June 21^st was the Summer Solstice and it was also the first day of the F3 farmer’s market at Fisherman’s Mark in Lambertville, NJ. To celebrate their first market of the season, Fisherman’s Mark teamed up with Cassie Galster from CVI Doylestown to host yoga classes at the farm stand.

F3 stands for “Farmers, Families, and Fisherman’s Mark.” The farm stand, which operates every Wednesday from 10am-2pm throughout the season, offers locally grown (often organic) produce free of charge to the community. Along with the market, F3 hosts cooking demonstrations, as well as activities aimed at spreading awareness about health and wellness to everyone in the community. Cassie is a RYT 500 yoga instructor, and the day just so happened to be International Yoga day. It was a perfect opportunity to reach out to the community and show how you can incorporate yoga in your daily life.

Justin Bowers and Cassie Galster from CVI Doylestown participated in MuckFest MS on June 4^th. This annual 5K mud run takes place in multiple cities across the country and donates 100% of its fundraising dollars to the National MS Society. The course features numerous obstacles—pits, tunnels, zip lines, ropes, and more—all with the focus on getting dirty and having fun.

This was the second year Justin and his wife Tricia took to the course, while Cassie was a first-time rookie. Our team, Tricia’s Little Muckers, also included many family and friends. A muddy good time was had by all.

Together, we raised $2,430 for the National MS Society. This would not have been possible without CVI’s help, as many of the donations came from our fellow colleagues.

On June 28, 2017, Lynn Zambrano, Teresa Kwan, Geoff Kinnaird and Charlotte Kobayashi, stuffed 7 “DaKine” backpacks with several required supplies for Incline Middle School 6th Graders:  3″ binders, subject dividers, colored pencils, dry erase markers with 4 different colors and erasers, plus scissors.

Backpacks will be delivered to Incline Village and handed over to Sarah Mcmahon, who will represent Corporate Visions and award to 7 students when school begins toward the end of August. We have been coordinating with teacher, Liz Harrell, to help identify 7 students to be awarded a back pack.

Watch for follow up blog story for the award day and the 7 lucky students!

The majority of the UK team (Helen, Emma, Zoe, Avesh, John, Leo and Steve) spent the day at Fishponds Park in South London on what was very much an environmental project in restoring use of a stream between two ponds in the park. The ponds had previously been the habitats of many fish and aquatic birds but have become heavily neglected over recent years due to the reliance on charity funding and volunteering.

[Photo above: The Stagnant Pond]

Basically the ponds have become stagnant, overgrown and uninhabitable due to the lack of water flow between them since the pump used to encourage the flow had broken some years ago. The charity which runs the park has managed to secure funding for a new pump but cannot put this into use until the dried up stream has been cleared of overgrown vegetation and litter. This is where we came in, having to dig out much of the dried up stream path and removing overgrown shrubs and brambles. Made harder work by the hottest day of the year (at that point) in the UK, the team put in lots of physical exertion to ensure we had maximum impact during our time there.

[The Overgrown Stream]

It was great to not only see the progress made on the day but also to receive very encouraging feedback whilst we worked away in the hot sun. The supervisor from the charity informed us that he saw more progress in half a day than had been achieved in the previous 6 months due to their reliance on volunteers and people on community service projects. We also had many local people passing by, come to talk to us and say thank you as they had seen this, place of beauty, become neglected, overgrown and an eyesore. The general feeling was that they were looking forward to the day when it’s natural beauty is restored and the fish and wildlife once again thriving.

In addition, we spent some time towards the end of the day to create a new habitat for the endangered species which is the Stag Beetle. To do this, we had to dig a pit and partially submerge a number of logs before burying them in tightly packed soil. The rotting wood underground, creates an ideal environment for the Stag Beetles to live and develop.

Overall, this was hard work but very satisfying and great fun to do something different as a team.

Sarah McMahan, along with two other board members on the Physical Education and Wellness Parent Organization put together the first ever 5k Color Run in Incline Village!  The fun run took place on Sunday, June 11^th and raised approximately $6,000 for physical education and wellness programs at Incline Elementary School.  Around 200 runners braved the cold weather (and few snowflakes) from odd June storm.

{Photo: Charlotte, Sarah Wolf, and John Lee of Lion’s Club]

On June 8th, after meeting with Corte Madera/Larkspur Lion’s Club Board on March 9, 2017, the Lion’s Club offered a $350 check to Hall Middle School to supplement Hall’s Ukulele Club.  The school will be able to purchase 2-3 ukuleles to support their existing “Ukulele Club” program for students unable to purchase their own ukuleles.

