A Whole Bunch of Peace, Love, & Joy

Katie and I recently did a holiday card for the project called A Whole Bunch of People. It’s a tribute journal of volunteerism and engagement dedicated to the life and memory of Jessica Lutton Bedient who passed away in October of this year after being involved in a severe car accident with her new husband Tony. A truly tragic story, but as Jessica devoted much of her life to helping many humanitarian causes in her community and around the world, the project encourages all those who knew her to do the same. And then, to pass it on.

• Donate of yourself in gratitude. Mentor a youth, paint a playground, rake a yard, buy a friend lunch and spend time listening, and encourage those you have touched to donate themselves and continue to PASS IT ON. Then, inspire others by writing about it here on the Share Your Story page.

As Jessica was a great friend of Katie’s, we’re very grateful to be involved with such an important effort with so many wonderful people.

If we have your address, you might actually get a holiday card from the Kemerlings this year. And if one doesn’t make its way to you via the physical USPS mail, consider this the next best thing as we wish you all a whole bunch of peace, love and joy. Pass it on.

A Whole Bunch of People {dot} ORG

A STORY OF VOLUNTEER DESIGN

Personal pledge cards for our community group Lincoln Green by Design.

This article is part of The Volunteer Design Chronicles appearing on Design Observer.

On a random weekend evening my wife and I decided to sit down and write some lines about environmental stewardship. They turned into personal pledge cards for a community organization I got myself involved with called Lincoln Green by Design. The cards were designed in an eco-friendly way, made out of paper scraps from past print runs. The messages were both sustainable and witty. One of my personal favorites was “I will eat local. Food not people.” Right up there with “I will stop (using plastic sacks) in the name of love.”

Our small effort was just one part of a bunch of other small efforts by a handful of dedicated creative people who jumped in and helped make this loose collection of concerned citizens into something worthy of attention. (more…)