Daily Kos, It has been a while. Sorry, I've been a bit busy these last 4 years helping to start Veterans Green Jobs, building the Veterans Green Bus, and Helping get United Peace Relief organized into an effective non profit. We have been pretty successful until the fire.
Daily Kos, It has been a while. Sorry, I've been a bit busy these last 4 years helping to start Veterans Green Jobs, building the Veterans Green Bus, and Helping get United Peace Relief organized into an effective non profit. We have been pretty successful.
Veterans Green Jobs has grown from an idea to a multimillion dollar a year non profit. Helping veterans get access to training and jobs in green industries throughout the west.
Last April, when the Congress cut 77% of our funding for Colorado's Weatherization Assistance Program, I took one of the first pink slips and purchased the Veterans Green Bus from VGJ.
Since then, members of the Non Profit we started after Hurricane Katrina, United Peace Relief have been preparing the Veterans Green bus for it's mission to respond to natural disasters with sustainable energy solution and a veteran response teams.
On Oct 29th 2012, I got a call from Team Rubicon USA to help them respond the Hurricane Sandy. As a volunteer with that organization I offered to use the Veterans Green Bus to bring in tools volunteers and the supplies necessary to set up a forward operating base. Their response was to request that I drive the bus to Chicago and pick up other TR members and the tools needed at the Home Depot. They instructed me that the Home Depot Foundation would cover the costs of the tools.
By Nov 2, we were in Rockaway, NY setting up our base camp and helping people pull the debris that was once their treasured memories out of their basements and first floors, cutting down trees and shoveling sand.
By Nov 6th, Team Rubicon massed more than a hundred veterans to assist in the mucking and gutting and organizing teams of spontaneous volunteers that came to help every day. By Nov 11 Veterans Day we had thousands.
Team Rubicon partnered with several Non Profits including New York Cares, Americorps, Conservation Corps, and the Friends of Rockaway to organize a effective rebuilding effort that would continue after Team Rubicon pulled out by Dec 3rd.
I was asked to keep the Veterans Green Bus on station for and additional two months to maintain the continuity of the training and advice the organizations of operating a forward response base camp.
That duty lasted until recently when I was given a new mission to secure musical instruments for a Irish Music Program in Rockaway, NY. In case you don't know about Rockaway, NY. it is made up of active and retired police and firemen. St Patric's Day is a mazing event in Rockaway. Ed Shevlin is a Sanitation Worker who picks up the trash all day and studies old Gallic literature. He is the man that made the request to fine the instruments.
Since Hurricane Katrina I've been working with the Feel Good Tour assisting them in finding music programs in need. I gave Bill Hudson a call in Roanoke, VA. just to forward the Ed Shevlin's request. He responded by inviting the Veterans Green Bus to attend an event to gather instruments and raise the funds to transport them to NY.
We came to Roanoke a week ago and were at a home depot getting some supplies before the event when the bus would not start. After several attempts to diagnose the problem I started to make calls to local bus companies and mechanics to find help. We were able to restart the bus after a local mechanic showed me how to jump the starter and we are able to get to the event at the Roanoke Community HIgh. While there another mechanic came to help. He installed a jump wire and switch so that we would not need to comb under the bus to start it. He said it was temporary and that we should replace there faulty wire before too long.
I should have read more into that statement. because on the way from the event we had a electrical fire in the starter motor.
Now,we are stranded inRoanoke the instruments were saved and the bus looks lie it can be fixed.
We are now raising money for the tow charges and repairs. If you can help your donation is tax deductible.
Gordon Soderberg
Executive Director & Veterans Chair
United Peace Relief
Program Director
The Veterans Green Bus Project
(985) 640-1801
gordonsoderberg@mac.com
www.unitedpeacerelief.ning.com
EIN 51-0555852
Thu Apr 04, 2013 at 6:48 AM PT: We are towing the bus today to a yard where we can work on her. We are making an attempt to raise the funds to rebuild on Indie Go Go. We have 27 days to raise 25k please share the link. http://www.indiegogo.com/...