We are pleased to introduce you to our October Charity of the Month: Grassroots Environmental Education’s ChildSafe School initiative
Grassroots is a New York-based non-profit organization founded in 2000 with a mission to educate the public about the links between common environmental exposures and human health, and to empower individuals to act as catalysts for change within their own communities. Their programs are based on science, and their network of environmental experts includes leaders in the fields of environmental toxicology and medicine from Yale, Columbia, Harvard, Tufts and New York Universities, U.C. Berkeley, Mount Sinai School of Medicine and other similar institutions.
Keeping Our Children Safe
As part of our continued efforts to support organizations that work with children and the environment, we will be raising funds for the entire month of October for Grassroots’ ChildSafe School initiative. The ChildSafe School is an award-winning science-based program designed to help you make your child’s school environment as safe as it can be.
Recent increases in rates of asthma, cancer and other childhood illnesses as well as learning and behavioral problems linked to exposure to toxins in the environment have sparked an increased interest in the environmental quality of schools.
The ChildSafe School provides a step-by-step framework to help parents, teachers and administrators make their schools as environmentally safe as they can be, by adopting policies such as:
- prohibiting the idling of school buses and other vehicles
- mandating the use of safe cleaning products
- eliminating the use of pesticides on school grounds and playing fields
North Shore School District Benefits from ChildSafe
Thanks to the hard work and dedication of Patti Wood and others at Grassroots, in 2011, New York State became the first state in the country to pass a law banning all pesticides on school grounds. But they’ve also undertaken initiatives closer to home. In 2016, every school in the North Shore School District switched from toxic rubber crumb playground surfaces to woodchips. Up next: The ChildSafe School is taking on the removal of wireless routers in classrooms, and turf fields and artificial fragrances in schools.
For more information on The ChildSafe School, visit www.thechildsafeschool.org. For more on all the amazing work Grassroots is doing for our community and beyond, visit them at www.grassrootsinfo.org.
We are pleased to introduce you to our September charity of the month: S.A.F.E (Substance Abuse Free Environment).
Since 1981, S.A.F.E has been dedicated to eliminating alcohol and substance abuse in the Glen Cove community. Combining the strengths of the public and private sectors, S.A.F.E provides Glen Cove residents with alcohol and drug intervention, prevention, and educational outreach services.
Executive Director Dr. Sharon Harris, a licensed clinical psychologist, oversees a number of programs through the nonprofit agency, including a free community walk-in program for mental health and substance abuse. S.A.F.E. also works closely with the Department of Social Services to provide housing support, domestic violence intervention, and evidence-based life skills classes for elementary and middle school students and their parents. The annual Family Awareness Day in Morgan Park, aimed at helping kids make good choices surrounding drugs and alcohol, is also a S.A.F.E.-run project.
Educating Glen Cove’s Kids & Teens
S.A.F.E.’s close relationship with the Glen Cove City Schools means excellent substance abuse prevention programming for Glen Cove students. S.A.F.E. pushes into the high school along with the Glen Cove Police Department for pre-prom presentations on alcohol and substance abuse, and has worked with the Nassau County District Attorney’s office to put a “crash car” on the lawn of Glen Cove High School. They also send a Student Athlete Leadership Team (SALT) to HOFTRA for training, then sends these high school juniors and seniors into the middle school to present on healthy decision-making skills, engaging in positive activities, and building individual resilience.
Check out the S.A.F.E. website to see just how many initiatives they’re part of, and how much they are doing to protect and educate our neighbors here in Glen Cove.
Imagine our delight when our new neighbor moved in and it was…a yoga studio?! We can’t think of a better fit. Since Gritty Buddha opened for business in November 2016, we have been blessed to have a partner with a likeminded pursuit of happy customers and healthy living. A full complement of yoga and meditation classes and teacher trainings means there is something for everyone looking to put a little (or a lot!) of zen in their lives. Rising Tide Market sat down with Gritty Buddha’s founder and owner, Regina Smith, to find out what makes the new Glen Cove yoga studio tick.
RT: How did you come by your name?
GB: It was a stroke of insight while leading a retreat in Anguilla. Our yoga studio there is a beautiful second floor space overlooking the sand—it looks like it should be a bar in Thailand. And it came to me like a whisper in my ear: Gritty Buddha.
The name is the culmination of the deepest core values I’ve been working on for the last 16 years. Grit is persistence over time and the ability to see through whatever you’re faced with. Buddha is all things equanimous and centered and love. So Gritty Buddha is the perfect balance of grit, perseverence, strength, love and peace.
RT: What is one thing about Gritty Buddha that most people don’t know?
GB: We have two showers! I’ve never been a person that has had the luxury of staying in my sweaty clothes all day. I had work to do. These showers have not been utilized enough and they’re the best showers you’ll ever be under.
The other thing that most people don’t know is that everything we do comes back to having a sense of being okay on the inside. This opens us up to reaching students not by level or experience, but by willingness or openness. I don’t care if you’re 90 or 9, just did a triathlon or just had a knee replacement. You have a home here.
Our teaching team has a crazy level of acceptance of who you are and what you’re working with. We don’t level our classes; just show up at a time slot that fits your life. You’re going to learn something, and you’ll be over your head no matter what. Yoga is 5,000 years old—you’re never going to catch up! We’re always going to feel like we don’t know what we’re doing for a moment.
RT: How has it been to be part of the Glen Cove business community? Have you felt welcomed?
GB: I was born and raised here and graduated from Glen Cove High School. I left for my first job offer in England less than a year after graduation. I lived throughout Europe and the U.S., working for a company with 120 locations all over the world, and I can tell you this community is really special. To come home and make a contribution to this community that raised me to be who I am feels amazing.
