<div dir="ltr">So good to hear. See you then.<div><br></div><div>Our 2 pm zoom link is</div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:black"><a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82680460687?pwd=YlJjbFdDUjVwMWp4Sm5FbytrUjhiUT09" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82680460687?pwd=YlJjbFdDUjVwMWp4Sm5FbytrUjhiUT09</span></a></span><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black"><br>
</span><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(38,40,42)"><br>
Meeting ID: 826 8046 0687</span><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black"><br>
</span><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(38,40,42)">Passcode: CCGA</span><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black"><br>
</span><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(38,40,42)"><br>
Dial in number: 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)</span><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black"><br>
</span><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(38,40,42)">Meeting ID: 826 8046 0687</span><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(38,40,42)">Passcode: 412128</span><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </span></p></div><div><br></div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Mon, Sep 9, 2024 at 5:24 PM Asha Coutrier <<a href="mailto:acoutrie@gmail.com">acoutrie@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="auto">Good afternoon Lorraine,<div><br></div><div>2-3 PM this Thursday works wonderfully! I look forward to talking to the committee then :)<br><br><div dir="ltr">Best,</div><div dir="ltr">Asha Coutrier</div><div dir="ltr"><br><blockquote type="cite">On Sep 9, 2024, at 11:34 AM, Lorraine Kells <<a href="mailto:lxkells@gmail.com" target="_blank">lxkells@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br><br></blockquote></div><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr">Asha,<div><br><div>At least 3 of the four of us will definitely meet with you on Thursday. I'm so glad this is finally happening. We've found time for 2 to 3 pm, or starting at 3pm Let us know more closely what works for you. We are looking forward to this and will send you the meeting link soon.</div></div><div><br></div><div>Lorraine</div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Sun, Sep 8, 2024 at 3:24 PM Lorraine Kells <<a href="mailto:lxkells@gmail.com" target="_blank">lxkells@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="auto">Hello Asha,<div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">Thank you for responding to those questions and offering suggestions. I've just contacted others on the communication team to set up a zoom meet. You may already have told me what works for you, but I didn't make a note of it, so what works for you?</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">Lorraine</div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Sun, Sep 8, 2024, 1:41 PM Asha Coutrier <<a href="mailto:acoutrie@gmail.com" target="_blank">acoutrie@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="auto"><p dir="ltr">Good afternoon Lorraine,</p>
<p dir="ltr">I do have experience with WordPress and I have been looking at joining the garden at 65th and Woodlawn :)</p><p dir="ltr">Also, after looking through the website, I found some areas where CCGA could make their information more easily accessible!</p>
<p dir="ltr">Links on the front page of the website (like those underneath the Neighborhood Garden Network tab) either lead to empty webpages (<a href="https://www.petersongarden.org/lander" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.petersongarden.org/lander</a>), facebook pages, <a href="https://m.facebook.com/GrowingPride/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://m.facebook.com/GrowingPride/</a>), or sometimes an email ((GET Gardening (Englewood) <a href="mailto:get.gardening@yahoo.com" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">get.gardening@yahoo.com</a>).</p><p dir="ltr">It would be more cohesive and easier to navigate if the pages led to a database/ one page that listed all the available contact information for these organizations.</p>
<p dir="ltr">There's also a lot of click-through people have to do in order to do things like joining the forum, so if we make it easier for people to sign-up for that we can apply the same strategy to the newsletter, and could garner more subscribers.</p><p dir="ltr">I suggest we start utilizing Airtable as it's a super inexpensive method of organizing the complex streams of information we have into a singular database. It has integrations for WordPress, Instagram, Facebook, Gmail, and all the current apps we utilize for organizational management. </p><p dir="ltr">For example: If someone wanted to sign up for a gardening plot, we can have a list of the plots available on Airtable, and people can use the form integration to submit their requests. As those requests come in, we can easily visualize who might want the same plot, what isn't available, and we can begin to assign them. There will always be a record of who is assigned to the plot and as the owners change, we can update the Airtable entry with the new owners.<br></p><p dir="ltr">We can also keep a list of organizations we partner with in Airtable and the most recent communications we have had. It's a super multifaceted tool that we can do a lot with before having to purchase a license. I have attached a link to their website for your reference and can gladly put together a demo for your review to better visualize the proposed solutions.</p><p dir="ltr">Airtable: <a href="https://www.airtable.com/solutions/operations" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.airtable.com/solutions/operations</a></p><p dir="ltr">I look forward to hearing back from you!</p>
<div>Best,<br><br>Asha Coutrier<br>e: <a href="mailto:acoutrie@gmail.com" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">acoutrie@gmail.com</a></div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Thu, Sep 5, 2024, 5:50 PM Lorraine Kells <<a href="mailto:lxkells@gmail.com" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">lxkells@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr">Hello Asha,<div><br></div><div>I hope you had a pleasant holiday; it was quite lovely weather for Chicago. </div><div><br></div><div>I want to resume our conversation about CCGA and move things forward more quickly for you. I'm wondering if you've found a garden in or near Hyde Park to join. Being a part of CCGA starts in one of the community gardens. Our website has a map of community gardens that we're continuing to update with information about each garden, steward's contact, and bed availability, and more. Please take a look at it and tell me if you find it user friendly. It's what we need our intern to work on. Please familiarize yourself with the website so you can direct questions to us, and you can begin with this email.