CanDo’s mission fulfilled with a lot of help from you by HILARY ZUNIN T he other day an acquaintance hailed me to congratulate CanDo on the success of the recent Give!Guide campaign. “You know, I was thinking about Napa Valley CanDo and what all of you have created. You’re like the ‘Little Engine That Could.’ “You’re tiny in the nonprofit scheme of things, don’t even have any paid staff. But boy, you just keep getting things done.” I smiled. “The Little Engine That Could” was a favorite story of mine as a kid. But while the part about CanDo’s size and all volunteer staff is true, the train in “The Little Engine That Could” made it up the mountain all on her own. That famous “I think I can” was the fuel that drove her forward. That’s not enough for CanDo. We’ve got the Little Engine’s gumption in spades and we often think we CanDo most anything. But in truth, we couldn’t possibly do what we do on our own. For us, it takes a village, or more to the point, a Valley. Collaboration is central to what we do and who we are. That means partnerships with individuals, business, municipal agencies, and fellow nonprofits. CanDo owes much of its success to creative teamwork and to a strong commitment to building relationships with others who also long for healthy communities. Single-use Plastic Bag Reduction While CanDo initiated and sustained a fouryear volunteer effort to bring a Napa ordinance to fruition, it wouldn’t have happened without essential partnerships. Sustainable Napa County was key. They, too, believe that “together we can make our economy stronger, our environment healthier, and our communities more connected.” They assisted CanDo volunteers in writing the draft ordinance used as the basis for Napa’s law, approved by the City, and helped move the review process along with the Napa Chamber of Commerce. Among many other partners were Friends of the Napa River, Napa County Sierra Club, Visit Napa Valley, Napa Downtown Association, Napa-Solano Audubon, New Tech High and the Napa High Sierra Club. Wa terway s Keepers Three years back, CanDo volunteers were out one morning bird-watching at Green Island Road. When they found themselves seeing more litter than birds, they switched gears, picked it all up, then decided to keep this new activity going. Thus the Waterways Keepers came into being. How do you grow a force of volunteers concerned enough with the condition of our waterways to do the simple and essential work of clearing trash while educating about the impact of litter on the environment? If you’re CanDo, you start by connecting with the people whose vocation and passion it is to conserve, protect and maintain our watershed, the folks who work to restore natural resources that support agriculture, urban areas and wild lands. Who you gonna call? The Napa County Resource Conservation District. Along with RCD, the Napa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District staff have assisted CanDo volunteers with technical expertise, on-site education, planning and supplies required for clean-up projects. Their support has provided a strong and consistent base as CanDo coordinates volunteer clean-ups that rely on the participation of both individuals and corporate groups such as Treasury Wine Estates and student groups like the Girl Scouts and Vintage High. Napa Valey Give!Guide Yes, it’s a CanDo project, but how has it grown so successfully? By bringing together 40 fabulous local nonprofits, more than 40 supportive business partners, schools, service clubs, and hundreds of donors. You don’t cultivate a culture of giving in a vacuum. 48 www.nAPAVA L L E Y L I F E magaz ine. c o m CanDo CanGrow Finally, in the case of CanDo CanGrow, our newest project, a cornucopia of local groups provides fresh local produce for neighbors in need. A year or so ago, CanDo volunteers and some of our Master Gardener friends realized that Napa County Emergency Food Pantries needed more fresh produce for their clients. Tuna and peanut butter are welcome, but what about locally grown tomatoes, cukes and peppers? The first year project worked in two ways. First, we prepared the earth, planted, tended, harvested, and delivered 1,462 pounds of just-picked produce. Again, hardly alone. Napa Community Garden donated the space. Members of UC Master Gardeners of Napa County have partnered with us from the beginning, providing advice, seeds, plants, and hours of labor. Connolly Ranch provided seedlings, and this season children in their preschool program planted and tended veggies to donate to the Food Bank. Students at Napa County Office of Education Schools receive credit for helping out, and next season they’ll be a mainstay in making this garden grow. Stone Bridge School has committed to donating 15% of the bounty from their large new garden and orchard to the Food Bank. Businesses like Home Depot and Big Ranch Farms pitched in, too, with plants and fertilizer. CanDo CanGrow’s second focus is to ask individual local gardeners in the area to “Plant one for the Food Bank.” By encouraging home gardeners to participate and helping arrange for produce pick-up, CanDo hopes to engage dozens (how about hundreds!) of families in the effort to share the Valley’s bounty with all residents. We say it so often, but that’s because it’s true: Together, we CanDo so much. Learn more about Napa Valley CanDo at NVCanDo.org, email NVCanDo@gmail.com or call 707.252.7743. It takevs aa lley
NVLife_JanFeb_2015
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