Abstract: The 88-Acre project proposes to create an environment in which activities, both educational and recreational, teach self-reliance, foster a sense of tribal unity in the community at large, and foster a love of life through love of nature.

The Target Community: The community of South Toms River is unique in Ocean County, and perhaps in all of New Jersey. It is a blue-collar community which is completely integrated racially. It is a young community, with the second lowest average age in the county, and among the poorest. One of  the most economically disadvantaged neighborhood in South Toms River is the development known as Center Homes. Abutting this neighborhood's southern border is an undeveloped tract of Pine Barrens forest and Cedar Swamp Wetlands known as The 88 Acres. In the past, these 88 Acres have been used for drug trafficking, illegal dumping, arson and gang related activities. The acreage was slated for development until the Gatherer Institute proposed using the area as a Wilderness Classroom and Playground for the people of Center Homes and for the community at large. The town agreed.   The acreage sits on the border between the borough of South Toms River and Beachwood, and residents on the Beachwood border have access to the south side of the creek, although the entire parcel belongs to South Toms River. While the racial and economic make-up of Beachwood is very different than that of South Toms River (the neighborhood on the south side of the 88 acres is much more affluent) Signs of beer parties, illegal dumping, drug abuse and vandalism are evident here as well.

History of the Program: In May, 2001, The Gatherer Institute was founded. Its immediate purpose was to provide principle-based educational environments for the people of the region. It proposed to offer Primitive Survival Skills Courses for the children and teens of the region, and through these courses to foster a caretaker attitude toward the earth, while challenging students to face fear. The Institute found a head instructor at the world-reknown Tracker School, a primitive survival school close by. At the school, caretakers live year-round off the land. Many of these caretakers have experience with survival programs for inner-city youth, and the individual that the Institute hired to run its course successfully steered inexperienced children through the rigorous course. The South Toms River Alliance, the local branch of the statewide Alliances for Drug, Tobacco and Alcohol Prevention, offered a scholarship to offset the cost of the instructor. The program cost $35 for South Toms River Residents, and $70 for non-residents, but no students were turned away for inability to pay, and 30% of the students met income requirements for scholarships.

The program proved so successful that the Municipality took notice and allowed the Institute to continue to run programs indefinitely, and it postponed plans for developing the land. The demand for a second program arose.

In the meantime, Harbor House, a local counseling organization was reporting a drop in the number of women and teens who were utilizing its programs. It was proposed that the Institute keep the campfires burning for the rest of the summer and volunteer MSWs and therapists were found to staff the campfire and provide counseling for any who wished it.

As the program developed, many believed that it would be better to train women to help themselves and their families. A life-skills coaching program was developed, headed by a staff of volunteers from New York City who came down each Wednesday to run programs by the campfire. A primitive longhouse was built to enclose the campfire,  utilizing only native materials.

At this point, the focus of the programs began to change as women brought their needs to the group. Most women felt the need to find activities which would allow them to bond with their families, but most recreational activities were prohibitively expensive. Inspired by the lessons of the Life Coaching Program, they came up with their own proposal: A weekly free book reading in the longhouse with a marshmallow roast. The Tuesday night book readings began in late August. True to the vision of the institute, the stories read not only illustrated life and survival in the Pine Barrens, but also stressed certain virtues from The Book of Virtues. A weekly free Manhunt game (a type of hide-and-seek) was also instituted, and soon became a favorite activity, especially for fathers who had weekend custody of their children. The programs grew by word of mouth, and by the time school started, a regular crowd of people were attending the programs each week.

On September 11, The Institute had scheduled representatives from different religious groups to give a benediction for the children returning to school. The benediction was held as scheduled but it was turned into a healing circle, due to the unexpected events that transpired that day. That day, children in attendance had a venue from which to express their fears and ask their questions, and since that day the Womens group has included training women to address fears arising out of the events of September 11.

