History of SAGE

For those who are new to SAGE or for those who would like to refresh their memories regarding the history of the SAGE Project, here is a brief summary of past topics.

POVERTY AND HOMELESSNESS

• Education: A guest speaker from Real Change, a local weekly activist publication sold by Seattle's homeless, came to the Greenwood Senior Center to share her personal story of homelessness and provide information about the publication. The paper strives to create fairness, opportunity and community by covering various social justice issues such as poverty and homelessness, labor rights, the environment, public health and civil liberties. Vendors pay 35 cents a copy and then sell them on the streets for a dollar donation.
• Action: The SAGE Project hosted a baby shower for women affected by poverty and their children in partnership with Harrington House, which provides homeless women and their children a safe and stable home. Donations were also accepted for Baby Corner, an organization that provides essential items for infants and children living in poverty.

FAIR TRADE

• Education: A guest speaker from Theo Chocolate, the only roaster of organic cocoa beans and the first roaster of Fair Trade certified cocoa beans in the United States, lectured on the social, economic, and environmental benefits of fairly traded products.
• Action: The SAGE Project raised awareness about Fair Trade coffee among members of the GSC community by implementing a new initiative to serve solely Fair Trade coffee in the GSC café.

CRISIS IN SUDAN

• Education: The GSC hosted a speaker from the Southern Sudanese Community of Washington, a nonprofit organization that helps Sudanese refugees transition to life in the United States and accomplish goals of self-sufficiency. The lecture covered the various religious, racial, and economic issues that are currently affecting Sudanese people.
• Action: The SAGE Project helped at an after-school tutoring session for Sudanese children and also promoted opportunities for volunteers to work together to sponsor a Sudanese refugee family in Seattle.

COMPOSTING

• Education: GSC board member and Master Composter, Geir Jonsson, gave a lecture on composting, including tips on how to start home composting bins as well as information on varoius composting systems and composting resources in the Seattle area.
• Action: The SAGE Project supported the reduction of waste by initiating a composting system at the Greenwood Senior Center. Two green gones were placed outside the GSC for collecting food scraps from the daily lunch program.

GLOBAL WARMING

• Education: A discussion class was offered on the issue of global warming. Topics included reflections on climate change, personal habits related to climate change, and steps that could be taken to reduce the effects of global warming.
• Action: The SAGE Project joined the GSC walking group for a trip to the Phinney Farmers Market to demonstrate the reduction of carbon emissions through an alternative mode of transportation. In addition, the support of local farmers gave shoppers the opportunity to learn about local, seasonable produce and the energy that is saved by shopping locally.

DISASTER PREPAREDNESS

• Education: Volunteers from the American Red Cross came to the GSC to educate SAGE participants on the importance of being prepared for disasters at home, work, and in the community.
• Action: The SAGE Project helped prepare disaster kits for members of the Southern Sudanese Community of Washington with help from the American Red Cross. Items for the kit were donated from the community.

BLOOD DRIVE

• Education: Representatives from the Puget Sound Blood Center came to the GSC to share knowledge about the importance of donating blood.
• Action: The SAGE Project helped promote the importance of blood donations by sponsoring a community blood drive at the GSC. SAGE participants volunteered by checking people in as they arrived and monitoring donors afterward.