The Progressive THINKERS: May 2014

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

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AWARE RECYCLING KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN - Please share and give at least one dollar to get homeless people off the street

Building healthy Communities around the world with recycling

by AWARE

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AWARE uses recycling, education, the arts, collaboration, job creation and economic development to build healthy Communities.

It is our goal to build a sustainable model that can be reconstructed anywhere on the planet and begin helping that community. The purpose of each model is to help local and global economies, families, culture and the environment of that region.

Aware - HD 1080p.mov - Google Drive

In collaboration with Will Make Film for Food we are combining recycling, film, technology and innovation to create high quality films and film equipment that is affordable and open to projects with a positive message. Now this is art!

It does not end here though. In these past 8 years of building; we've learned a lot. One of those being: for very little money, we can create a lot of jobs and do a lot of good in our community.

We have already secured a warehouse! The AWAREhouse! Here we are using this location to create art work and drinking glasses out of recyclable material donated to us by one of Southern California’s largest craft breweries; build film equipment out of used electronics; and it is serving as Will Make Film for Food’s first film studio!!!!

Right now it is our goal to open 3 more recycling centers prior to the end of the year. This will create 18 jobs in our community and give us an opportunity to collect more recyclable material to turn into art!!!! Previously, with just one recycling center in operation we were able to help over 15 people off of the streets, through whatever it was they were going through and into jobs providing for themselves. We were also able to keep over 2 million pounds of recyclable material out of our local landfill!

Each center will offer the public a location to recycle and repurpose their used goods, and get paid for it. Here’s how it works: They bring us their recycling. We pay them money for it. And the money we generate we use to put on community programs!

The purpose of each model is to help local and global economies, families, culture and the environment of that region. Any additional money you are generous enough to support towards this project will be used as follows: It is our goal to build a sustainable model that can be reconstructed anywhere on the planet and begin helping that community. In order to build a model that can be reconstructed anywhere in the world, we will need to become economically independent.

Given the fragility of the State budget and the fluctuation of the raw materials market; it is our goal to reduce our reliance upon the State redemption value for operating a recycling collection center and processing facility from 100% to 0 within 3 years.

This project is a model that will incorporate the collection, processing, manufacturing and composting of all reusable and recyclable material. We will use any and all additional cash flow from this Kickstarter to get started on this model by purchasing processing and manufacturing equipment. Industrial paper and plastic shredders, more trucks, kilns, laser engravers and 3D printers are first on our list. Each piece of equipment will create a minimum of 4 jobs in our Community, generate another stream of revenue for our charity and bring us one step closer to having this model that we can bring anywhere on the planet and begin helping that community.

Anyone who supports this project; first and foremost: Thank you! Here’s our thanks to you: check out the rewards section and figure out on what level you’d like to get involved. You can be some of the first people on the planet to start rocking the AWARE gear and show your support.

The more awareness we raise; the more good we can do in our Community and the more fun we can have while doing it. Thank you very much for getting involved!!!! Make sure you keep tuning in. As our Kickstarter progresses we’ll be keeping you up to date with video feeds and a couple more unique surprises I know you’ll enjoy. Thank you again! Peace and One Love!

Risks and challengesLearn about accountability on Kickstarter

As with anything, there are always risks. This includes employee retention; program management; permitting and zoning issues; and budget responsibility, sustainability and expansion.

To overcome many of these challenges we have already hired a third party Professional Accountancy firm to handle all of our book keeping and taxes (Batten Accountancy; they are awesome!!!!); Paychex to handle our payroll; and once we move forth on this project we will hire a legal team to handle all zoning, permitting and patent issues as we grow. We will also bring a grant writer on board to help us expand what we're doing!

This will free us up to do what we're passionate about: building healthy Communities!