Stand By And Lean On

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Photo from Stand By And Lean On #23 Leaving Hydration For Postal & Delivery Workers Photo is of cooler, water, and later in the day-a thank you written on it!

[standbyandleanon]

Stand By And Lean On #23 Leaving Hydration For Postal & Delivery Workers

1st of all-after a long hiatus from here, its good to be back!

I saw a viral video on social media of a small boy leaving a cooler with drinks on his front porch for the mail carrier.

Fabulous idea!

So I decided to copy it. I think that's the point of such videos. To inspire others to do the same or like. I know that's the intention with this blog.

Interestingly enough, I didn't leave the cooler in the building I live in. Instead I left it in a building I work in which is part residential. I & everyone else that's "part" of that building know the UPS & USPS workers by name.

Because it wasn't my residence, I went to CVS & purchased a disposable styrofoam cooler & the bottled water. I felt I was committing an environmental atrocity while trying to do a good deed. My best comparison of this would be when a flier tries to do something good from guilt of plane emissions.

I encourage you if you are to do this on your own turf or are more easily able to, to use a non disposable cooler.

An idea to build off of this is to make this a group activity in that the cooler could be left for the entire warm season & various people can add drinks. Take drinks back to their homes overnight to keep them cool. Add ice.

As someone who works outside regardless of the weather I sympathize with others that do the same. & people in labor-from mail carriers with heavy parcels to delivery people riding their bikes in high humidity sweat-A LOT. Additionally in the service industry a worker can feel anything from less than to unappreciated. This simple act of providing drinks on hot days helps keep people both physically & emotionally healthy.

Spinoff idea: My nonna is concerned with landscapers on sweltering days. Providing drinks for them is wonderful too.

Did you do this? Are you a service worker that was provided such? What about cold weather? What would you like to see provided then? How would you like to make this more environmentally friendly? Would a cooler & cups be preferable?

Write to me! [email protected]

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Photo From Stand By And Lean On #22 Leaving Coupons To Be Discovered Clockwise, Coupons With Corresponding Items, Newspapers Used For Coupons, My "Envelopes" For Organizing Then

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Stand By And Lean On #22 Leaving Coupons To Be Discovered

This is a simple one & the cost is nothing! I thought about why I wanted to do this after I had already done it. A couple of conclusions: -I live in an area with a rising cost of living, shuttered storefronts, so any financial help can only be a good thing. -My other blog pertaining to giving socks & such to homeless people, through experience I've learned it also benefits people with homes but without enough money to meet basic needs. I've seen with my own eyes I know someone who has a roof over their head going through the trash. -You do not need to make a special trip for this. When you're doing your grocery shopping in any mainstream supermarket* or drugstore you could keep coupons on you to leave in places. *I find both seniors and people living on tight incomes both use these types of stores vs the rising popular Fresh Direct, Soap, Chewy, and so forth. -If you do make a special trip I suggest going earlier in the day so as to allow a lot of time for the coupons to be found & used. I also think seniors tend to shop earlier in the day. Another thought for a special trip is going to a supermarket and/or drugstore in a low income neighborhood. -Where to get coupons? Sometimes you'll receive them with your receipts. If you want to use your coupons-by all means do so. We have to take care of ourselves! But instead of tossing them in the recycling (they're paper-recycle all your paper!) you could leave them in the shop. Some neighborhood free papers have coupons. You could take 2 or 3 for more coupon clipping. You don't have to make yourself nuts & take the whole stack unless you want to make a get together out of it-which is not a bad idea! If you get a big Sunday paper, those may have coupons in them. If your neighbor or friend gets that paper & they are not using the coupons you may ask them for the coupons. If you have recycling in your building, especially an indoor floor recycling, you could give a quick look in the bin to see if there are any such papers/coupons. A tip is I find it helpful to have my coupons organized in little envelopes for quicker distribution. You may not find all the products you have coupons for in 1 store. But you can save them for a different store trip. Any ideas to build on this? What about a way to use/give your store points should you be building them but not planning on utilizing the points/rewards? Write to me: [email protected]

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Photo from Stand By And Lean On #21 Thanking An Artist And An Art Center Left Is Birthday Present For The New York Earth Room Right Is Green Items For Elizabeth Sweetheart/The Green Lady

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Stand By And Lean On #21 Thanking An Artist & An Art Center

