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| Greetings, |
NextAid is proud to give you its 2nd edition of The Nexus, updating you on our most recent developments in Dennilton, South Africa. Take a look what's been happening on the ground.
In addition to The Nexus, check out our Music and Events Newsletter, updating you on how the music scene is making a difference locally through events that you will not want to miss! If you want to receive the Music and Events Newsletter, update your profile using the link at the bottom of this e-mail.
And remember, if you like what you see, please forward The Nexus to your friends.
Thank you for reading!
Sincerely,
The NextAid Family |
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| Adopt-A-Project Launches |
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 As a part of Phase Two of construction for the NextAid Youth With A Vision Community Center and Children's Residential Village, NextAid has launched its Adopt-A-Project Program online. It is now possible for individuals, families, companies, and other groups to "adopt" a structure or portion thereof at the YWAV Community Center and Residential Village.
Nursery School design by Joseph Kennedy, rendering by Josh Moratto.
In this manner we are able to personalize individual donations and link it directly to one facet of the project. Donors will be able to see photos of the building they are financing as the construction progresses and they can see exactly what their money has built.
The list of projects such as the playground, dining hall, guest house, and children's homes can now be viewed with individual one-sheets at http://www.nextaid.org/adoptaproject.htm#onesheets.
Please join us in promoting this wonderful new program and direct your friends, colleagues, and business associates to http://www.nextaid.org/adoptaproject.htm. A simple forwarding of this email may lead us one more structure closer to completion! |
| Partnership with Architecture for Humanity, Los Angeles |
 NextAid is excited to be working locally with the Los Angeles chapter of Architecture for Humanity. Architects and Designers Josh Moratto, Tim Vordtriede, Charlie Veneklase, and Michael Patterson are on-board with NextAid's mission to create sustainable living environments at our Dennilton site.
NextAid and AFHLA will be hosting the WIRED NextFest "Next Steps" Art Exhibit & DJ Party on Saturday, September 15th, from 5pm-1am at Infusion Gallery in Downtown LA. |
Sustainable Progress Made in On-Site Tree Planting and Organic Farming
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NextAid has launched its tree planting initiative at the YWAV Children's Center and Residential Village with enormous help from the Foundation for Sustainability and Innovation, Food & Trees for Africa, and under the guidance from Dana Murray of TreePeople who volunteered on site last month.
Next up will be the construction of our Greenhouse. Check out the one-sheet at our Adopt-A-Project page and help us take another green step in sustainable building.
 The YWAV volunteers are so excited to be practicing organic farming. The crops produced from this endeaver will not only relieve much of the community's immediate need for food but will also be environmentally sustainable for generations to come.
We recognize the importance of healthy foods as a vital means for improving one's immunity and thus fighting the effect of AIDS. This is all part of the Nexus that balances social, environmental, and economic needs. For more information on the philosophy of the NextAid Nexus, please read at http://www.nextaid.org/thenexus.htm. |
| Architecture for Humanity Fellow: Chris Harnish |
 NextAid is getting ready to send Architecture for Humanity Fellow, Chris Harnish, to live and work on site for a basic living expense stipend. Chris will spend six months to one year there.
Chris Harnish comes to NextAid after years of journeying through building and environmental interests. Following an undergrad degree from Denison Univ., where he studied Environmental Studies and English literature, he ventured west to Montana to follow his favorite environmental crisis, the timber industry. Working for the Center for Resourceful Building Technology in Missoula, he worked on the annual Guide to Resource Efficient Building Materials (the first of its kind publication), and wrote pamphlets on Strawbale Construction and Job Site Recycling and Resource Efficiency.
Chris later enrolled in a Masters of Architecture program at the environmentally focused University of Oregon. There he gained a desire for simple, site responsive design appropriate to the user, the culture and the environment. Chris now lives and works in New York City for Deborah Berke and Partners Architects, a firm strongly committed to rational and responsive design. In addition to New York City, Chris has a fondness for southern Africa where he has traveled and worked on two other occasions. He is ready to use his vast experience and passion for efficient design with NextAid at the YWAV Center.
Help us maximize the opportunity of having such a dedicated and qualified architect on site. With additional donations now, we can pick up the pace of construction and potentially reach our goals sooner. Please make a donation today!
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| NextAid's Green Scene News |
 Tree Media Group's 'The 11th Hour' Now in Theaters
 The 11th Hour, Leonardo DiCaprio's feature length documentary which, "examines the state of the global environment, and includes visionary and practical solutions for restoring the planet's beleaguered ecosystems," opens in Los Angeles and New York August 17th.
Stephan McGuire who is a producer with Tree Media Group was Associate Producer of The 11th Hour as well as Director of Outreach for The 11th Hour ACTION Campaign. Stephan who began studying Permaculture on the island of Hawaii in 2001 and in Costa Rica in 2002-2003 is the Founder of the Coalition for a Sustainable Africa, and one of NextAid's partners in CSAfrica which is an international coalition dedicated to innovative and collective grassroots solutions to inextricable economic, social and environmental challenges facing Africa today. Read more at the 11th Hour Film website. |
| A Creative Way to Help: |
| Donate your Laptop!
Here's another way for you to get involved and make a meaningful difference in the lives of those in Dennilton, South Africa. Are you ready to replace your laptop with one that is faster and shinier? Give your old one to NextAid! The Youth With A Vision Community Center and Children's Residential Village is in serious need of computers for their computer lab. The computers are necessary for programs that educate children and adults in after school programs and for the center's administrative needs. Your laptop will help people at the center learn valuable tools and will help staff stay on top of the growth and improvement of the center.
Donate your Miles!
Have you accumulated so many miles from your travels that you don't know what to do with them? Donate them to NextAid! We send volunteers to our site in South Africa and are accepting donations of your miles from Delta Airways (80,000 miles needed), South African Airways and United Airways (80,000 miles needed in total), and Virgin Atlantic Airlines (95,000 miles needed).
For more information on both of these donating opportunities, please email info@nextaid.org. |
| Highlighted September Events |
| NextAid is so proud to have this many events happening in September that we can't wait until our Music and Events Newsletter! Here are a few coming soon:
9/11
9:30PM-2AM
The Mor Bar, Santa Monica
9/14 - 9/16
9AM-7PM
Los Angeles Convention Center, Los Angeles
9/15
5PM-1AM
Infusion Gallery, Los Angeles | |
