If you still haven't joined the One for All "hide-and-go-seek" game, now is your chance! The One is still hiding somewhere in Anchorage, and if you click here, you'll find a few useful clues on where the One may be. Now go seek!

I went hiking yesterday, and it was wonderful. Aren’t three-day weekends the best? If you had to work over Labor Day, I’m sorry to hear that – but thanks for your great work!

Anyway, hiking. My guy Dan and I drove to the other side of Hatcher’s Pass (you know, along the river toward Willow), where we found many more people enjoying the long weekend as well. There were families camping along the river, kids playing in the dirt, older couples watching birds, and scruffy men in camouflage climbing through the bushes. I also saw a bunch of parasailors floating down through the valley. It was sunny, festive, and completely unexpected!

Before I moved to Alaska, I would never have guessed how crowded it can be when you drive into the middle of “nowhere.” And before moving here, I may have thought this crowd was a bad thing. But yesterday was great! I met two men from Germany who were RVing across the state, I met a retired Army ranger who gave Dan some tips on moose hunting, and I talked to three little girls in the river about how beavers make lakes. We were part of our own impromptu community, and the friendly outdoor spirit was thick.

How can you tell when a group of strangers are truly good people? They share their blueberry patch with you!

I hiked until my legs fell off, and then I collapsed in Blueberry Heaven. Dan sacrificed his binoculars case for our loot (we were unprepared, not expecting Blueberry Heaven), and we picked berries in the sunshine with our wilderness neighbors until our fingers were too blue to recognize. Then we went home and made pie. Mmmmm. Pie.

Aside from making you hungry and upset that the weekend is over, I think my moral here is that it doesn’t take a city grid to create communities. We’re united by the way we treat one another – as neighbors, friends, and family – even when our only thing in common is a particular afternoon in the berry patch.    

Thoughts?

Have you cast your vote in “Where the One Should Go Next” yet? Would you like to now? The One for All team is chomping at the bit for a new project, and we need your input on where to direct our brainpower and handy skills next!

Not that we’ve been twiddling our thumbs in the meantime… During August we volunteered at the Mountain View Street Fair and the CU1 Learning Center kids raised money for our adopted Army Battery (they sold cups of lemonade – it was adorable). Starting tomorrow we’re going to spend 30 days raising funds for the American Heart Association, and on September 3rd we’re hosting an employee BBQ Showdown to raise more funds for our troops. We’re keeping busy!

Busy at work, that is. On the home front, I’m feeling a little sluggish about the change of seasons (and the cold-weather change in activity). Instead of cleaning up the yard last night or washing laundry, I ate an entire bowl of my mother-in-law’s famous Buffalo Cheese Dip. She’d be so proud to know that instead of doing home-work I spent my weekend consuming gross amounts of cream cheese and hot sauce.

 Why do people slow down once the weather starts to chill? Is this some sort of hibernation instinct? Is my body telling me to bulk-up on junk food for a long winter? Sure, the fall and winter months mean a little less opportunity outdoors – but there are still tons of fun and productive things to do inside the igloo. For instance, I’ve made a next weekend resolution to clean up the frightening pile of junk mail that’s camping on my kitchen table. This could mean enough paper waste to heat my home ‘til spring! How energy efficient! OK…so that’s productive, but not very fun. On the fun front, I think I’ll practice my microwave s’more skills (cause we’re out of cheese dip, you know). I have some cute little neighbor kids whose mom could use a break from snack duty.

What are you doing to keep busy lately? If you’re looking for a little more fun, let me know! Our One for All event calendar will be up soon, and that’s going to mean lots of new ways to keep busy, hang out with cool people, and help your Alaskan neighbors. Triple score!

Click to have your say in where the One for All team goes next.

It’s Friday afternoon, I’m at work, and the sun is shining ferociously outside. Yep, I’m dreaming about weekend fun! But you see I’m also working on a blog – so this is multi-tasking and totally kosher. Hurrah!

During my lunch today (in the employee lounge, because my Jeep’s lame radiator exploded), I read a neat article in Better Homes and Gardens about ways to keep busy and do good with weekend charity work. Since I won’t be driving into the weekend-fun sunset anytime soon, how’s a gal supposed to find a goodwill project within walking distance? Better Homes and Gardens, I asked and you answered. Plus, that bedspread on page 82 was adorable. You’re full of good stuff! *end plug*

 My magazine directed me to www.volunteermatch.org – a website that asks you to enter your zip code, and then it magically pulls up an event calendar of nearby volunteer opportunities. Pretty cool – but it gets even better! In a recent state of clairvoyance, the One for All team started work on an event calendar of our own. The final product will be up soon, and it will work like your personal Alaskan version of volunteermatch.org. This national website didn’t have any listings for my stomping ground of Palmer, AK – but you can be sure that our One for All calendar will have events to share from Nome to Ketchikan and everywhere in between.

So really, the question is still “what am I gonna do this weekend?” I have a few ideas of my own, some charitable and some not. Feel free to click that nice little comment button below, and tell me how you’re spending your last few days of summer too (yes, I said it. We all know it’s true).

• Pop the hood on my Jeep and see if some superglue will help.
• Weed my landlady’s flowers, ‘cause she has a new little baby to take care of and I know she could use the help.
• Go fishing, and provide a charitable dinner to some friends. That’s in the dream land where I catch fish. Oooo, that’s a whole other blog.
• Help my hubby finish his homework on FRIDAY, to promote peace, harmony, and more free time for the weekend.

…that’s all I’ve got for now. I don’t like over-planning on the weekends. Free time is the best. Ciao!

Thanks to one of your fellow One for All users, I have some cool news to report from our credit union CEO/President, Leslie Ellis. Check it out!