</div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><a href="https://chicagocommunitygardens.org/community-garden-network/ccga-community-garden-map/" style="color:rgb(5,99,193)" rel="noreferrer noreferrer" target="_blank">https://chicagocommunitygardens.org/community-garden-network/ccga-community-garden-map/</a></p></div><div><br></div><div>We have a social media presence with our Facebook and Instagram accounts which is an important part of making connections with community gardeners, to engage with them, let them know about workshops, distributions of plant material, and sharing posts with partner organizations. If you haven't visited our page, it's</div><div><span style="font-size:11pt;line-height:107%;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ChicagoCommunityGardenersAssociation/" style="color:rgb(5,99,193)" rel="noreferrer noreferrer" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial">https://www.facebook.com/ChicagoCommunityGardenersAssociation/</span></a></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>We love that you have working knowledge of photoshop and mailchimp. Are you familiar with WordPress which we use for the website? We 're a pretty simple set up and we look forward to meeting you soon via zoom. </div><div><br></div><div>Best,</div><div>Lorraine</div><div><br></div><div> </div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Tue, Aug 27, 2024 at 6:37 PM Asha Coutrier <<a href="mailto:acoutrie@gmail.com" rel="noreferrer noreferrer" target="_blank">acoutrie@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="auto"><div><div>Hi Lorraine,</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">I understood and apologize for the over enthusiasm conveyed in my last email. I am mainly available during the afternoons of Wednesday-Friday from 12-4 PM. If that allotted time isn't convenient for the committee, I'm sure I can work with a group time that you all propose. </div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">Thank you again for the consideration and I look forward to talking with you all soon :)</div><div><br></div><div>Best,<br><br>Asha Coutrier<br>e: <a href="mailto:acoutrie@gmail.com" rel="noreferrer noreferrer" target="_blank">acoutrie@gmail.com</a></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Tue, Aug 27, 2024, 6:23 PM Lorraine Kells <<a href="mailto:lxkells@gmail.com" rel="noreferrer noreferrer" target="_blank">lxkells@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="auto">Asha,<div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">I hoped you understood the internship is a consideration and not a firm commitment yet. We want to meet with you on zoom and go over a number of things.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">This is a committee decision. Please understand we are very interested, but will want to meet and talk with you on a zoom call.<br></div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">L</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">What is a good time for you? The rest of the team will try to make something work.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">Regard,</div><div dir="auto">Lorraine</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto"><br></div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Tue, Aug 27, 2024, 4:37 PM Asha Coutrier <<a href="mailto:acoutrie@gmail.com" rel="noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer" target="_blank">acoutrie@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="auto"><div dir="auto">Good afternoon Lorraine,</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">It's wonderful hearing back from you, and I would love to join the team as a paid intern! I have a plethora of experience creating newsletters through MailChimp, designing social media content with both Canva/Photoshop, and acting as an overall communication liaison on behalf of my managers in each of my professional positions.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">This would be an awesome opportunity to exercise my creativity while offering my toolkit to an organization with an amazing mission. I would be able to start as soon as possible :)</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">Thank you so much for this opportunity!</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">Best,<br><br>Asha Coutrier<br>e: <a href="mailto:acoutrie@gmail.com" rel="noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer" target="_blank">acoutrie@gmail.com</a></div><br><div class="gmail_quote" dir="auto"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Tue, Aug 27, 2024, 4:25 PM Lorraine Kells <<a href="mailto:lxkells@gmail.com" rel="noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer" target="_blank">lxkells@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:georgia,serif">Hello Asha,</div><div class="gmail_default" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:georgia,serif"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:georgia,serif">We received an email from you last July, the 3rd in fact; however, we were on our summer break and did not respond in a timely manner. Likely we missed your short visit to Chicago as well. We hope to make amends.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:georgia,serif"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:georgia,serif">You mentioned combining your love of gardening with your professional background in August when you'd be moving to Hyde Park. Here we are in August, and we are impressed with your professional background, by the way.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:georgia,serif"><br>Writing articles and monthly newsletters is something we would find very useful on our Communications Team, if you would consider joining that working group as a volunteer, even as a paid intern. The internship would be a short term position. The Communications Team is an all volunteer small group tasked with creating and managing all aspects of CCGA communications, <span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">including writing and producing this newsletter, the CCGA </span><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">website</span><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"> and social media channels, marketing and technical support for workshops, the annual conference, virtual events, fundraising campaigns, and anything else that may arise.</span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:georgia,serif"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><br></span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:georgia,serif"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">We're looking for someone with a zest for the task and a willingness to engage people! We’re hoping to expand our team to support our technical goals. If you have </span><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">web</span><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"> support experience, public relations or graphic design experience, enjoy photography or videography, like engaging with social media, or just like connecting with people, let us hear from you Asha.</span><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><br></span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:georgia,serif"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><br></span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:georgia,serif"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">Best,</span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:georgia,serif"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">CCGA Communications Team</span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:georgia,serif"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><br></span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:georgia,serif"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><br></span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:georgia,serif"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:georgia,serif"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:georgia,serif"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:georgia,serif"><br></div></div>
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