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Calling All Volunteers
Written By: Sue Blair - Carpe Diem Farms | Issue: 2017/05 - May
It’s hard to imagine that 16 years have passed since we held our first Gar’s Boot Camp.
My brother, Gary Blair, a painting contractor by profession, had passed away suddenly in an auto accident in November 2000, shortly after leaving Carpe Diem and returning to south Florida for the winter. Working with my dad, prior to leaving they had painstakingly prepared and primed the stables for painting with plans to complete in the spring. That wasn’t in the cards for him but a few of his closest friends who had heard all about CDF and his volunteering to help me fulfill my dream decided in May 2001 to come to the farm and finish what he started. An accountant, two bankers, a hairdresser, and an x-ray technician joined my father, a retired general contractor who organized and led the very willing, unskilled team and me in the painting experience of a lifetime!
Others volunteered, preparing and bringing food and refreshments to keep this crew going! We laughed, we cried, we told lots of Gary stories, and we painted!
Don’t blink or 16 years will pass, my Dad joined my brother in heaven 10 years ago, and I hear them whispering in my ear, “It is beyond time to paint the stables and all the other buildings again, ask for help!” I’m reaching out to the community, seeking help to do it again! As Margaret Mead said, “A small committed group of individuals can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.” That has certainly been the case for Carpe Diem Farms everything that has happened at the farm has been driven by volunteers for 25 years!
For the record, after we finished painting the stables all in that one week, we painted an out barn and The Lodge! Back then, we hand painted with brushes and rollers. I’ve invested in a sprayer to help this time! Now, if we can just master using it, the jobs will be done in no time.
Experience isn’t needed, merely a generous heart and a good sense of humor! Help us celebrate our 25 anniversary of giving back to our community.
Carpe Diem Farms is a 501©3 non-profit, educational foundation. If you‘d like to help or for more information, call (828) 526-2854.
