The Uncommon Life

When my boyfriend proposed that the two of us canoe through the Gowanus Canal, I was mortified.  The smell!  The filth!  He wanted me to canoe in the troubled body of water that has recently reached an all-time low of being listed as a Superfund National Priority!  Secretly my griping eventually turned into guilt.  Maybe it would be good to get involved, learn the history and see the improvements being made to an area just a few blocks from our home.  Here is our story of canoeing in Brooklyn.

Firstly, for those that don’t know, the Gowanus Canal is a lamented waterway in Brooklyn, NY that once served as a busy cargo transportation hub until the 1950’s.  It has been neglected and misused since then.

Our day began by meeting up with The Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club as a part of
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Too many of us have very personal reasons — our mothers, wives, daughters, families and friends — to support organizations like RAINN (Rape Abuse & Incest National Network) that provide services to victims of sexual violence. I have two: my mother and my wife, both of whom were raped but only one of whom survived.

In 1974, my mother was raped and murdered in our home. My three-year-old sister Amy and I were fortunate to have our grandparents living close by. They were there to pick us up from the police station, and to care for and lovingly raise us. Not all victims of sexual violence have such ready assistance for the short-term immediate care and long-term healing that is necessary in the aftermath of sexual violence. It is a violence whose effects tear through families and communities. RAINN recognizes this and provides such support.

I believe you should vote for RAINN to become our next Better to Give partner not only because there simply are no other organizations like RAINN, but also because the work RAINN does remains tragically necessary. This is how RAINN describes its own mission:

RAINN (The Rape Abuse & Incest National Network) operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1.800.656.HOPE and the National Sexual Assault Online Hotline at rainn.org, and publicizes the hotline’s free, confidential services; educates the public about sexual assault; and leads national efforts to prevent sexual assault, improve services to victims and ensure that rapists are brought to justice.

Why support RAINN this holiday season? RAINN seeks to raise awareness about sexual violence and make it easier for survivors to come forward by providing direct services and advocacy. The folks at RAINN ask that you vote to give victims of sexual violence the gifts of hope and healing this holiday season.

As my wife Mary and I have discussed our shared past experiences with sexual violence, we often think about how we might help others and about what is most needed by surviving victims. Mary is a strong supporter of my advocacy for RAINN to join UncommonGoods’ Better to Give program, and made this extremely relevant and ultimately practical point: while there are many, many worthy causes to support, so long as sexual violence remains part of all our lives, RAINN’s work is absolutely necessary. And if not them, who would do this essential work for and on behalf of survivors? We hope you will join us by either voting to support RAINN, or donating to them directly at https://donate.rainn.org/

Thomas Epting
UncommonGoods Chief Operating Officer + Creative Director

Two years ago, I started volunteering with Capitol Letters, a DC-based nonprofit that taught creative writing to students K-12. I got to teach middle schoolers about the archetypal hero’s journey, work with high schoolers on getting radio essays ready for NPR, and I learned a lot from my students’ imaginative stories.  Last year, Capitol Letters became 826DC, the newest chapter of 826 National.

Founded in 2002 by award-winning author Dave Eggers and award-winning educator Nínive Calegari, 826 National is a network of nonprofit organizations dedicated to helping students ages 6-18 with expository and creative writing, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write. Their mission is based on the understanding that great leaps in learning can happen with one-on-one attention, and that strong writing skills are fundamental to future success.

826 chapters are located in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Ann Arbor, Seattle, Boston, and Washington, DC, each with its own unique creative atmosphere. They offer free student programs include after-school tutoring, in-school visits to assist teachers with special projects, workshops, and field trips. Many of their programs result in students receiving a copy of their published work – a book, a newspaper, or even a movie – which they helped produce. 826 is especially committed to supporting teachers, strengthening neighborhoods and communities, and helping young people express themselves creatively, confidently, and in their own voice.

I can tell you there’s nothing like seeing a student go from struggling to write the first sentence, to seeing her name published in an anthology at the end of the year. With so many arts and creative programs being cut from school budgets around the country, extracurricular groups like 826 National can make a huge difference.

But should 826 National become our next Better to Give partner? That’s your call. Click here to vote.

One simple way that all of us can make a difference is by switching to line-drying. At least that’s Project Laundry List’s stand.

“Project Laundry List leads the air-drying and cold-water washing revolution,” says founder and executive director Alexander Lee. Project Laundry List informs Americans about these and other simple, effective ways to save energy and money. Right now they are raising money for a Clotheslines Across America Tour and a series of 1,000 house parties and screenings of a new documentary: Drying for Freedom.

Project Laundry List is a strong advocate of the Right to Dry movement, which believes that we should be able to hang up clotheslines and dry our laundry outdoors, without interference from towns, neighborhoods or condo associations.

UncommonGoods is committed to line-drying; earlier this year, our CEO Dave Bolotsky was a guest judge in the Levi’s Care to Air Challenge. And you’ve told us how much you love line-drying.

Dave says:

“At a time when we’re looking to save energy, for both environmental and financial reasons, line drying makes more sense than ever.  We’ve been doing it at home for the past 10 years and it doesn’t take much extra time.  It’s also refreshing to have one activity a day that does not involve technology.”

Should Project Laundry List become our next Better to Give partner? Click here to vote.

There are millions of reasons I love New York. Between the pace and the pizza, it’s impossible to choose just one–so I’ll share one of the more inspiring reasons to love this city: local nonprofit City Harvest. In a place where people can seem too busy, seeing a City Harvest truck (or bike!) pass by is an uplifting reminder to extend compassion to those less fortunate.

City Harvest is a food rescue organization dedicated to feeding the hungry, helping over 300,000 New York City men, women and children find their next meal each week. This committed group collects millions of pounds of extra food from restaurants, grocers, cafeterias and farms–and delivers it free of charge to almost 600 community food programs throughout the city.

Not only do they feed and educate millions of New Yorkers each year, connecting local, farm-fresh goods to high-need areas, but City Harvest salvages tons of great food that would otherwise go to waste.  How amazing (and sustainable) is that?

Their goal this season is to collect 28 million pounds of nourishing food to feed the hungry.

Want City Harvest to be our next Better to Give partner? Click here to vote.