Love.
So simple. So simple to overlook.
Through our various cultures and tribes, there are so many variations on expression. Such a rich and vibrant vocabulary. So confusing! A Tower of Babel.
It’s easy to forget love outside of the immediate kin we sustain, especially when survival of our own is critical. Love is love is love. Love begets love. But when the powers that be make love hate, lies truth, and fanatic imperialism the American way, we begin to wonder: How far have we lost our way?
Here is Part 3 of our annual Holiday Wish List list. Austin’s public service community fills the gaps that we, as the most wealthy society ever, still create. In turn, these local big-hearted groups have specific needs, hence this list. We need them; they need us.
Parts 1 & 2 were printed in recent issues. (Check the handy index below.) All of it is online. We’ve asked for five items (but no cash, volunteers, computers, and printers; those are universal). Call for the very specific items and brand names that would serve them best.
We hope you find this list most useful. No, really. Please use it. And use them. Use them up.
Happy holidays. Yes.
Thank you. Please. Love.
� Kate X Messer; list compiled by Reena Karia and Kate Getty
Assistance League of Austin
www.alaustin.org
7951 Burnet, 458-3716
• New children’s books (Spanish or English) for the Children’s Hospital
• New school backpacks for Operation School Bell
• $76 for one child’s new school wardrobe
• New towels and sheets for graduating foster-student life-start kits
• Plastic storage bins for assault-survivor kits
Austin Arts and Music Project
www.austinamp.org
1014 E. Ninth, 751-0895
• Musical instruments and accessories of all shapes and sizes
Foundation Communities
www.foundcom.org
3036 S. First Ste. 200, 447-2026
• Printing services for outreach flyers
• Gift cards or donations of meals
• Snacks and beverages for 300 volunteers
• Volunteer thank-you gifts (coupons, promotional items, gift cards)
People’s Community Clinic
www.pcclinic.org
2909 N. I-35, 322-5135
• One small and one medium-sized conference table with chairs
• Two-drawer filing cabinets
• Three module desk workstations
• Small storage cabinet
• Gift certificates for Home Depot, OfficeMax, Office Depot, Target, or Wal-Mart (for general supplies)
• Supplies for our prenatal patients: new or gently used care seats, infant clothes, and receiving blankets; also diapers, wipes, bottles, digital thermometers
• Activity play tables/activity cubes for toddlers
Planned Parenthood
www.ppaustin.org
707 Rio Grande, 275-0171
• Three high-quality printers
• Office supply gift certificates
• Stamps
• Four-drawer lateral file cabinets
• Quality digital camera
Rhizome Collective
www.rhizomecollective.org
300 Allen, 385-3695
• A world based on cooperation, autonomy, and egalitarianism
• Your participation
• Donations!
• Native and veggie seeds, plants, and trees
• Table saw
Sustainable Food Center
www.sustainablefoodcenter.org
PO Box 13323, Austin, 78711, 236-0074
• Five to seven Tupperware storage bins (large)
• One yard of sand/gravel for leveling a storage shed
• Garden tools for youth gardeners
• One year’s worth of cell phone minutes with Working Assets Wireless
• One free ad in the Austin American-Statesman
• Fifty dollars in gasoline for the company van
• Ten gift certificates of $20 each for volunteers
• Rechargeable tools for building and repair projects
• Storage shed for youth garden – 12 by 10 feet – prefer wooden with floor
More organizations can be found in our Holiday Wish Lists Part 1 and 2.
This article appears in December 10 • 2004.