Existing projects that the freedom movement can adopt

[David]

Rather than create entire new alternatives, that are unfamiliar to most, we should preempt the existing ones for our purposes. 
The biggest reason is that new ideas and projects are as hard to get sold to the public as a new product.  So by using something people are more familiar with will aid in getting the market to accept it.  All the while we can still achieve our goals of non-reliance on gov't force and fraud, and providing visible alternatives to gov't provided services. 

In ohio there is a grocery store program called U Promise.  Its purpose is to raise money for college education by setting aside a percentage of your purchases to the program. 
We may one day be able to do something similar for homeschooling or the liberty scholarship fund ect. 

Existing arbitration organizations may be better to use than trying to create something new. 

Ideas such as general agreement on basic justice, security, may be cultered by promoting a private licensing or endorsements.  The ZAP originater is attempting something like this already. 
An umbrella organization can be set up to endorse 3, or 4, private security companies that agree to follow a very basic set of rules as a condition of receiving landowners business.  BTW, this is important if you ever want to replace the police. 
Security is an essential human need,  and if not protected any dream of replacing gov't will be meet with massive almost histerical resistance.  That's why liberty always loses to security. 

I do not believe in 'imposing' freedom on others.  So anything we do will have to survive side by side with the state. 

Please feel free to brainstorm.  Please keep in mind practicality.   

[KBCraig]

I don't know anything about the "New Hampshire Food Bank". It could be a good charity. If anyone has knowledge about the group, please chime in.

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Supplies+running+low+at+New+Hampshire+Food+Bank&articleId=33108960-2919-43f8-ad7a-92d5c20b1095

Supplies running low at New Hampshire Food Bank

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Concord ? Supplies are down at the New Hampshire Food Bank.

The food bank supplies more than 350 soup kitchens and food pantries throughout the state, with demand up nearly 50 percent and fewer donations coming in, said executive director Melanie Gosselin.

According to new census figures, 95,000 New Hampshire residents live below the poverty level, up from 80,000 residents calculated during the last census.

"There's not enough food to purchase," said Jo-Anne Buchanan, chairwoman of the food pantry at St. Paul's Church in Concord. "There have been many occasions when we have not had vegetables, canned fruit. There have been days we've not had cereal, which is major for breakfast, and snacks for kids when they come home from school."

The New Hampshire Food Bank, based in Manchester, already has received 15,000 to 20,000 requests for assistance during the holidays, Gosselin said.

To help out, the food bank has organized an Oktoberfest fundraiser at McIntyre Ski Area in Manchester.

The organization also has asked Gov. John Lynch to hold a press conference in November. "He's planning on doing that," Lynch spokesman Pam Walsh said.

Yesterday afternoon, Andover resident Bill Matulevich, an engineer at Proctor Academy, presented the Food Bank with a check for $5,000.

He held a huge yard sale during the weekend in Andover that included vendors, donated helicopter rides and donated food.

Matulevich went on the radio on WNTK in New London to say the event raised $4,800; a listener called in an extra $200 to hit the $5,000 mark.

"One of the major gains to this thing is to make people aware that there is a food bank that does supply these pantries throughout the state," Matulevich said.

Gosselin said the problem of diminished supplies might have started with Hurricane Katrina last year, which led many grocery stores and manufacturers to divert food donations to the Gulf Coast.

After that, local floods brought more people into soup kitchens and food pantries. In May, the food bank distributed 524,000 pounds of food, twice what it gave out the year before, she said.

"We haven't really been able to recoup from that," she said.

Other agencies have been struggling to distribute food, too. The Community Action Program for Belknap-Merrimack Counties, which distributes food from the Agriculture Department to local agencies, expects it will receive half the surplus food commodities it did last year.

Since the food bank can buy from distributors at reduced rates, Gosselin asks that those who want to help send money rather than cans of food.

"We can stretch a dollar into four meals," she said.

