Our Finger Lakes Climate Fund grant covered most of the insulation materials for the cottages at Second Wind.

Sometimes there are acts of generosity that are so inspiring they develop their own force field – drawing in others to amplify the original intention of making the world just a little better.  The story of the latest Finger Lakes Climate Fund grant of $3,457 from Sustainable Tompkins to the Second Wind cottages in Newfield is about the intersection of two such force fields.

A few months ago an anonymous donor approached Sustainable Tompkins (ST) with the idea of creating a Sustainable Newfield fund where people concerned about climate disruption could donate money to help lower-income residents in Newfield make their homes more efficient and less dependent on fossil fuel.  Other donors have since joined in to help with this mission of slowing climate impacts by helping those least able to afford rising energy bills.

Their generosity intersected with that of the Community Faith Partners when one of their members approached ST about the possibility of applying for a climate fund grant to help pay for the insulation of six cottages they are building this fall on donated land in Newfield.  The cottages are to house homeless men, and make up the new Second Wind project –

Earl Evans of Calvary Baptist and Bill Johnston of Ithaca New Life Victory Center team up to install siding on one of the cottages.

– the brainchild of Carmen Guidi, a local business owner whose faith led him to devote himself to healing the wound of homelessness by providing homes to those living in the “Jungle” near Ithaca.  Carmen’s generosity and vision quickly drew in others from area churches and a beautiful and expanding circle of generosity has been growing ever since.  (Readers can enjoy the full history of the project by visiting SecondWindCottages.org.)

Snug Planet, one of our area’s leading green businesses, is playing a key role in this web of generosity.  The $3457 carbon offset grant from ST was enough to pay for most of the insulation materials for the six cottages at Second Wind, but Snug Planet is stepping up to donate the rest of the materials and to provide their skilled workforce to supervise the insulating and air sealing process.

ST’s staff and board are proud to have facilitated this linking of two generosity-based projects.  Our weave logo represents our mission to create networks of shared responsibility for building sustainable communities based on social justice, environmental stewardship, and economic resilience.  Through this web of generosity, our community has done exactly that on a little plot of land in Newfield.