As we gear up for the warmer months ahead, I’m excited to share some fantastic news regarding our 24 Hour Citizen Project ––especially for our furry pals and their humans. With the green light from the city, we are now setting our sights on getting these stations up and running just in time for the peak of summer. Imagine strolling through our vibrant downtown area, knowing that convenient and accessible waste stations are at your service whenever your furry companions need to answer nature’s call.
These strategically placed stations are designed to provide convenient and accessible locations for pet owners to dispose of waste responsibly. Each station will be equipped with waste bags, a disposal bin, and informative signage, making it easier than ever for pet owners to clean up after their pets while enjoying the heart of our city. By promoting responsible pet ownership, we aim to foster a cleaner and healthier environment for everyone to enjoy.
As we eagerly await the installation of these pet waste stations, I invite you all to continue spreading the word and championing responsible pet ownership in our downtown area. Thank YOU –– our amazing community –– for your unwavering support and enthusiasm. I can’t wait to see you all out there with your furry friends by your side!
Warmest regards, Gabrielle Keaton of Team Fais Doo Doo
Hello again everyone! We have exciting news from the Abby’s Acre team. We have completed all the kits and have started distributing them! We have given our first one to a gulf war era veteran here in Freetown! We have 4 more scheduled this week to 2 post 9/11 army vets and 2 Vietnam vets. We are also talking to the HERO program in Opelousas to receive several kits after we have given the initial 15 to put on their campus.
We have had our share of difficulties throughout this process. We had 3 different rebuilds after having some issues with our initial designs, as well as finding it difficult to find veterans who are interested in this program. Through our growing network of veterans we have had a recent spike in interest. One of the biggest challenges is coordinating installation of the garden and the boxes. Fortunately we have several volunteers available to help me install these!
The biggest change to our design is the change from a wooden vermicomposter to a plastic one. We had continuing issues with the wooden boxes leaking even with plastic liners. Although its not the most eco friendly option. We feel that the ease and convenience will encourage people to continue using it.
We are excited to grow this program over the summer and offer these kits all over Acadiana! Thanks again for your continued support. We’ll be tagging you our upcoming B6 posts!
Since you last heard from us in December, Team Sensory Grooves has been “strutting our stuff” in preparation for the grooviest night coming in Acadiana – Sensory Grooves: Silent Disco Prom! We look forward to celebrating our sensory and neurodivergent 14 to 18 year olds (8-12th grade) community on Saturday, April 27, 2024, at Wonderland Performing Arts. Team Sensory Grooves guarantees a night to feel accepted, understood, and celebrated.
As this is your child’s night to shine and showcase the star they are, we are encouraging comfortable formal attire. They will groove to the beats in their individualized headphones through Dohm Collective out of New Orleans. Each attendee will be in control of the volume, ensuring they can feel their best while dancing or simply sitting back and relaxing to their choice of music!
In January, our friends at BWPR and Montz Design completed the designs, event information, and Eventbrite page where a parent or guardian can request a ticket to the prom. This link will go live soon, so stay tuned and visit educationdestination.org for additional details! We are eager to begin sharing in the excitement on social media and around Acadiana in the upcoming weeks. If you spot a post or flyer, please share it or take a picture, then blast this wonderful evening to your community. We want to make sure everyone who can attend will be there, grooving to their personalized beats.
One of our primary goals is for our children to feel celebrated by experiencing a night dedicated to those within a unique and misunderstood community. It is an evening for them to feel like royalty and shine in a friendly and safe environment. We are diligently working to find party favors and volunteers who understand the needs of those attending. Additionally, we are looking at the food we serve that evening to meet any possible dietary restrictions. And if you have ever danced so much you need to quench your thirst, then you know the importance of having light refreshments! Whether through individualized music, party favors, drinks, or snacks, we will have what is needed to cater to everyone’s needs! But that is just the start!
Upon entering, an immediate photo opportunity with a professional photographer from Lynn’s Captures Photography will make each child feel like they are on the red carpet!
And parents or guardians, we are planning for you, too! If you want to take this opportunity to have a few hours to yourself while your child is grooving, that is an option. We will also have a suite on-site dedicated to you near the prom.
Upcoming for Team Sensory Grooves is to finalize all invoices and send payments, create decorations to make the venue as magical as possible, and promote the event so we can get tickets filled and aid in growing your child’s social circle!
We are ecstatic as we continue progressing into the final stages of Sensory Grooves: Silent Disco Prom! This night will surely be an evening to celebrate the stars of our community in a safe, friendly, and accepted environment.
Who knew that doing a project like this was going to be so people and relationship-centered? (Everyone but us probably knew it, but we finally caught up – ha!). Since we last wrote, we have been doing a lot people-ing.
