Sunflower Family Fun Day and Auction: Please Save the Date!
Saturday, February 14 2009 3-6pm.
We'll have a teen, 'tween and adult talent show too!
Call Susan at 561.482-3412 if you'd like to perform.
Roots & Shoots Day of Peace
by Heidi Rhoades
Despite September heat and a Dolphins football game, fifty Sunflower Roots and Shoots members, their families and friends came to Delray Sept. 21 to participate in a global celebration of peace.
The event began beside the Veteran's Park playground where people talked and ate fat pieces of pizza provided by Peace A Pizza. After fueling up, the children gathered around Sunny, an enormous, ethereal peace dove handcrafted by the children from recycled materials. Roots and Shoots clubs flew giant peace dove puppets all over the world that day.
Susan Caruso delivered some special words that the children had written about what gives them a feeling of peace. Everyone wrote words of peace on the steps beside the fountain with colorful chalk.
The peace parade began eastward over the Atlantic Avenue bridge. Participants chanted, "talk, listen, understand, kids for peace", bobbing and weaving colorful, handmade signs. The majority of motorists gave quick honks of their horn and thumbs up in support of the march.
The children all passed gifts of peace bracelets and messages of peace made by the Roots and Shoots club members. Upon arrival at Atlantic Avenue and A1A, children and their parents stopped to take long pulls of water and douse their heads with ice before setting off to the beach to fly Sunny beside the ocean.
The image of a gauzy, white dove with a 20 foot wing span flying under a turquoise sky before an azure sea was both picturesque and moving. Several passersby took time to take in the live image before padding away.
Cool relief came in the form of Ben and Jerry's on Atlantic Ave where attendees were treated to air conditioning and delicious ice cream.
The piece de resistance of the event culminated in walking over the Atlantic Avenue bridge. The bridge tender allowed the group to span the bridge giving participants the opportunity to fly Sunny the peace dove for all cars, boats and pedestrians to see. The day ended with smiles, laughter, peace signs and a true feeling of community and oneness with nature.
Roots and Shoots is a youth activism group founded by Dr. Jane Goodall in Africa in 1991. The mission is for children to become empowered to make real change in their local community and world by creating projects of their own design showing care and concern for animals, the environment and people. Check out www.rootsandshoots.org to learn more. The Sunflower group is open to new members.
Many thanks to our R&S collaborators, The Milagro Center, Green Cay Nature Center, and Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, and to our business and individual supporters: Atlantic Ave Ben & Jerry's (Delray Beach), Peace A Pizza, Pizza Rustico, and Melissa Livingston.
The Treasure Box Project
The Treasure Box Project is looking for donations of home baked breads, cookies, empanadas, etc. They are having a large bake sale in downtown Lauderdale on Friday, November 21. Goods can be delivered to Sunflower by Thursday, November 20. The proceeds will benefit the Treasure Box Project, a local organization that provides holiday treasure boxes of socks, toothbrushes and interactive toys (crayons, books) to the neediest children in our community. www.treasureboxproject.org. Please email Heidi Rhoades at heidiaspen@mac.com if you plan to bake.
Call for New and Gently Used Books for 4-7 year olds!
The Treasure Box Project.(www.treasureboxproject.org) needs books 6”X9” for the treasure boxes. If you have gently used books to donate or can purchase books from the Dollar Store or elsewhere, your gift would be much appreciated. Please contribute a book to a child who may not have books in their home or transportation to the library. TBP currently needs 2300 books! Contact Suzy Hammer at treasureboxproject@comcast.net or email Heidi Rhoades at heidiaspen@mac.com for more information.
Pennies for Peace
We have begun a Pennies for Peace campaign at Sunflower Creative Arts. Pennies for Peace is a nonprofit organization that builds schools for girls in Central Asia. The project was inspired by the best selling book, “Three Cups of Tea”. A water jug labeled with a "Pennies for Peace" sticker will be found at SCA; please consider donating spare change to this important project and perhaps starting your own campaign; learn more at www.penniesforpeace.org.
