We have just learned our county building inspector, Mark Debry, is in critical condition in the hospital, with swine flu and [likely] pneumonia.

Mark is an ally of ours, and has been very helpful for us, in the Baxter building and on affordable housing projects.  Please take a moment and think of him as you are able.

In an effort to keep everyone healthy, but not to inspire any sort of panic, please consider the following precautions:
The only portals of entry for the H1N1 virus are the nostrils and mouth/throat.
1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications).

2. “Hands-off-the-face” approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (unless you want to eat, bathe or slap).

3. Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don’t trust salt). H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/ nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one. Don’t underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.

4. Similar to 3 above, clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water. Blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.

5. Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C. If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.

6. Drink as much of warm liquids (tea, coffee, etc) as you can. Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.

“Bike & Build organizes cross-country bicycle trips which benefit affordable housing groups.” [link here]

Specifically, they fund projects planned and executed by young adults[!!!!!!!!].

GUESS WHO JUST RECEIVED $6500 FROM BIKE AND BUILD?

Yep. The EPIcenter did.

The long story:

Back in May, we were contacted by Bike & Build to be a host site for the cross country trip of one of their teams. The Community Center often hosts these biker groups, biking for cancer or awareness on a myriad of issues. The EPIcenter staff took over the logistics and communication with this group. Turns out this organization raises money for affordable housing. Bikers raise $4000 on their own, from family, friends, et cetera, before they leave the east coast. They bike across country, every mile, raising awareness about the need and benefit of affordable housing and complete building projects along the way. Green River, in this case, was just a one-night host site; we were asked to provide accommodations, showers, and food for the 35 riders. So when they came in August, we did just that, plus for the ones that arrived early we took them out to the river beach. We also gave a tour of the Baxter building, and explained our goal and aspirations for Green River. We enjoyed having them as guests in Green River, and were reinvigorated about what we were doing, and were excited to see others just as passionate about affordable housing in particular. We even made Bike & Build a “Something We Love” post [here].

We applied for a $10,000 grant to use towards the renovation of the Baxter building (as part of our “non-federal matching funds”). Our grant was denied! HOWEVER, each rider can give $500 to which ever non-profit they want. So if they like a grant, but no one else is voting for it, then they can at least give $500 to that non-profit. Out of the 35 riders that came to Green River, a whopping 13 (37%) decided to do just that! That multiplies to $6500!  They said they were particularly impressed by the fact that our project was not just one house, but a whole affordable housing program, and that we specifically, young professionals, were making it happen.

Our favorite Bike & Builders are as follows:
Meryl Kass, Kate Geronemus, George Zisiadis, Ryan Farr, Hilary “Colin” King, Steven Harris, Julie Nociolo, Robert Pecchia, Anne-Lise Cossart, Lawrence Miller, Maxwell Kraft, Clarissa Samiley, and Lara Crystal-Ornelas

Thank you Bike & Build, and thank you Providence>San Fran bike team. We have already decided we will be applying to be a work-site for next year’s team, as we will have multiple affordable houses underway and needing volunteer labor.