Monday, May 17, 2010 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. held at the WCCCD – Northwest Campus  -  LSB L-17    8200 W. Outer Drive in Detroit, MI

The purpose of this event is to inform the audience of the many different ways the Sheriff’s office is working to keep the community safe. Topics and information will include: Safety tips, Gang Awareness, Emergency Senior Cell Phones, File of Life, Tether Unit, Internet Security, Narcotics Hotline, Wayne County Sheriff’s Office new website, Dose of Reality Tour, and Deputy Reserves.

 Participants attending this event will:

• Become knowledgeable about what the Sheriff’s office is doing in terms of gang awareness in the community
• Learn safety tips to protect themselves and family
• Receive a report on the other services offered to the community such as internet safety, emergency senior cell phones, etc.

THIS IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AT NO COST! Light refreshments will be served. Come out and say hello to Sheriff Benny Napoleon and his staff.

For more information, please contact the School of Continuing Education at 313-496-2704 or the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office at 313-224-0614

A new nationwide grant program will provide qualifying nonprofit organizations with thousands of dollars in cash allowances and services for the purpose of installing new energy efficient lighting systems before the end of 2010. The program was created by VistaBright Lighting, a national supplier of energy efficient lighting products.

The grant program is made possible through the on-going efforts of VistaBright Lighting in organizing the nationwide Energy ALERTSM (Advanced Lighting Equipment Replacement Technology Alliance), comprised of lighting industry manufacturers, distributors, and electrical contractors.

“ALERTSM grants provide qualifying nonprofits with products and services worth thousands of dollars and are scalable to the size of each project,” said Craig Pringle, president of the Alliance. “In addition to the cash allowances towards the purchase of fixtures and lamps, the program includes free professional design and consulting services, reduction of installation costs through the ALERTSM electrical contractor network, and possible additional grants directly from Energy ALERTSM Alliance member firms.”

The grants are designed to assist educational institutions, churches, charitable organizations, and community groups, in reducing the costs of buying and installing state-of-the-art light fixtures in their facilities before the end of 2010.
New, green technology could reduce the monthly average energy costs incurred by an organization.

Interested organizations can download grantee qualifications, application instructions, and an application form at the ALERTSM website: www.energyALERTalliance.com/grants.php Wednesday, March 31 is the application deadline.

 If your organization is in need of a boost, consider getting your message out in a similar fashion.  All local media have a social mandate for such communications.

Get ready for a steep decrease in donations to your emergency cell phone program. According to a recent study by the research firm In-Stat, the Global recession will make the next two years unusually difficult for the cellular industry and cell phone handset upgrades will be specifically impacted.

It makes sense. In Stat reports that three quarters of all cell phone handset sales are expected to be replacements or upgrades, a discretionary purchase that can be delayed in hard times. They predict a 20% decrease! No new cell phone purchased…no old cell phone to donate.

Here are a few things you can do now to stay ahead of the decline.

1 – Expand Your Partnerships – Reach out to all the organizations in your area and form partnerships. This can be the best way to increase donations and build a strong kinship with other community service organizations. Don’t forget to talk to your large corporate supporters about their support. They may be able to help expand your collections to other places as well.

2 – Make it Easy to Donate – A great way to make it easy is to build a network of drop off locations. These can be at your offices, retail stores, government buildings…anywhere the public is likely to go. A well marked permanent container can be a great way to advertise your collection program and stay in front of potential donors.

3 – Promote, Promote, Promote – Talk about your cell phone collection efforts at every opportunity. In your newsletter, emails, interviews, press releases….keeping your needs in front of your community. Your community will support you when they clearly know how.

4 – Network with Others – This may take a little getting used to since most of you are probably not networked. You may even feel a little intimidated meeting new people but with diligence and a dose of courage you can use the time you spend at events to your benefit. For some tips on how to make the most of networking events read one of my previous posts.

These are just a few ideas we have found successful. If you have any ideas to share please send them in.

Donate Your Cell Phone

The Southern Main Agency on Aging (SMAA) has partnered with Scarborough High School’s Environmental Club of Scarborough (ECOS) to collect cell phones for area senior citizens who can use them to dial 911 in case of an emergency.

Elder Advocate Mary Hadlock said the project began last fall when she was an intern with SMAA.  She contacted Scarborough High School looking for students to assist with the collection of cell phones and found ECOS already collected used cell phones to recycle.  The students agreed to donate the phones they collected with the understanding the phones will be recycled if they are not used by the seniors.

According to Hadlock, a benefit to having an emergency cell phone is that they still work when there is no electric supply, unlike a Lifeline-type of devise which needs electricity to work.  Seniors are encouraged to have more than one emergency notification device.

Emily Sherman, ECOS teacher, said the students began collecting cell phones years ago when it seemed students were upgrading their phones even when the current ones were functioning properly. She said the increase in e-waste in landfills is excessive and the students want to lessen environmental impact anywhere they can.

ECOS donated more than 200 phones to the program, mostly from students. Sherman said next year the club plans to focus more on education about recycling alongside with the phone and battery collections.

More than 30 students are active members of the club, which has a roster of nearly 80. They are a dedicated crew according to Sherman who also said that the students decide what recycling programs they will participate in and what causes they will support. Hadlock said it was her goal to bring generations together with the program.  Hadlock also worked with Jobs for Maine Graduates, Portland High School and a collaborative education class in Gray – New Gloucester to collect cell phones for the program.

Once the phones are collected, Hadlock sends them to the 911 Cell Phone Bank. The program is like a bank—she deposits a number of phones and is allowed to withdraw the same number of phones by ordering them. They come back to her cleaned of personal information and individually packaged with an extra battery and charger.

“We are hoping it will be an ongoing community service project for the students,” said Hadlock.  For more information about the senior emergency cell phone project at SMAA, call (207)396-6500.