The programs success did not go unnoticed by the former occupants of the woods: The drug dealers. Daily programs in the woods meant that drug trafficking as usual was impossible in the woods. Members of the Institute actually uncovered stashes of drugs that had to be dropped when students or instructors had unexpectedly entered the woods. Arsonists torched the car of the President of the Institute, burning records, damaging tools and destroying books. Later, the longhouse was vandalized, the tools and equipment used in its building and maintenance were stolen, and the new roof under construction was torn apart.

The arsonists were never caught. The vandals, who were also the ones who stole the tools, were found. Through outreach and conversation, the vandals agreed to help rebuild the longhouse and maintain it. It was recognized that these individuals were precisely the target group the Institute had hoped to reach.  We have brought such individuals into the Teen Longhouse Program, where they have been able to learn to teach others to channel their destructive energies into an attitude of caretaking for the earth.

Due to the presence of the institute in the 88-Acre woods,criminal activity has abated considerably.  The fire warden reported the least cases of intentional forest fire on record (one) in those woods, and the discovery of the abandoned drugs were clear evidence of at least one foiled drug transaction.

Meanwhile, as a result of the Primitive Survival Skills Course, sixty children in South Toms River will never go hungry or homeless. They have demonstrated that they know what to eat, how to build shelter, and how to make a fire. Many have faced fears they never thought they would overcome. One child, halfway through the survival program looked up at his instructor amazed. "This is even more challenging than Nintendo!"He declared. They are now able to truly help themselves and their families. They can find their own lessons in the wilderness. All we have to do is provide the wilderness for them.

The 88-acres will remain undeveloped, and provide a recreational use for all the people of the region, especially our neighbors in Center Homes.

Our programs will train the volunteers that will run more programs, and the 88-acre program will be duplicated in other communities like Lakewood, where similar economic conditions exist, and will protect more municipally owned acreage.

This year, fifteen people will receive college credit, and twenty young adults under the age of 18 will start their own businesses. Our Manhunt and Book Reading Nights will be attended by 300 different individuals, and provide a venue for family togetherness.

The interest and publicity generated by our programs will enable us to increase the number of private donations so that our program costs are offset, and we can increase the number of scholarships in our Primitive Survival Course and ZEIEZ program.

    Breakdown of cost of tools, and amounts we have listed in grant proposals thusfar:
 

Itemized wish list of materials (not complete)
Item	Qty.	Source of Price Quote	Range of Cost	Low Price	High Price
brace and bits	2	http://www.cornerhardwdare.com	15.42+20.00	70.84
storage shed	1	?local	300*	300
lock	1	www.homedepot.com	3.94	3.94
shovels	4	Source is the same, www.homedepot.com, unless otherwise indicated.	9.93	39.88
rakes	4	This does not imply that we will necessarily purchase items there, only that these prices will be used for comparison.	4.93-5.97	19.88	23.88
clippers- pruning kit	2
folding saw	2		15.90-19.96	31.80	39.92
bow saw	2		7.94-9.93	15.88	19.86
hedge shears	1		19.96-29.97	19.96	29.97
anvil pruner	3		9.97-13.85	29.91	41.55
loppers	1		15.87-17.97	15.87	17.97
saws	4		6.98-9.96	27.92	39.92
rasp set	2		19.98	39.96
chisel set	1		9.97-29.96	9.97	29.96
cordage
rope		guess	50.00
string		local hardware	26.95
hatchet	2		9.97-29.97	19.94	59.94
axe	2		19.97	39.94
hunting knives	6	Only the cost above minimum is covered by the 88-Acre Project, for those who cannot afford a knife.	11.00-15.00	66.00	90.00
box cutter	2		5.00	10.00
iron cauldron	1		50	50
notebooks	50		.50	25
pencils/pens	200		.03	6.00
colored pencils	5 sets		5.00	25
x-acto knives	2 sets		14.00	28.00
new first aid kit			21.00	21.00
putty knives	5		.69-1.00	3.45	5.00
digital camera	1	www.circuitcity.com	300	300
camcorder	1	circuit city	400	400
desktop computer	1	circuit city	724.97	724.97
microscope	1		400	400
high price  2882.50		need to raise:  2022.47	low price  2745.10	grant  722.93

This budget contains the breakdown of our programs, with those not pertaining to the 88-Acre Program indicated in red.

