Tea at the Blaine House

Thirty profiled WWC graduates were recognized at a Tea at the Blaine House on November 6, 2008.

Graduates were representative of all four WWC program areas: Leadership, Asset Development, Workforce Development, and Microenterprise in the new publication “Creating Your Future: 30 Stories from the Maine Economy.”

Graduates heard remarks from UMS President Allyson Hughes Handley, shown here with Abby Comee-McCourt, a profilee and UMS Student, and Jennifer Moore Temple, a profilee and owner of Buzzie Bee Diapers in Rockland, with WWC microenterprise staff Eola Ball.

Other speakers included State Representative Jayne Crosby Giles, State Senator Libby Mitchell, and Muriel Mosher, WWC Advisory Council.

Making Miracles 2008: encouraging you to shop locally

United Mid-Coast Charities has teamed up with Bangor Savings Bank, Village Soup, and Elm Street Printing & Graphics to promote a holiday shopping activity - Making Miracles 2008. On Saturday December 13, participating merchants (Buzzie Bee is one!) will donate a portion of their proceeds to UMCC. 100% of donations will be distributed through UMCC to local non-profits. So, please visit our website - purchases can be made online or by calling us (542-0505) or email (info@buzziebee.com). We offer free delivery along our diaper service route.

Given that Buzzie Bee Diapers is more of a service - and without a brick and mortar storefront, we will donate a portion of our profits from the entire month. Check back to see just how much we're able to send to UMCC.

Here's some information about United Mid-Coast Charities:

Founded in 1942, United Mid-Coast Charities has just completed its 65th year. In its 64th year, UMCC distributed over $500,000 to 60 agencies in Knox and Waldo counties. Just as UMCC has endured for 64 years of giving to charitable organizations serving people in need, so has its original style of operating. They do not waiver from three important tenets:

1. All contributions are distributed. No administrative deductions are ever made.
2. UMCC is an all-volunteer organization. There are no paid staff, only volunteer workers, including their hard-working Directors.
3. An endowment pays all expenses like postage, paper, printing, CPA & office services.

UMCC is determined to keep these tenets for the next 65 years!

Contributions are dicided amongst the agencies with the greatest need. In general, the Directors take into consideration many categories of need as requested by organizations. The funds get divided in approximately this way: 40% to Children's Services, 27% to Community Service, 15% to Medical Service, 13% to Educational Service, and 5% to Adult Literacy Programs. Upon request, contributions may be directed to a specific organization.

The Ultimate Test Drive

A little over a week ago, a mom who is taking a Women's Studies class on Women and the Environment contacted me about trying cloth diapers on her toddler for a month as her class project. She was turned off by the start up cost for cloth, particularly when she wasn't sure she'd stick with it after the project ended. I decided to loan her a Test Drive Set (which is a bunch of diaper service diapers and supplies to try at home) free of charge (normally it's $16/week with a $175 refundable deposit) and allow her to use my name in her blog about the project. Needless to say, I'm delighted it's going well... Thought you might enjoy reading how she and her daughter are doing as they try to Go Cloth.

all over Maine this weekend

On Saturday, Buzzie Bee is splitting up - Broo will promote our humble business in Rockland at PenBay's Health Fair and I'll be doing the same in Topsham at the GoGreen Expo. We're hopeful that this divide and conquer approach will bring in lots and lots of new customers! If you'd like to find out more, give us a call 542-0505.

speech!

I was asked to represent the 30 Women, Work and Community graduates at yesterday's tea...

I studied costuming in school because, while I love the theater, I prefer to be backstage, rather than in the spotlight. British playwright Gladys Stern, said “Silent gratitude isn’t much use to anyone” so I want to thank - out loud - the dedicated staff and supporters who make up Women, Work and Community. Every woman here today is in a better place, personally and professionally, because of the support, guidance and practical tools they found through Women, Work and Community.

In particular I’d like to thank Eola Ball. When I interviewed for Eola’s New Ventures course, I thought I was just going to write a little business plan. I had no idea where Eola and New Ventures would take me and my little business idea.

Five years ago, I was a new mother whose priorities had shifted. I moved to Maine to escape a taxing job with a long commute. Since I had to work - I wanted to get in, do my job, and get home to be with my family. In Rockland, I could walk to work and my job covered my family’s expenses quite nicely. I’d been there about 18 months when I learned that the job was moving almost an hour away - and I was really enjoying the community and the quality of place we’d found in Rockland - more so than I enjoyed the job itself.

I didn’t know what to do - commute again and be miserable yet feel financially secure? Look for a comparable local job which probably didn’t exist? Or try something even bolder - build a business based on what matters most to me? To help me think, I participated in a little retail therapy - downtown at the Grasshopper Shop. I came across a magnet with the zen saying - Leap and the net will appear. I bought the magnet and I leapt, submitted my resignation the next day and crossed my fingers, in hopeful anticipation of that net. Then, I met Eola. Now I’m up to my elbows in diapers - For the last three years, I’ve changing the world, one baby at a time. Without Eola’s guidance, I would have given up in the first six months. She’s prepared me for the ups and downs of small business.

This is what I learned from Eola:
1. Pay yourself from day one. The amount doesn’t matter as much as this act of valuing yourself.
2. Find a cheerleader. This is the person who consistently encourages you because they truly believe in you and your success. Eola is mine - and maybe she’s yours too.
3. Be someone else’s cheerleader - being passionate about someone else’s success will make you both stronger.
4. Listen to your inner apsara. Some facilitators introduce a talking stick to keep class conversations moving. With Eola - it’s an apsara figurine. In eastern religions, the apsara is a divine symbol of happiness. If you’re quiet long enough, and you listen deep enough, apsara will speak and you’ll discover the path to your own happiness.

Women Work and Community graduates are successful because of tireless cheerleaders like Eola. You meet us with acceptance and without judgement - you acknowledge our past, our present, and our future. Then you start to push, push and gently nudge us some more until we embrace the potential that you’d seen all along. Thank you.

tea at the governor's mansion

Today I'm headed to Augusta for tea at the Blaine House. Buzzie Bee Diapers was selected for inclusion in Women, Work and Community's 30th Anniversary Profile Book. Of all the women who've worked with WW&C over the years, thirty were selected. The profile book will include a description and photo of Buzzie Bee Diapers.

The photo was taken by Sarah Szwajkos/Damn Rabbit Studios. She did a photo shoot at our home this fall. Being camera shy, I wanted to have the girls involved too. Sarah was great with them, even tolerating Liefe's need to have a stuffed horse in every photo. Towards the end of the shoot, Haydee was a bit tired (read: cranky) so Broo took her inside. We finished up on the porch, Liefe and me, surrounded by piles of (clean) diapers as neighbors and friends walked by, probably wondering what Team Temple was up to now.

auction - bid now

At little harbor technology's request, we've made a donation to the Pen Bay Chamber of Commerce's annual auction. Buzzie Bee was a chamber member a few years ago and now maintains an affiliation with the chamber through our membership in CamRock Network. What's great about the auction this year? It's in person and online! If you or someone you know is looking for a great gift for new or expectant parents, check this out: one month of diaper service!