Thank You Presents For An Art Institution And An Artist- I've thought over & over how I want to write this. Recently, I embarked on 2 little similar projects-making thank you gifts. 1 for an art center. One for an artist. I did not plan on making a blog entry about it. But then I thought, "Why not?" To the, "Well why did you want to do this?" & "Why do you want to share the fact that you did it?" "What's the project?" I think a few things. A lot of people patronize an art center, museum, gallery, whatever, but then that ends there. Without thinking about it, the patronizing is thank you in and of itself. But I feel these institutions have life forces of their own. A very literal, if these walls could talk. So why not treat them like living entities. A place that has been dear to me is The New York Earth Room located at 141 Wooster Street. It is a permanent art installation of earth created by Walter De Maria. https://diaart.org/visit/visit/walter-de-maria-the-new-york-earth-room-new-york-united-states The keeper of The New York Earth Room, Bill Dilworth, an artist himself and caretaker of one of if not the very oldest hand turned clock towers in America, is a delightful man that just adds to the experience. https://www.google.com/amp/s/mobile.nytimes.com/2016/10/09/nyregion/a-keeper-of-earth-and-time.amp.html Recently Bill informed me it was the Earth Room's 40th birthday. Well I thought a present was in order! You don't turn 40 everyday! I went through my books and took quotes on earth & soil from a classifications, children's, new age, and gardening book & wrote them out with coloured pencils & put into a simple frame. I got a great thank you from Bill & I thought it was ok for him to speak on the earth's behalf too :) Next, I wanted to thank artist Elizabeth Sweetheart also known as The Green Lady. https://youtu.be/pE5h2kk0NTI And https://youtu.be/-1XDG4VfHGQ She lives in Brooklyn, always donned in green, and seeing her brings instantaneous joy. Maybe that alone makes me appreciate her so much. You can see in the videos she has a great personality. Maybe that's part of it. Maybe if you watched the videos she has a green association because of a trip relating to her father. I have a yellow baseball hat that was my father's & when I wear it I feel it'll be a great day. So maybe it's that. Or maybe I just like her commitment to something it makes me want to develop that. Whatever it is, I wanted to thank her. I gathered up green items around my home & left them at her stoop with a note written in green naturally. (She's public about her home. The door is painted green!) I already have ideas for the next 2 I want to thank. I like this physical creating of a thank you. An acquaintance of mine, Jess Pinkham is an avid postcard writer, including to those she admires. I quite enjoy that. Instagram.com/jestpinkham I've certainly said this before but I'm sure in such a digital age the tangible matters. Maybe more now than ever. & you stopping to create makes you think. And slow down. & focus on one thing. & there's a certain pride in that. & you'll get more ideas. & it's unique. & it shows you really thought about this, that you cared. Even the coolest, hippest, of people & places can feel down trodden or have tough times. A personalized reminder of their importance is always a good thing. Your mission is to show appreciation for an artist, museum, gallery, public art piece, in a personalized way. Living or deceased artists acceptable! Current or defunct museum, gallery, public art piece acceptable! Idea from this blog entry- find your person or institution's birthday & send them a happy one! I'm particularly interested in the lesser known, small, local heroes of the art world. Show me your work! Your thank yous! Artwork! Performances! Costumes! Postcards! Whatever you did to personalize your appreciation! Did you pay homage in a unique way to a non artist person or place that was not a personal friend of yours? Tell me about that too! [email protected]

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Photo for Stand By And Lean On #20: Letter Writing For Animals Clockwise: Letter to Snapple with Snapple fact I'm writing on, published letter to Our Town newspaper-response to article below it, Letter to Brooklyn Paper on a local supermarket

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Stand By And Lean On Project #20: Letter Writing For Animals

