Inside
the
Winter Issue:
Happy
Birthday Harry
and Season's Greetings
From The Circle Team
Harry
Chapin
Foundation Maintains
"Just Do Something"
Philosophy
Remembering
Harry:
A Collection of Rare Photos
Fan Fare
Hitting
All
The Right Notes:
An Interview With
Big John Wallace
Run-DMC
Star
Strikes a New Chord
With “Cat's in the Cradle”
Behind
the Song:
Cat's in the Cradle
Finally...
A
West Coast
Jen Chapin Tour!
Consider
These Ideas For
Giving Gifts With Meaning
This Holiday Season
DC's
Community Harvest
Strives To Provide
"Good Food For All"
Singer-
Songwriter
Lea Creates Positive
Energy In Music
and Action
DC's
Community Harvest Strives
To Provide "Good Food For All"
by Linda McCarty
On
the side of Washington, DC that sits near the convergence of the Potomac
and Anacostia Rivers and within view of some of our nation's most famous
monuments is a neighborhood of 70,000 people who have been without a single
chain supermarket for several years.
Community
Harvest, an organization founded in 1987 to "...provide good food for
all," started its Urban Oasis Farm & Learning Center five years ago
to help provide produce to a community dependent on taking public transportation
to get healthy, fresh food.
Today, some
1,000 volunteers from schools, local organizations and corporations plant,
tend and harvest fruit, vegetables, herbs and flowers grown using organic
methods at the one-acre mini-farm. The items are then sold at the nearby
Heritage Park Farm Stand at prices affordable for those in one of the
area's poorer neighborhoods.
Community
Harvest also meets its mission through The Local Food Alliance, a program
designed to help area farmers market their produce to low-income communities
through seven farmer's markets and farm stands it runs across the
city from mid-May until the beginning of November.
Another
program of the Alliance is the Healthy Cooking Project. Once a month at
each farm stand and market, volunteers conduct demonstrations of food
preparation and hand out nutrition information and recipes to familiarize
residents with the uses of various produce items. Some in the immigrant
population may have access to locally-grown produce but no idea how to
use it. Participation of families and children in these events is encouraged.
The needs
of children also are targeted through the Youth Development Program. Opportunities
are provided for employment and leadership training in combating hunger
and food insecurity.
Private
and corporate foundations, the DC and Federal governments, community organizations
and in-kind contributions and services from area merchants all support
the work of Community Harvest.
To learn more about Community Harvest, go to communityharvestdc.org. If you're interested in getting involved in a similar program in your own area, visit World Hunger Year's (WHY) National Hunger Clearinghouse Database. Community Harvest is a 2002 recipient of WHY's Harry Chapin Self-Reliance Award.
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Singer-Songwriter Lea Creates Positive Energy In Music and Action by Linda McCarty At
a recent concert appearance at The George Washington University
in Washington, DC, 25-year old singer-songwriter Lea joked that
she's too old to be a rock star. While the maturity of her lyrics
belies her age, "People say that I'm older than I am or that I have
an old spirit," Lea later explained.
Her
music has been compared to Joni Mitchell and is a soulful blending
of R&B, jazz and urban folk. "If I could get away with not describing
it, that's what I would do. Most folks say it's a folk-jazz fusion,"
Lea said. "My musical influences come from classic rock artists
like Neil Young and Eric Clapton. I'm most like Neil Young in terms
of his simplicity and the things he was writing about." You
might say that Lea was born into music. Her mother was a member
of the Jones Family Gospel Singers and her father a professional
trumpet player. Lea credits them for her polished performances as
well as starting her with music lessons at a young age. By the time
she was 13, Lea had not only begun playing guitar and writing songs
but also knew it would become her career. "When I was playing and
writing, there was a fulfillment there that I knew I wouldn't get
anywhere else." In
between touring and taking care of her three-year-old daughter,
Lea has found time to lend her talent to benefit nonprofit organizations
like Community Harvest and Habitat For Humanity. "It's not part
of my mission statement, but when I open myself to using my greatest
gift to give, not just to make money or ease my own mind, the opportunity
presents itself. When I'm playing in someone's living room, it has
a healing effect and brings love and peace, and then I'll meet someone
there who wants me to do something. I wouldn't say I'm an activist,
but I'm conscientious about creating positive energy." Today,
Lea is on the road in the U. S. and Europe promoting her second
CD, "Looking Forward." Regarding her commentary between songs, she
said, "I have to be honest and open, and I find myself saying things
to the audience that I wouldn't say to friends. I find it very therapeutic." If you'd like to hear sound clips of Lea's music or to check her upcoming tour schedule, go to ThisIsLea.com. |
Watch for the Next Issue of Circle! on March 7