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This is a guest post by Carmen Babb.

Most of us would like to make a difference and many of us can honestly say we get to in some way. But….it seems like I hear a lot of people say, “I’d love to get involved with community projects, but I just never hear about anything until it’s too late.” Well, here’s an incredible opportunity to really make a difference!

Oasis Community Church (http://www.facebook.com/l/5afde;www.oasiswestsalem.com) and Chapman Hill Elementary School have partnered up to do the first ever Oregon Cargo of Dreams Project! This is a huge project with a short timeline and we will be the first Oregonians, in fact the first group from the entire West Coast, to take on the challenge!

So, what is Cargo of Dreams?

Cargo of Dreams is an organization that coordinates the conversion of regular shipping containers into schoolhouses (edutainers) or medical facilities (meditainers) for impoverished villages in South Africa and around the world. You can learn more about Cargo of Dreams and what they’re all about at http://www.facebook.com/l/5afde;www.cargoofdreams.org.

How can you help?

There is an empty shipping container, purchased by Oasis Community Church, placed behind West Salem High School in Salem, Oregon. This container will be framed, plumbed, dry walled, tiled, and stocked. It will include three sections: a kitchen area, bathroom area, and school room area.

We have the container, and we have a long list of supplies needed. What we need now is community involvement! You can get involved however you’re most comfortable.

We have needed materials broken out into “packages” so you can commit to buying or fundraising to purchase a package, or you may have a connection with someone willing to donate materials… Estimated package costs average a few hundred dollars…some more, some less.

Maybe you’re not up to taking on the commitment of a package? You can donate time, money, or you can commit to doing your own little fundraiser to raise money for the project!

The point of this project is to help a community in South Africa and be a huge blessing to them. How we accomplish this….is up to you! We want people to get creative! We want this to be a community project!

On our own, the project is daunting and expensive. With your help, we will be a community united helping a community in need.

If you are interested in participating in the Salem, Oregon Cargo of Dreams project in any way, please contact either Dave or Carmen Babb for more details and to talk about how you’d like to help!

Dave Babb – davebabb2@gmail.com or 503-551-6866
Carmen Babb – carmenbabb@gmail.com or 503-551-9690

Okay…some of you know that I have been in the process of bringing a real estate agent into my firm.  Today I was down at the Real Estate Agency with John Kirk, making it official.  John is a Principal Broker like myself so that my company can still serve buyers and sellers without dealing with issues of disclosed limited agency.

John and I did a transaction together almost two years ago now for a great house for my clients in the Richmond Neighborhood.    So I just wanted you all to know that there will be another agent blogging on here probably in the next couple of months.  Poor John is going to jump into the blogging fold so you all be nice to him…especially my favorite grammar police commenter, Recent Buyer.

John went to graduate school, and if there are any other Whitman Alums, he’s one of you.  If you are looking for a laid back real estate agent with a highly professional attitude, then John Kirk is who you are looking for.    Laid back and professional really do go together.

John is an avid brewer…that’s right, this guy brews beer and teaches classes on how to brew beer.  He loves his motorcycle and I would expect to see some posts from him on great rides in the area as well as a few on the local micro-brew scene and maybe…if you are really nice and use him as your agent, he might treat you to some of the stout, Guinness type beer he is brewing in time for St. Paddy’s day.

But, I think you’d have to call him (503-871-3300) pretty soon…St. Paddy’s day is just around the corner.