Poppy’s message:
I am a parent and employee of Enep'ut Children's Center in Fairbanks. Enep'ut has been in operation since the early 1970's and has served many families as a trusted and safe child care facility. Currently Enep'ut is the last private non-profit childcare left in our community and is operating on minimal revenue. Our center could use the title as The One. With quickly aging equipment and building costs on the rise a little community spirit could go a long way in reviving this cherished treasure at the corner [of] two Fairbanks Streets. Currently Enep'ut serves over 40 children and houses over 10 staff members who work hard everyday. Help us grow stronger, enrich more families lives in our community and be The One!
 
I fielded Poppy’s message to Leslie because our awesome CEO/President has been working for over a year with Lenetta Colbert from Open Arms and others in Fairbanks to create a "child care consortium." Here's what she had to say:

The child care consortium we're working on would enable a number of businesses to group together and fund a facility that would provide affordable child care in Fairbanks. I agree that there is a shortage, and we are attempting to work with UAF and others in the Fairbanks community to find a solution.  Poppy, would you be interested in joining our group? –Leslie

Poppy - I can put you in touch with Leslie and her contacts if you're interested. Let me know! Anyone else want to help?

Mollie at CU1 found this great article on CNN the other day. It's about a woman in New Jersey who was having trouble making her mortgage payment, so she decided to dust off some hidden skills and sell homemade apple cake to fight foreclosure.

In my pondering mood, I've decided this story highlights two things about human nature that we often forget (until a sweet human interest piece like this catches our attention). Let me share them with you!

1. People love cake - especially cake with a goodwill purpose (and baked-in apple goodness).

2. When the opportunity arises to help a neighbor in need, cake is merely a sugary excuse to lend that helping hand.

So, I'm not saying we all need cake-shaped incentives to care about another's misfortune. But in some way, trading baked goods for mortgage money does inspire people to give that extra dollar, go that extra mile. Is this because people need something in return in order to give? Would this New Jersey woman have lost her house if she'd simply asked for money? Well - I don't know. What do you think? Would you be more likely to open your wallet for a panhandler if they handed you a bouquet of dandelions in return? That kind of makes me smile. I think I definitely would.

At CU1, many of our employees do monthly payroll deductions for the Safe Harbor Inn in Anchorage. Basically, these employees approve a certain amount of their paycheck to be passed along to Safe Harbor before it even touches their hands. In return, they see a nice donation figure grow on their paystub, and this number represents the beds they've helped provide for homeless families in our community. Lynne Ballew, the Executive Director of Safe Harbor, also sends us a thank-you note each month to let us know our total CU1 donation per pay period. Here's a paraphrase of her July letter:

"Thank you so much for Credit Union 1's generosity! Your latest payroll deductions will pay for 33 safe, comfortable bed nights for the homeless at Safe Harbor. We deeply appreciate your ongoing support in making Anchorage a better place for all its citizens. You are all beyond awesome!" - Lynne

Thanks, Lynne =). See? This is our reward. We would still GIVE without the paystub tally or sweet letter from Lynne - but receiving these acknowledgements sort of drives home the value of what we've given.

My resolution of the day is to give more freely. I don't have a whole lot of money, but I can afford to give my time and skill - and these donations are just as valuable to someone in true need.

Last Saturday, our One for All crew gave its entire day to helping at the Mt. View Street Fair. I face-painted several hundred chubby little kid cheeks. My most prized memory of the event? Hearing a lone 10 year old who wanted a Batman mask say that this was "the greatest day ever." An intangible reward, but more ful-filling than frosted desert.

This past Saturday, over 3,500 hundred people gathered in Anchorage for the first ever Mountain View Street Fair. Did you make it to the party? If not, here are a few highlights of the day!

Raising the (tent) roof!

Lesley's here for the party =).

Our CU1 booth.

The One for All team: tired & happy.

The break dancers were VERY cool.

Pic is by "iamtheOne" on Photobucket!

 If you were stranded on a desert island and had to choose between watching a One for All video blog about money or swimming out to sea, would you choose shark-infested waters? 

No, the water's not warm. No, you can't use your imaginary internet access for anything besides oneforallalaska.org. No, George Clooney is not there!

My point is, would a money blog really be that horrifying to you, or would you secretly love to follow it even more than American Idol and those early morning Saved by the Bell re-runs?

An idea’s brewing here at CU1 that perhaps, considering our line of work and the fact that many of us are in the young adult/middle-aged demographic, we can offer you some words of wisdom about our personal money successes and failures as we try new things in life – like buying a car, house, or just balancing the check book (who does that?). Who knows, we can probably even share some tips and tricks on the money issues we see here every day – things that apply to your life and can help you improve your own situation. I think that sounds like a pretty sweet deal. Plus, this wouldn’t be stuffy, scary money talk. It’d be more relaxed, realistic, and possibly entertaining. Here’s hoping.

Personally, I feel lost in life’s money maze all the time, and I could use some extra tips from the CU1 pros. So I’m gonna talk to a few of our branch managers and other head honchos around here, and I’ll let you know what I find out about video blog interest. Meanwhile, tell me what you might want to hear about.

P.S. Don’t worry – this social service blog isn’t going anywhere. The money blog would be like this blog’s kid brother who we keep locked in the sidebar over there --------------------------------->

Hey! Last week’s talk about helping kids through First Book reminded me of this info from ADN:

The Food Bank of Alaska is providing free meals to local children at seven sites in Anchorage this summer. The meals are available to any child age 18 or younger on a walk-in, first-come first-served basis at these locations.

The Food Bank also is providing free lunches in 38 Alaska communities, working with the Girl Scouts Susitna Council summer camps and Boys and Girls Clubs of Alaska. The effort is part of a U.S. Department of Agriculture Summer Food Service Program.

Want to help the Food Bank with donations or volunteers? Click here!