  We have a grant to cover specific aspects of the longhouse and Primitive Survival Skills Programs, which comes for The Municipal Alliance. Here is a break-down of the monies:
 
 
 

Program	Materials	Scholarships	Consultants	Totals
Longhouse Program	450		2050	2500
Materials include teaching materials used by consultants, administrative items, and items used in storytelling.
Primitive Survival Program	40	560		600
Materials include teaching materials used by instructor, extra water, printed material.
total				3100

The items for printing are in addition to the ones listed as item #1
 

Item	quantity	source of price	cost range	low estimate	high estimate
Stew Materials	42	food town	20-29	840	1218
Marshmallows	84 bags	food town	1.15-1.50	96.40	126
Printing of Announcement flyers	26 * 100	Staples	.05-.10	130	260
Printing of general announcement flyers	2 pages * 500	Staples	.10-.20	50	100
Tarps for Market day	5	Wal Mart	26	130
Composting Toilets	2	Research
Caretaker Fee	12 weeks		300-400	3600	4800
Clean-up	4 times	check prices for dumpster
Truck rental for leaf pick-up	twice		30-40	60	80
Business cards for officials	4	free website	5.10-10.00	20.40	40
Forms	300	Staples	.05-.10	15	30
Totals				4941.80	6654
Totals of expenses covered by Alliance Grant	1050		Needed to Raise	3891.80	5604

Please understand, that this is an all-inclusive list. Our programs can run without the money we need to raise, but can grow to the extreme with the money we are proposing to raise here. We may find that some of these costs can be combined. If we found a Head Instructor who could live on the premises and do the necessary work, but also had an MSW and experience leading programs, that could combine a number of costs. If someone came and worked as our Head Instructor who was part of the 3-6 Weeks In Utopia project, this would allow us to accomplish our goals for free.

We also have need of a cellular telephone with an easy to remember number. This could cost $40 per month, for a total cost of $480 for the year.

If our present grant application is accepted, the total we would have to raise to achieve our growth goals would be 8,106.41, which we would need to raise by the end of fiscal 2001, at the end of June. We have overcome large obstacles in our first six months of operation, and I am sure that these goals will not be insurmountable.

My main concern is that, as yet, we have not heard from the IRS regarding our application for 501(c)(3) status. We are applying as a school, since ultimately, we hope to become one. Perhaps this is what is delaying our application. We are registered as a non-profit in the State of New Jersey, and have been granted permission to solicit funds, but those who donate to us still are unable to deduct these donations from their income taxes. Still, we received $1300 in private donations without actively seeking donations, and this within our first months of operation. I have been promised an additional donation some time during the new year.

As has been our tradition over our short period of existence, we will probably receive much of our donations as materials in kind. We would especially appreciate relationships with hardware stores and food stores. All of these donations will recognized at our website on our Forms registration page,  which will be our most visited site.

We also seek to set up a donation site which is web-based. My idea is to conduct a web-based auction. We could seek donations of used items and auction them off on e-bay. The receipts can be returned to the donor for a deduction. In any case, I will ask for approval to proceed with this activity at our December meeting.

This is my December report. I will seek approval for the following:

1. Release of funds, not to exceed $20 to have business cards printed for our Vice President, Treasurer, and a general business card.

2. Release of $20 in order to have a Police Background Check of myself on record.

3. Approval of a fund raising committee to obtain items and raise money.

4. Confirmation of  Rev. Oscar Cradle as our treasurer.

5. Revision of our bylaws. Please read them, and submit suggestions for improvement via e-mail to ev@gatherer.org .

6. Please review our banking records.

7. Lastly, We would like to raise 8,106.41 by the end of June. I have detailed a list of strategies. Please take a look at them and come to the meeting with ideas.

Our meeting will take place on Saturday, December 29, 2001. You may attend either in person, or via internet relay chat. We will either set up a chatroom website, or you will have to use MIRC. We will also examine the possibility of conferencing by voice over the net.