April 26th. 2012:  Independent Scholars' Evenings. 7.00 p.m.

Krystal Case will be giving an overview of Earthships, and their style of sustainability.

Ms. Case will talk about the basic concepts behind Earthships, her experiences building with them, and plans for the future.

At the end of her presentation, Ms. Case will talk briefly about how she and her husband are in the process to retrofit their home to this style.

About the topic:
Earthships are eco-friendly and sustainable homes that take care of the environment and people in a responsible manner.

The basic six components of Earthships are:
1 Build with recycled materials
2 Use thermal and solar heating and cooling
3 Use solar and wind energy
4 Harness water from the sky (rainwater catchment and cisterns)
5 Contained sewage treatment
6 Food productions

Krystal Hamilton Case has a lifelong interest in learning anything she can. She grew up helping with maintenance on my family's acreage, worked maintenance at a summer camp, and have helped to build cabins with a yoga community, along with learning and working at two Earthship builds. She has worked as a caretaker beginning in 2001 with working in a nursing home as a CNA (certified nurse assistant), and have been working as a massage therapist since 2005. Ms. Case is certified in a number of alternative healthcare modalities such as yoga, reflexology, Thai massage, and have also worked as a massage therapy instructor at La James College of Massage. In 2003 she began working with the homeless in Chicago (while in college studying religion) and became a single mother in 2007.

Ms. Case helped with an Earthship build in Guatemala last November and continues to help Long Way Home, a charity there that organized the build to sell some of Maria's goods, for whom the house was built.

Ms. Case married her husband Jerome in 2011 and together with their daughter Phoenix, now 5 years old, are working to build a sustainable community on the 14 acres of land that we bought last June.

Her work springs from her convictions that a more sustainable lifestyle is necessary in today's world.  Her work has generated a lot of interest and her presentation will answer some of their questions.

Independent Scholars' Evenings are Free and open to the public.

Please attend.

The Moline Commercial Club
1530 Fifth Avenue. Moline. Illinois.

second floor of The Moline Club building . Above the Phoenix Fine Arts Gallery.

309-762-9202 for The Institute.
www.qcinstitute.org

Light refreshments, wine and beverages are served, doors open at 6.30

Independent Scholars' Evenings are sponsored thhe Institute for Cultural and Healing Traditions, Ltd. a 501(c)3 at state and
federal level since 1996.

The Institute for Cultural and Healing Traditions, Ltd.
www.qcinstitute.org
www.atthephoenix.com
www.themolinecommercialclub.com
www.themolineclub.com

The Bettendorf Discovery Shop invites you to join them Monday, April 30th for our Garden event.  We are ready to welcome spring by filling the shop with all of the beautiful spring things that have been donated over the last year.  

The store will be bursting with lovely items for your home and garden.  Plants, flowers, pictures, dishes, yard decorations, birdhouses, the list goes on and on.  We will also have lots of beautiful flowered clothing and accessories to brighten your day.  There will be a lot of great things to see, so we hope that you can stop by and take part in the fun!
The Discovery Shop is an upscale resale shop that is celebrating 24 years of successful fundraising in Bettendorf.  Thanks to the generosity of the community, the Discovery Shop raises money by selling gently used items donated by individual donors and local businesses.  Helping to make the shop such a success is the staff of wonderful volunteers that donate their time, if you are interested in joining our volunteer team we are always happy to have extra hands to help.   All proceeds go to the American Cancer Society for cancer research, education, patient services and advocacy.

Donations are accepted anytime the shop is open and a tax receipt is always available.  Hours are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 am to 5 pm., Thursday from 10 am to 7 pm. and Saturday from10 am to 4 pm.

We are thankful for all the wonderful donations and excited to have this fun event for our customers.

The German American Heritage Center will host acclaimed author Susan Goldman Rubin on Tuesday May 1st at 7pm to discuss her book Searching for Ann Frank: Letters from Amsterdam to Iowa. The book details the relationship between the Frank sisters and their penpals from Danville, Iowa.

Admission is $5 with a book signing to follow. Sponsored by the Friends of the Bettendorf Public Library, the Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities, Holocaust Education Committee of the Greater Quad City Area, and GAHC. The German American Heritage Center is located at 712 W. 2nd St. Davenport, IA. Call 563-322-8844 or email kelly.lao@gahc.org for more information.

April 18, 2012

Kenneth Weishuhn committed suicide on April 15. The 14-year-old boy allegedly killed himself after his classmates made him the subject of a Facebook hate group and sent him death threats when he told them he was gay. Family and friends of Kenneth  Weishuhn said he was a happy teen until he came out to friends at South O'Brien High School in Paullina, Iowa, last month. His mother, Jeannie Chambers, said her son recently exclaimed: 'Mom, you don't know how it feels to be hated.'

If we are to change the climate of hate, we must begin by showing solidarity to create a climate of empathy. That is why QC Pride is calling on the community to come out to support a candlelight vigil in memory of Kenneth Weishuhn and others like him who have tragically died so young due to bullying and acts of hate.

The event will be from 7:30 - 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 24th around the fountain at Vanderveer Park, located on West Central Park between Brady and Harrison Streets, Davenport. All are welcome to come and to bring lights and signs supporting equality and an end to bullying.

Says QC Pride, Inc. President, Jeff Simpson: "Bullying behavior is a trickle down behavior. When we have politicians riding around in buses through our state in hopes of tossing out justices who based a court decision on fairness, that behavior is seen and mimicked in churches, workplaces, and social gatherings. This is then seen in homes and schools, which in turn, fosters itself in our children."

Simpson offers the example of how kids were taught to fear the Russians when he was a child. "I knew little about the Russians, but the news said to fear them, the adults in my life said to fear them and the church said to fear them." In that kind of climate there is little room for understanding differences and cultivating the capacity to have empathy for those who are different from us. People should be free to be who they are.

The hate and rhetoric coming from so-called "adults" needs to stop. Children are not able to deal with and should not have to deal with hate and its consequences. We need to teach how sacred and precious is each and every human being. Please help us to change the climate.

I knew little about Russians but the news said to fear them, the adults in my life said to fear them, and so on and so on.

We need to stop the hate rhetoric at the top if we are to solve this crisis. 14 year old minds are not yet developed to understand hate, consequences, and the sanctity of life. This is an ADULT problem. We need to change the climate of fear.I knew little about Russians but the news said to fear them, the adults in my life said to fear them ,and so on and so on.

We need to stop the hate rhetoric at the top if we are to solve this crisis. 14 year old minds are not yet developed to understand hate, consequences, and the sanctity of life. This is an ADULT problem. We need to change the climate of fear.

For more information, contact Rev. Rich Hendricks at 563.940.9630.

QC Pride, Inc. is a charitable and educational organization dedicated to
the promotion of human dignity and equality
and to the creation of a peaceful community
where each and every person is respected
and feels safe, secure and free to live out their core values.