Posts for August, 2012
Seattle is actively creating and cultivating spaces for community connections.
Two of my Seattle meetings took place on strolls through the Seattle Art Museum's Olympic Sculpture Park, which used to be a petroleum transfer and distribution facility. Today, thanks to philanthropic and volunteer leadership, the site has been transformed.
With unobstructed views of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains, the garden circles a bold, red Calder sculpture, “The Eagle.” The park is dotted with chairs to facilitate conversations in any and all groupings.
My Seattle hosts said the Sculpture Garden has become a gathering point, offering free yoga on the grass, food trucks and farmers’ markets, art classes, performances and family festivals like the Salmon Return Celebration.
Michelle Nunn finds inspiration in Portland, Oregon.
I am fascinated by people’s stories of the sparks that ignite their passion to change the world. When I was in Portland, Emily Gilliland, executive director of Oregon's Campus Compact, laid three different matches on the table to illustrate the ignition points in her service journey.
- A matchbook represented her high school’s 75-hour service requirement – a quick light to get her started. While serving at the Red Cross, she discovered that adults were interested in her ideas and were even willing to take direction from her.
- A short box match signified her year with AmeriCorps – challenging, but enriching – a strong spark to further impel her commitment to service.
Barbara Dillbeck taught elementary school in Michigan for over 20 years and is currently the Curriculum Director of generationOn. She is an active grandmother of four and an avid animal welfare advocate.
My ‘Point of Light’ is a dear friend who has enriched my life in so many ways. She has shown me what pure joy looks like, helped relieve stress, listened carefully to all I have to say. She is compassionate, empathic, dependable, and bearded – yes, bearded.
Michelle Nunn reflects on her families experiences at the national parks this summer.
My son, Vinson, is a great enthusiast for earning badges and pins of any sort, so we became devotees of the Junior Ranger program as we traveled through the national parks this summer. To earn his badges, we identified sage brush, learned what Sitting Bull did during the Battle of the Little Big Horn (stayed with the women and children), and discovered how long it took to carve the figures on Mount Rushmore (14 years).