There was a point in time I wrote to newspapers constantly. It was a priority. A must do. Equal to teeth brushing. I would get all the papers that I could get my hands on, that I could read. And if I saw anything that needed to be addressed in line with animal welfare, I would write a letter. If a letter got published in a following edition it was like a high. I would have a moment on the subway where I felt like everyone knew who I was. I have an entire album of my clippings. & then I burnt out from that for awhile. I get that with most things I do. I'll throw myself fully into them & then I want to be fully out of them. As of the past yr though I've felt the need to compose a few. The photo post following this are 3 of my most recent letters, 2 to newspapers & one to Snapple. The Snapple letter, the very most recent, is also in the body of this entry. What do I want say about this practice? -Sometimes it seems trivial. Both in A) the topic what I'm writing on and B) The practice and results of letter writing. My answers to that: -Nothing is trivial -Even if one individual takes a reflection, you have been successful -If no one takes reflection from reading your writing, you have strengthened your brain that much more on the subject matter, you are more prepared for a future conversation on it. Therefore you are successful. Tip: If writing to a company and they offer inquiries both hard copy & electronically, do both. Make sure your hard copy is in proper letter form. You want to be taken seriously. Have you written to publications and/or companies on animal rights-animal welfare? I would love to see your work whether published or unpublished & share it here. Send to [email protected] Why does this matter more now than ever? I wrote this in Stand By And Lean On #13- Since Trump has taken office, the USDA removed public access to tens of thousands of reports that focused on animal welfare. These reports had lead to media recognition & exposure and in turn the crackdown of animal abuse. So we need to use all the tools we have, including letter writing, to bring as much awareness as possible. Most recent letter to Snapple: Hello, I wanted to pinpoint some information on Snapple "Real Fact" #470 Dairy cows drink up to 50 gallons of water per day. This is so much more complex than this statement. Without writing a novel, I just want to make some highlights. I won't even go in depth on the cruelty of the dairy industry, I'll only focus on water. -The dairy industry is a major if not the most pollutant of waterways. -The world including areas of the United States, people A) are not able to access clean water and/or B) face drought. -I have seen Many animal rights related videos, so the fact that this one still struck even me I feel says something. If you could give it just a few seconds, you'll see these cows are facing heat exhaustion. So 1) your fact is incorrect or B) 50 gallons clearly is not cutting it. https://www.facebook.com/VegetarianiVegani/videos/1441711915914314/ There is a section of the Snapple website in terms of charity/doing good work under, Environmental Initiatives and Fit and Active Lifestyles. As you can read in my e-mail the dairy industry, just in water alone, works against both of these topics. I encourage Snapple to research their facts, take the moral responsibility of using facts that have positive backing, and to use facts that do not give the consumer a false image. Thank You for your time. Respectfully, Victoria Booth

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Photo of a Humpback Whale tail, from Stand By And Lean On Project #19, Gotham Whale

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Stand By And Lean On Project #19: Gotham Whale

I was very excited to do this, I've been wanting to volunteer/do citizen science work for Gotham Whale for about a year now. Gotham Whale's mission statement can be seen on the main page at gothamwhale.org but in short Gotham Whale educates the public on Humpback Whales in local waters in addition to collecting data on them. The average 🐳 like you & me may assist in data collection by taking photographs via the boat ride they offer-look at Gotham Whale for details. You may then e-mail your photos to [email protected] Why is this important? 2 articles I would like to use to highlight this: -Humpback whales return to NYC for the first time in a century from the Times Union: https://www.google.com/amp/www.timesunion.com/news/amp/humpback-whales-have-returned-to-NYC-11208323.php The article cites how Humpback Whales have returned to NYC waters due to environmental clean up efforts. -on the flip of the coin, Trump Cancels Whale and Sea Turtle Protection from the Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/trump-cancels-whale-and-sea-turtle-protections/article/2625765 Now this article is in align with protections alongside the fishing industry, rather enviornmental, but it's all still relevant. We can see from article 1 what a difference can become when positive change happens, look even selfishly the benefits-now an inner city kid can go whale watching close to home. Being in an urban environment yet so close to nature makes a person see things differently. It makes you take time, focus, learn the meaning of value. I'm already saddened by what the outcome will be from article 2. Being a human bulldozer to the natural world, no one gains. -How can you help? Look at gothamwhale.org how you can participate in their citizen science work. There is also a section on the site if you have your own boat, how you can report findings to them. Is there something like this where you live? Have you participated in a like program? Have you been impacted mentally, emotionally by it? Myself, seeing the whales, I now look out towards the water differently. I thanked the whales in my head for allowing me to meet them. It's honestly a privilege. I'd love to hear from you! [email protected]

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Stand By And Lean On Project #18: Getting Tru Colour Bandages in Stores Photo is of one of the composed letters trying to get Tru Colour Bandages in a major chain store.

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Stand By And Lean On Project #18: Getting Tru Colour Bandages in Stores

Tru Colour Bandages are a product new, and new to me, as of a few months ago. These are bandages that come in variety of skin tones, not simply the peach ones we are all accustomed to. When I came across them I had a myriad of thoughts. Everything ranging from, “I can’t believe these are just being produced now.” To, “Well this is something I didn’t think of either. And that really is a shame.” Because the standard bandages, coming in nude, are not everyone’s nude. And as you can see in the letter I composed in my next photo post, we have character bandages, neon bandages, clear bandages. So my premise that Tru Colour Bandages should be available for everyone is not so crazy. & saying a person of color can just use the clear bandages is not acceptable. Because if Caucasian people have an option, then everyone should have an option. I went to the major chain drugstores in NYC: Walgreens (Walgreens now owns Duane Reade), CVS, and Rite Aid. Sure enough, no Tru Colour Bandages on the shelves. So to start out with I have written to the 3 corporations. Rite Aid gives you that opportunity online, Walgreens you may do online and physical mail, and CVS only physical mail. I wrote to each accordingly, doing both for Walgreens. If I do not receive a response of yes, Tru Colour Bandages will be in stores, my next move will be to form petitions which I hope people will sign abundantly. www.trucolourbandages.com

