(Past and present *cino staffers during a spring break service-learning program in March. Left to right: Deborah Haak, Kirstin Vander Giessen-Reitsma, Elizabeth Brouwer, Rob Vander Giessen-Reitsma, Jordan Skinner, Jay Howard, Kyle Luck.) In the midst of our often chaotic lives, we must remember to be joyful ("though we have considered all the facts"). *culture is not optional has been...
In June 2009, after an unbelievable $25,000-in-40-days fundraising campaign, *culture is not optional (*cino) purchased Huss School on land contract. The contract stipulated a balloon payment of almost $50,000 in June 2013, after four years of monthly mortgage payments. In December 2012, we launched a Brick Campaign to raise $100,000: $50,000 to pay the balloon...
As of this morning, we've raised $44,400 together toward our Brick Campaign goal of $50,000 by June 15. Here's a quick rundown of some interesting numbers from the campaign so far: 149 donors have purchased bricks 110 donors have contributed $200 or less 9 donors have contributed $1,000 or more 48 donors are from Three Rivers 87 donors are from...
Re-posted from the *culture is not optional web site. Thanks to the amazing generosity of supporters near and far, we are less than $10,000 away from our big $50,000 goal with just under one month left until June 15 when our mortgage is due. We know we still have a lot of work ahead of us,...
As the Forsythia flowers bloom in the front yard, we're also getting ready for summer: new interns, summer programs like Family Fun Night and Future Festival 2013! Forsythia flowers are always a friendly reminder of the season to come -- bright and full of possibility. Summer is always a busy season at the Huss Project and we...
Julianna Sauber leads volunteers cleaning up the Triple Ripple Community Garden at the Huss Project during the garden's clean up day in 2011. As the weather heats up, we get closer to starting the garden's fourth season with this year's clean up day! On May 4, we will be at Huss from 10:30am to 1:30pm...
(David helping with our first Underground Supper Club.) I have lived in Three Rivers for close to ten years. Somewhere in that timeline, Three Rivers changed from being “someplace I lived for now” to “someplace I’m enjoying living and would like to remain in.” There weren’t any Hallmark moments to commemorate this transition from temporary to...
Dale Hasenick chats with students from Calvin College about farming at White Yarrow, and the importance of growing vegetables organically. For many of the students, this was the first time they'd ever visited a farm. In this photo, Dale explains how he starts many of the vegetables he grows inside and under lamps before transplanting...
There wasn't much underground about it, but last Saturday night we invited several folks to our first-ever Underground Supper Club as a fundraiser for the Huss Project. We borrowed a downtown Three Rivers building from friends and transformed the beautiful apartment space on the second floor, which is presently empty, into a restaurant-like atmosphere for...
At Future Festival 2012, Liesje Brouwer and Hannah Thyberg set up a tent for face painting. There were many different choices to choose from, but like this young man, many chose to be Spider-man. Liesje (as seen above) has had an exuberant amount of experience with face paint, beginning when she worked at a theme...
Though voting goes through the end of the day, it's clear that we won't be getting enough votes to win the Fetzer grant contest. The Innovation Empowerment Programme in Kenya has over 7,000 votes ...
As a part of our annual Future Fest in July 2011, The Huss Project hosted a Culture Make Sale. We invited artists from around the country to sell pieces of art they made and donate the proceeds to raise funds for Huss. In the photo above, former *cino intern Elizabeth Wroughton is taking a look...
