LADY LIGHT
There may soon be a new face at the Homeless Garden Project. A crowdfunding campaign aims to raise $100 to buy the farm a three-foot replica of the Statue of Liberty found online. The man behind the campaign, Matthew McCabe, lived in Santa Cruz for 10 years and plans to move back soon. McCabe and his wife lost their Ben Lomond house to foreclosure in 2008. He understands how quickly circumstances can change.
“The Statue of Liberty is a symbol of hope,” he says. “That’s so much about what [the Homeless Garden Project] is doing.”
The amount McCabe is asking for covers the cost of the statue, which features Emma Lazarus’ famous quotation: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free …”
McCabe’s hope is that the campaign will far exceed the $100. Anything above that mark will be donated to the Homeless Garden Project.
Surprise gifts to the Homeless Garden Project are nothing new, says executive director Darrie Ganzhorn. People donate all kinds of things: money, knitted goods for the store, tools and services such as grant writing.
“This is just one more way that people in the community, from all different walks of life, step up and support our work and make sure it continues and grows.”
To donate to the crowdfunding campaign, go to life.indiegogo.com and search “Homeless Garden Project.” CJ
CITY CODE
Santa Cruz has joined a network of cities across the country dedicated to providing fast Internet to all communities, Mayor Don Lane announced this month. The city already has a dig-once policy, ensuring that when city workers dig under the pavement into our roads, they’ll lay down broadband pipes while they’re down there.
Santa Cruz joining this Next Century Cities group is a symbol of some exciting things happening in our tech world. You can add to that list the rise of Looker, the data research company which is expanding even faster than the ambitious company had projected when it moved to the top floor of the Rittenhouse building last summer. This month, it announced 400 percent growth in revenue over last year.
And resources hub Santa Cruz Works recently launched a new blog, as well as new job-searching capabilities—and announced its first executive director: Nextspace co-founder Jeremy Neuner. JP
