One year ago we made a presentation to the Carmel Publics Work team and suggested that we work together with them to keep Carmel beautiful, safe, and inviting. They agreed to let us get to work and since have been giving us permission along with guidance to help achieve our mission. We are VERY grateful to Bob Harary, Sara Davis, Rob Culver, Agnes Martelet, Cleve Waters and all the rest of our friends in Public Works for being patient with us as we got our feet on the ground (literally) and worked with them almost daily.
Sometimes it has probably been frustrating for them since their staffing and funding was dramatically reduced and even eliminated completely but we think our contribution in time, equipment donations and ideas have more than made up for that. We are committed to helping them achieve their mission to keep this crazy little town running despite being shorthanded and strapped for funding. Along with our partner Carmel Gives, we have invested over $100,000 in equipment that helps them do things better, faster and more efficiently than was possible before.
In the last year we have incorporated as a California nonprofit corporation, invested in this website, achieving our 501(c)3 status, and implementing a cloud-based accounting and donor management system. We are now implementing a volunteer management system.
But, the most important thing is that we have made incredible progress towards achieving our mission. Former Mayor Ken White, who was instrumental in the creation of the Scenic Pathway back in the mid-80’s, recently took a walk with Pathway Project Manager Shirley Moon and me. He said “The Pathway hasn’t looked this good in the last 20 years”. Another resident recently told us, “I have been living here since 1995 and this is the best the Pathway has ever looked”. Every week, when our team is out on the Pathway working we hear the same thing from countless passersby. That is very heartening and tells us we are on the right path (pun intended). The same thing happens at our other projects.
What’s next? We are in the process of becoming a Keep America Beautiful affiliate. This is national organization of over 600 cities and nonprofits like Carmel Cares that are dedicated to making huge improvements in their cities. They are the group that did the anti-litter ads with the crying Indian. This will provide us incredible resources to re-double our efforts related to litter reduction and recycling while also improving our discipline, marketing abilities and knowledge to continue our beautification efforts.
You’ll be hearing a lot more about this soon. We are finally able to start our marketing efforts related to volunteering, marketing our projects and programs and doing targeted fundraising so we can continue doing larger and larger projects. You’ll be seeing our ads in the Carmel Pine Cone on page 4 every other week. You’ll see us at the Farmer’s Market every other week. And, you’ll see more and more of our volunteers and professional gardeners and contractors working in and around the Village.
We obviously love what we are doing as most of us are retired, having had successful careers over many years and it would be easy to sit back and relax. But, this is important work that needs to be done and we are committed to building a sustainable company that will be here long after we are all gone so this valuable work will continue to produce visible results. Everyone reading this can help us achieve that in some way, shape or form and we look forward to hearing from you so we can determine what your involvement looks like.
Thanks for your support and positive thoughts over the past year and as we move forward.