What’s special is my dad doing a daily walk through in the studio. No matter who is in the studio he’ll say hello. What’s special is my daughter being in the preschool I went to 30 years ago. Special is that some of the teachers that taught me through middle school and high school and that formed my view of the world and how I express myself are now students, and I get to see them again and maybe teach them something I’ve learned through time and travel. The depth you get from being somewhere and really seeing and loving people—that’s what I feel here in Glen Cove.
RT: What is the latest news from Gritty Buddha? What’s coming around the bend that we can look forward to?
GB: We believe in opening up people’s worldview whether its between heart and head or physically seeing the world. We had three retreats this year: Bali, Tulum and Tuscany. We are going to Anguilla in November and are offering an extended calendar in 2018-19.
We want to build a global community out of our tiny local home. Students from Berlin, Russia, Canada and more show up at our retreats. We also have a whole series of life enrichment education that relates yoga philosophy in real time. I am equal 50-50 leadership and yoga, and I use yoga philosophy as the platform for how to connect and inspire. Learning how to balance on your hands is a party trick and will fade in time. What won’t fade is how you treat yourself and others.
Our one-year anniversary is on Thanksgiving and this may well not be the only Gritty Buddha in the world in the future.
RT: Living the yoga lifestyle means being conscious about what you put in your body. What are you loving to eat right now? What is your top go-to item from Rising Tide Market?
GB: Anything chocolate and peanut butter! I also live for kale slaw with a spoonful of guacamole. I’m addicted to corn soup over brown rice with a slice of avocado. That [So Delicious] French Vanilla Coconut Creamer should be outlawed. And carrot cake. My (3 year-old) daughter Aalia came over yesterday and said, “Mommy, ask them if they have the carrot cake.”
RT: So many in our community dream of starting their own local business. What advice do you have for these folks?
GB: Really see the people in front of you. Look them in the eye and greet them. And you are never off the clock if you believe in something you represent. That’s a heavy responsibility, but it is a no brainer. You live [your business] in every interaction. We’re here to contribute to this community. You can’t just set up shop and put a sign up and expect people to come. You need to draw people in with your enthusiasm and your love, not for what you expect to get from them.
We are so excited to announce our August Charity of the Month: the Coalition to Save Hempstead Harbor!
Since 1986, the Coalition to Save Hempstead Harbor (CSHH), a volunteer, nonprofit organization, has been dedicated to identifying and eliminating environmental threats to Hempstead Harbor and its surrounding communities. Their objective is to advance the public interest in protecting and restoring our local environment to its full ecological and economic potential.
Why We Chose the Coalition to Save Hempstead Harbor
We love that the CSHH executes its mission by promoting appreciation of the local environment and getting the public involved in local conservation issues—issues that directly affect the community we call home!
If you would like to donate to the Coalition to Save Hempstead Harbor above and beyond your BYOB donations, e-mail Liz at marketing@risingtidemarket.com.
And if you want to help improve the local environment and make a difference in and around Hempstead Harbor, consider becoming a member of the Coalition. No experience necessary. Be part of the change!
We are so excited to announce our May Charity of the Month: The Glen Cove Boys & Girls Club!
The Club serves more than 600 youth (ages 6 -18) in the Glen Cove community with after-school programs in education, sports, recreation, dance, technology and art—all designed to enrich and enhance learning and build self-esteem. And now that school’s out, the Boys & Girls Club will be providing an amazing and affordable summer program including day trips, lunch and a different fun theme each week.
The Boys & Girls Club mission is to provide a safe and caring environment that will inspire and enable all young people to realize their full potential as productive and responsible citizens.
What could be better than that?
Remember, each time you bring in a reusable bag to Rising Tide Market you’ll be asked if you want to donate your $.10 to the Charity of the Month. Please give to this worthwhile organization!
Note: If you would like to make an additional donation to the Glen Cove Boys & Girls Club, and help impact the lives of children right here in your own neighborhood, please contact us at marketing@risingtidemarket.com.
If you’re already a Farmer’s Market devotee (like we are!), then you know that markets are a great place to get the freshest local produce, dairy, breads and other artisanal items (and the perfect spot to spend a few quiet hours on a summer Saturday). Supporting small local farms is imperative in this era of GMOs and Big Food; our farmer’s market purchases gives them the cash they need to provide a healthy, sustainable alternative to mass-produced foods.
Here are some more great reasons to make a stop at your local Farmer’s Market a regular part of your week.
Lucky for us, the Sea Cliff Farmer’s Market is about to open for the season. From June through October, each Saturday from 9-1, the market offers just-picked organic produce, all grown on Long Island, most from Nassau and Western Suffolk County. The farms represented are Restoration Farm (Old Bethpage), Beagan Gooth (Old Brookville), Youngs Farm (Old Brookville), Fox Hollow Farm (S. Huntington), Three Castles Gardens (Old Westbury), Pietro’s Farm (Old Westbury) and Orient Organics (Orient Point).
In addition to produce, the Sea Cliff market will have:
- Eggs and honey from Raleigh Poultry Farm in Kings Park
- Delicious breads, popovers and other sweet treats from Heritage Bakers in Glen Cove
- Jams, jellies, soups and other goodies from Gourmet Your Way
Plus, if you time it right, sometimes you can get amazing small-batch olive oil from Casale Sonnino, direct from Roma, Italy…che buono!
The Sea Cliff Market is scheduled to open for the year on June 17. It’s located at St. Luke’s Church at the corner of Glen and Roslyn Aves. in Sea Cliff, and takes place rain or shine (when it rains, they are indoors at the Parish Hall).
For market updates, follow them on Facebook.
