The school had not seen students in thirty years, and one more year of deferred maintenance might have been the last for the buildings on the property. Despite the never-ending laundry list of things to fix, clean, chop, trim, paint, replace and mitigate, the school provided Redbird with an opportunity for exponential program growth, and today, Chilao School hosts arts, healing arts, environment, culture and life skills programs. This in addition to Redbird's signature gatherings, the Children of Many Colors Native American Powwow held annually in July in Moorpark, and the Blanket, Toy and School Supplies Drive and Mini-Powwow held the first weekend of December in Simi Valley.

Over the next few weeks, I'll post a little bit more about Redbird's programs here. I'm also eager to sit down and write The Koda Chronicles...he ongoing adventures of our newest rescue dog, Koda, and the challenges of social isolation while trying to bring up a proper and well mannered German Shepherd pup (that's afraid of pretty much everything).

Meanwhile, if you would like to learn more about Redbird, please visit our website at www.RedbirdsVision.org