{Photo above: Al Selby, Lion’s Club; Sarah Wolf, teacher at Hall Middle School; and David Kunhardt, President of Lion’s Club]

Sarah Wolf, the music teacher for two schools in Marin [Neil Cummins and Hall Middle School], will be delivering the check to the Principal of Hall Middle School to purchase ukuleles from The Magic Flute, [company that donated 2 Makala soprano ukuleles for raffling off at Bay Area Human Race].

This is a new relationship with a non-profit organization in Larkspur/Corte Madera we hope will continue to develop as we continue to exchange information and help each other.

Ukulele On!

Here are more photos of team in action till the very end:

The sense of accomplishment, comraderie and elation when you cross the finish line together with your 11 teammates, more than makes up for the other stuff. In fact, you’ll come to realize that is some of the most fun you’ve ever crammed into 36 hours.

Together we ran 200ish miles.

Together we can accomplish anything

We are Ragnarians!

Who: CVI Runners- Mike Finley, Nicci Hammerel, Conrad Smith, Joe Kozub, Erik Peterson, Fabiana LaBauve, Jeannie Clidence, John Meyer, Rob Perrilleon
CVI Volunteers- Leslie Talbot, Jeff Adler, Cassie Galster and Justin Barry
What and Where: A 200ish-mile relay running race through the cow pastures of Pennsylvania from Stauffer Park Lancaster to Mount Pocono on sidewalks, backroads, bike paths, paved trails and road shoulders.
When: June 2-3, 2017
Why: The sense of accomplishment after conquering a course over two days and one night, pushing your limits on little amounts of sleep with friends and a community of runners by your side.
Also, and just as important, the fundraising!
Last year we raised a boatload of money – $32,920. This year we raised a yachtload full of money- $50,807!!!!
These are the charities we raised money for:
• Ovarian Cancer Research Fund
• Golden Rainbow Of Nevada, Inc.
• Marys Shelter
• St. Baldrick’s Foundation
• Family Works
• American Cancer Society
• Worlds Window Inc
• Bridges to Prosperity, Inc.
• Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation
• Associated Humane Societies Inc

Ok, so you are kind of interested in joining Team Filthy Soles in 2018, but you’re still not sure what it’s really all about. Here’s a day in the life of a Ragnarian:

It all starts on Thursday night with dinner, drinks, van decorating, last minute logistics, a little anxiety and lots of laughs.

Van decorations:

[Top right counter clockwise: Kendal Kozub [in background], Rob Perrilleon, Erik Peterson, Mike Finley, Jeff Clidence, Jeannie Clidence, Fabiana’s head, hand and hair]

Friday morning is an early one for Van 1. You and 5 of your van mates will head to the start line for check-in.

Even though we had a 3 am wake up call – we’re still all smiles as we wait for our 5 am start time!

You can expect a lot of running, stretching, eating and shenanigans to take place over the next 36 hours. Do not expect to get a lot of sleep.

Lynn Zambrano, daughter Sofie, Jaime Farrar, her son, Danny, Charlotte Kobayashi plus nine of the Ukulele Band players joined in the 5K walk/run around the Marin Civic Center grounds for a brisk walk or run to raise funds for music – ukulele education for elementary school teachers to teach 4th graders to play ukulele.

Corporate Visions Inc. co-sponsored the Corporate Visions Team with San Rafael Elks Lodge #1108, partnering to also raise funds for veterans families and activities supported by the San Rafael Elks. Our goal was to raise $3000 – we exceeded and raised $3500, which will be distributed between the two projects – music education and veterans. A booth shared by 3 organizations – the San Rafael Elks Lodge #1108, SharedHope for Sex/Human Trafficking Prevention, and Corporate Visions, Inc. raffled off two Makala soprano ukuleles, donated by The Magic Flute Music Store in NorthGate Shopping Mall.

One of the recipients, 9 year old Tomas, proudly shows his win – Makala ukulele. He happens to be a 3rd grader in one of the schools with a ukulele music program taught by one of our Ukulele Friends Ohana members. It was an easy, fun course, for all levels of walkers and runners, with perfect climate, and a group of bag pipes players starting it off to create just the right atmosphere for a vigorous walk or run- dogs included! This is definitely an event to be considered for 2018! [By Charlotte Kobayashi]

On Saturday, May 27th, Lisa Slen volunteered at Adopt-A-Dog in Armonk, New York at their adoption event and tag sale. This is the start of her volunteering to help socialize the dogs by playing with them and taking them for walks. Watch out! They may end up following her back to her home!
[Lisa Slen]