We had a great Build Bash with the folks from Abby’s Acre, getting to explore their land and see all of the great stuff they have going on. Meeting some more of the team was fun, and we are very excited about our plans to collaborate this year. During that visit, we were able to co-create some building plans for the Art Closets using some incredible software that then converts this abstract idea into specific steps and processes to make the vision come to life. We are working toward three “little free library” sized Art Closets and two larger “kitchen cabinet” sized Art Closets. The Abby’s Acre folks were supportive and encouraging in helping us to get a dream into a concrete plan for wood and nails.
During that visit we were also able to get our hands dirty, helping out to build one of their fabulous bat boxes and show off our power-tool-savvy. We talked events for the future, including some really exciting things for the community to come hang out and get their (metaphorical and literal) hands dirty along with us. We couldn’t be more happy to have this collaboration going and credit it all to the 24 Hour Citizen process.
The second big update is related to our first Art Closet install. We met with the folks at J. Wallace James and planned for a location and the process for teaming up. Our first larger “kitchen cabinet” size Art Closet will be housed on the school property and will give both the J.W. James community and the surrounding neighborhood community a place to donate and access art supplies. Our team member, Missy, (who is also the full-time art teacher at J.W. James) was also able to be celebrated a bit by the school and the greater Lafayette Parish School System. The LPSS communication team stopped by and got a photo of Missy and some of her students with the giant check from the big event. The kids were blown away by the giant check – it was a big hit. This also allowed for the introduction of our design contest to the kids at J.W. James. The 4th and 5th grade art students will be invited to create a design for their Art Closet, which will then be voted on, and the winning design will be co-created by the classes on the Art Closet. The kids are thrilled to be able to leave their mark and to get their hands involved in the process. There’s a temporary art supply donation box (painted by us) in the main office of J.W. James while we await the project’s completion. We’ll keep y’all updated on this process. We’ll need you, Community, to get your vote in for the winning design, too!
We have been getting our hands into some other fun things, spreading the word about the Art Closet vision and gaining supporters. We’re excited about the new studio over at Borderless Color (@borderless_color on Instagram) and the potential for more collaboration with them. We also linked up with the folks with the Free Little Art Gallery on Roosevelt St., so we have been sharing content for one another and they were kind enough to stop by and donate some great art supplies for the Art Closet currently living on Audubon (check our social media for addresses: @AcadianaArtCloset).
The timeline for our project is very much in the “hurry up and wait” phase – so don’t let the updates pass you by. When things start happening, they are going to happen FAST. We would hate for you to get left behind and miss out on the celebration along the way. Be sure to follow us on social media, stop by the Art Closet from time to time to see what kind of supplies might spark your creativity, and we would be so appreciative of shares on social media and you talking us up in real life among your friends and family. Our hearts are still so full and we are so excited about all of the potential ahead of us – and we want you on the team, too! If you are passionate about the arts, from making it to looking at it or just advocating for the power of the arts in people’s lives, you are one of us! Let’s make magic happen for Acadiana. <3
What a busy quarter it’s been! We have been busy re-designing our boxes. After 2 test kits went out, we had several big design flaws surface, and we had to change the materials with which we were building. Because the boxes were made from rough cut lumber the weight was considerably heavier than we originally expected. The result was significant difficulty in installation. To mitigate this, we reduced the dimensions of several of the items as well as a redesign of what hardware we will be using. We also changed our installation method to make it easier on our volunteers.
The shop we were set up to rent has also recently moved, and our master carpenter is exceptionally busy, so our workaround has been borrowing tools and setting up in another empty shop. This has allowed us to work on boxes for free but limits what tools are available.
As of this writing, we have 4 completed (updated) kits and another big build day tomorrow. I’m expecting to have another 4 completed, with the wood processed and cut to finish the other 7 shortly after. With the materials we’ve been able to gather, we are hoping to build another 5-6 kits past the 15 promised!
I hope you’re all wagging your tails with excitement because I’ve got some paws-itively awesome news to share about our pet waste station project!
I’m thrilled to announce that after discussions and collaboration with the city, we’ve officially got the green light to install pet waste stations on public property throughout our beloved Downtown Lafayette! Now that we have obtained necessary approval, our focus shifts to the planning phase. Over the coming months, our team will be working at marking key “hot spots” for pet waste throughout the downtown district and then, begin the installation process. We are committed to engaging with local businesses and resident pet owners throughout this process to ensure that the chosen locations align with the needs and preferences of our community members.
Our target is to have all ten pet waste stations installed and operational by the summer of 2024. While there is still much work to be done, I am confident that with your continued support, we will achieve this goal and enhance the livability of Downtown Lafayette for both residents and visitors alike.
I want to thank each and every one of you who has been a part of this journey so far. Your enthusiasm and passion are what make our community truly special. Stay tuned for further updates!
All the best, Gabrielle Keaton of Team Fais Doo Doo
