Do You Round Up?
The Co-op makes it easy to remember
to Round-up at the Register to help our
community via Community Sustaining Fund
By Desdra Dawning, Co-op Member
As a member of the Board of the Community Sustaining Fund, I serve as scribe to report on our twice-yearly grant cycles. I was first introduced to CSF some years back, when I was shopping at the Co-op and was asked if I wanted to “Round Up for CSF”.
At the time, I had no idea how very vital this simple act—as a Co-op shopper donating my coin change—could be. It serves as a means for gathering funds for local social change organizations that are in need of a little project help or start-up funding. And now, if you request being put on the reminder list, your cashier can see a prompt on the register and ask if you wish—or not—to “Round UP”!
After a number of years, serving on the OCF Board, and as a member of the CSF Leadership Team, I have come to see this Round Up at the Register program as the Giving Arm of the Co-op, and to realize how grateful I am to the Co-op for having cooperatively supported the gathering of these funds all these years—since the 1980’s! Without the Co-op, the leadership team at the CSF would not have been able to do this good work in our community for the past 35 years!
During our Spring Grant Cycle, the CSF was able to offer financial assistance to the following worthy organizations in our community:
Helsing Junction Farm— for legal help in transferring ownership from senior to junior partners.
The Estuarium— to support their summer beach program for kids, including Covid precautions.
Metamimicry— to help them with a mycylium remediation project.
New Traditions— toward the purchase of a baby grand piano for their cafe and musical concerts. One was found from a local family who played on it in their home for more than 60 years.
Curiously, although the needs are deepening, recent grant cycles have seen fewer groups applying for these funds. So, if you know of any organizations that could use a little boost with a project they are working on that fits our criteria—looking for social change groups with progressive community-oriented projects—please pass the word on to them! Our next grant cycle with be in the spring of 2022.
We also hold an open invitation to anyone who appreciates the work we do and would like to participate with us as a member of our Leadership Team. Your own special skills
and talents will be most welcome. This is an excellent way to learn more about the many amazing organizations in our area that are doing such good work to make our world more sustainable and kind, and it is very rewarding to us to be able to support them financially in their endeavors. Visit our website at: oly-wa.us (No WWW) for more information.