Are you a person of color & have had difficulty finding your shade in nude? What nude items in your skin tone would you like to see more readily available? Have you ever been made to feel trivialized for wanting a nude product in your skin tone? How do you feel that nude products in your skin tone, such as these bandages may not be easily accessible in stores but rather an individual has to order them online? Write to me! [email protected]

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Stand By And Lean On Project #17: You've Been Singled Out photo of reviews I've given

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Stand By And Lean On Project #17: You've Been Singled Out

This is an oh so simple one! It began when I was at Just Salad on the Upper East Side. The woman behind the counter was being given a very difficult time by a fellow patron. I offered her some words of encouragement, understanding, and commended her on her great service. But I thought I would take it a step further. I wanted her to get more recognition than just what I said directly to her. More than once I’ve been in a friend’s shoppe & I saw them scrolling through their online reviews. Upon that noticing I decided to write a Yelp review tailored to her. Henceforth, if her employer saw that, she may get praise. I think these tiny things matter. They are the seeds that have us go on & do great work. We all need a little encouragement now and again. Since then I’ve composed online reviews on employees I found either did stellar jobs or seemed a bit down trodden & I thought could use a boost. I hope at least one has received notoriety for it. How can you participate in this? So easy! Just look at the name tag or save your receipt and look at the name on it to write up a positive review on a employee you think deserves it. Could be on Yelp, Facebook, or even directly to the company. Have you had a good experience from someone giving you an all star review? I’d love to hear about it. Write me! [email protected]

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Recipients of Operation Prom Walk The Runway!

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Stand By And Lean On Project #16: Operation Prom

Today my friend Lisa Anselmo & I volunteered for Operation Prom! Level easy, free-cost would only be if you had to take time off of work to volunteer. Operation Prom provides prom attire to teens that may not be able to afford them otherwise. Additionally, it partners with other projects, such as teaching fashion courses. I encourage anyone needing assistance in any area of their life, if they see an avenue of someone or something trying to help-grab it. A lack of finances is no reason to be humble. Go out and get what you deserve! As a volunteer you have 2 opportunities, day before preparation & day of helping teens pick out clothes, cheering them on if they choose to present themselves on the runway. I gotta tell you, I can be a bit shy but it was such a positive and encouraging environment. (I, along with my friend Lisa volunteered for day of assisting.) All of these great kids from every type of background came. Boyfriends & girlfriends came. Girlfriends & girlfriends came. Boyfriends & boyfriends came. & everyone supported one another. The quality of attire was very high end too, these are not some hand me downs from 1982! I think we can all agree that we live in an ever more costly world. No one should feel left out, especially a young person, of a big event because they cannot afford what they want to wear. So it's not just the dress, the shoes, the suit. It's what those pieces bring the individual to. How to volunteer for Operation Prom: If you are interested in donating clothing, $, or your time for one of the event days (the Manhattan & Queens event days are still to come this month) & for more general information: operationprom.org If you cannot seem to find a chapter in your area & feel ambitious-start one! See about getting in good condition donated prom wear from the last few years, contact local & big box store & see if they would be interested in donating. We are more capable than we think. Be like a strand of Christmas lights, one bulb goes, the whole strand can go. But if you put yourself in the position of that new bulb, you can light the full strand. Have you participated in Operation Prom? Have you been a receiver from Operation Prom? Write to me: [email protected] Tip for event volunteers in NYC: get there early for a volunteer T-shirt or wear red & bring a name tag! I'm trying to do my + projects with friends. Happiness increases when shared. I have a list of friends I intend to hit up & see if they'd like to participate with me-so if you're a friend of mine reading this, brace yourself! My next thing I want to add in these entries is a little bit about each person that volunteers with me. Lisa Anselmo who volunteered with me today is a tireless animal advocate, savior, a maverick at small animal rehabilitation. Because of her panache with small animals she is the best pet sitter you could have if you are the parent of a rat, bunny, mouse, guinea pig, hamster-the list continues! If you are in need of such contact her! [email protected]

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Photo from Stand By And Lean On's 15th Project, "Upping Your Recycling Game" Food scraps & plastic going to compost & recycling bin.