[error]

The most important thing here is that it's a private, rather than a government, charity. I did some deep digging and discovered that the food bank occasionally receives small amounts of surplus USDA dry milk and similar products from America's Second Harvest, which in turn gets it from USDA. Aside from that, there's no government involvement at all that I can find.

http://www.nhfoodbank.org/

A program of New Hampshire Catholic Charities, the New Hampshire Food Bank serves as the only food bank in the state.  Our current approach to ending hunger includes developing programs to help educate our member agencies, rolling out a Mobile Food Pantry, and expanding our Operation Frontline program. Each year the Food Bank distributes nearly 4 million pounds of donated, surplus food to over 350 food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, day care centers, senior citizen homes and substance abuse treatment centers. These member agencies in turn provide the food to the nearly 80,000 hungry men, women and children throughout New Hampshire.

A food bank is the center of food collection and distribution in a community. This food usually comes from grocery stores or manufacturers that have thousands of pounds of food to give away -- food that would have otherwise been thrown away. In essence, food banks operate intricate and advanced warehousing operations where food is collected, sorted and re-distributed to the community. Traditionally, a food bank does not distribute food directly to those in need. Instead, food banks serve an extensive network of organizations in their respective communities. These organizations serve one part of the community and know the needs of the people there. Therefore, working together, the food bank and the community organization can serve a greater number of people in the most efficient way.

At the New Hampshire Food Bank, much of our food supply comes through America's Second Harvest, THE NATION'S FOOD BANK NETWORK. America's Second Harvest solicits product donations from national companies such as Con-Agra, Kellogg's, Nabisco and others, which are then allocated to over 200 food banks across the country. Each food bank is responsible for paying transportation costs to get the product in-house.

[KBCraig]

Thanks, Error.

Sounds worthy to me.

Kevin

[Dave Ridley]

Food banks in NH would tend to draw people to NH who need food banks.  Bad thing.

However I really do like the idea of supporting existing helpful institutions rather than starting new stuff. 

[Mikehz]

Our local libertarian party was active with Habitat for Humanity. In fact, the head of the charity was an officer in our party.

Habitat for Humanity is not a giveaway program. Instead, it expects those receiving housing to pay for what they get, both in cash and in labor. All income goes toward building more houses.

[error]

Food banks in NH would tend to draw people to NH who need food banks.  Bad thing.

However I really do like the idea of supporting existing helpful institutions rather than starting new stuff. 

The point is not to draw people to NH who need food banks. After all, there are apparently already 95,000 of them there.

The point is to support private charity over government coerced handouts. After all, do we not constantly make the point that private charity is superior to coercion? Further, the point is to help those 95,000 people get out of poverty by reducing the government coercion which keeps them there.

[Dreepa]

The best charity in NH is LOCAL charity.
Keep it personal and keep it local.
Towns do try to help their own.

If people want a ton of info on the foodbank my wife has more info.

[Russell Kanning]

Even better ... not even using a charity. The best is private/person-2-person giving of time, money, gifts. No overhead
no paid staff
no money to keep track of or steal

[aries]

http://www.nhclf.org/microcredit/index.html

That could be beneficial to FSP members that need a starting point or a leg up

[Dave Ridley]

<<Even better ... not even using a charity. The best is private/person-2-person giving of time, money, gifts. No overhead
no paid staff
no money to keep track of or steal>>

bingo.  sending money directly to the person you want to help, to use as they see fit.

[Braddogg]

<<Even better ... not even using a charity. The best is private/person-2-person giving of time, money, gifts. No overhead
no paid staff
no money to keep track of or steal>>

bingo.  sending money directly to the person you want to help, to use as they see fit.

That takes a lot more work.  It involves getting to know someone and thinking they are trustworthy.  Not that that's a bad idea, but just something that would have to be done.

[Russell Kanning]

We all know people.

[dawn]

If we know of someone in need, perhaps we can ask others to help them out. Of course, they deserve the option of being anonymous (on the giving or receiving end), so that's a minor point to consider. I like best the idea of "sharing the wealth" in our own communities. Help your neighbors and hopefully they will help someone else, etc.

I've often thought of how helpful it could be to reach out to people who have been the victim of a natural disaster. They need food, clothes, etc. How could we help with that?

This is a bit OT, but have you heard of freecycle? It's not exactly charity to needy people, but it's a way to pass on things we have that we no longer need to those willing to come pick them up. Scroll down to see the NH groups - http://www.freecycle.org/display.php?region=US%20Northeast#New%20Hampshire. 

[Russell Kanning]

Kid mowing the park lawns
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rAYGrHLiUw