on the road collaborative

Get your Rotary / On the Road Collaborative t-shirts, they are now available for $20. Let me know how many you want!

“I want to make a difference in the world.”

If you have ever said this but feel like you are limited as to what you can do, maybe you should change your perspective. One person might not be able to change the world, but you can change the world for one person. Hopefully you will decide to change their world for the better. It may be a simple smile but even better if it is an outstretched hand of hope and love.

I believe it is our duty to each day work to serve others. This is my “Why Rotary” story. Why, because we serve others.

Rotary allows me to amplify my efforts and multiply my impacts. I call it the magic of Rotary. This year the Rotary Club of Rockingham County partnered with the Rotary Club of Harrisonburg to write a grant to benefit On the Road Collaborative. We are now selling t-shirts designed by On the Road Collaborative students to help fund the grant. This is where each donation, each community member, each action makes a huge difference. We need you to purchase a t-shirt. We can all come together to help our community by offering students love and support through On the Road Collaborative. Sure the OTRC team offers students exposure to different career opportunities taught by community leaders. They give students strong role models to follow. They show students a path for the future that maybe the students did not think was possible for them. However, what I have seen first hand is On the Road Collaborative staff offers love and support to students in our community that may or may not feel that love and support from anyone else in the community.

So how can you make a difference? Purchase a t-shirt. They are $20 each.

When you purchase one, one will be donated to a student participating in OTRC. That $20 directly supports OTRC efforts. If you get a shirt, it has our logo so you can use it to enter the Gaines Group Architect’s Red Wing Roots Music Festival ticket contest. More than anything, you get a cool t-shirt, designed by students, and you show love and support for a student in our community. Check out the contest HERE.

On the Road Collaborative is a non-profit youth empowerment organization that sets under-served middle and high school youth on the road to college and career by connecting them to dynamic educational experiences and caring adults during the out-of-school hours.

Thanks to Brad Cohen for all his work putting this grant effort together!

A huge thank you to Ted Marrs at Abrahamse and Company Builders in Charlottesville for purchasing the first t-shirt! These guys always go above and beyond for their clients and the community. Thanks Ted!

On the Road Collaborative Sustainable Farm House Tour

This past week our On The Road Collaborative student group had the opportunity to tour a sustainable farm house under construction. Eric Beck, Beck Builders, was our tour guide and helped the students understand the career of a builder.

The students had lots of questions and the tour gave them a good idea of how big their rooms should be in the houses that they are designing. They had a chance to see cellulose insulation, precast concrete walls, and drywall dust. They experienced the cold and muddy conditions that he faces all winter. They got to see a partially complete house and use imagination to guess what it will look like finished.

There were questions about plumbing rough-ins, porch railings, and electrical distribution. They wondered about door placements and kitchen layout. They are becoming designers.

While the snow was falling and our tour was shorter than I hoped, the students learned a lot and all seemed to have a great time.

About “Design This”

“Design This”, led by Charles Hendricks and Deborah Smith with The Gaines Group, is an interactive course with On the Road Collaborative that introduces students to the world of architectural design. Using a 3-D software program called Sketch-Up each student will design a sustainable farmhouse for a family of 4. This class introduces spatial design, mathematics, programming, aesthetics, sustainability, and architecture in a fun and creative fashion. In the class each student will be introduced to typical construction terminology like wood studs, concrete, insulation, HVAC, flooring, shingles, siding, and foundations. They will have to decide how complicated and creative their homes will be as they work through the design. From the site tour of a house under construction to guest speakers talking about their role in the world of construction, this session will provide a glimpse into the wide array of career opportunities that exist. If you are interested in design or construction, this course will give you a first hand look into the exciting profession.