Are You Concerned About The Blueberries?

blueberry billboardIn October 7, 2013, a mysterious billboard appeared near Flint, MI on I-69 close to the I-75 off-ramp. The message on the billboard simply stated ?I’m concerned about the blueberries.?

There was a lot of speculation about the origin and meaning of the cryptic message. The most common supposition was that it was about education and referenced the well-known story of businessman Jamie Vollmer, who relates a tale of blueberries and ice cream in speaking engagements around the country.

Although that was an intriguing story, it turned out to have nothing to do with the billboard on the side of the highway. The odd statement turned out to be a stunt devised by Flint business owner Phil Shaltz. When interviewed by MLive last year, Shaltz said, ?Blueberries are the concerns and the hurdles and the struggles that all of us deal with in a day.?

Shaltz came up with the idea to try to help people see the problems of others. The project is ??about getting people to not be desensitized to other people’s blueberries no matter how insignificant we think they may be.?

?It’s about doing the little things ? the causes we fight about and the doors that we open. It’s about caring for each other and doing a little something, causing an avalanche of good.?

BlueberryMomentsShaltz knows that some blueberries can’t be addressed with a simple good deed but he hopes to get people to send out a message that they are concerned about people in general. He feels that every individual can have an impact and is hopeful that if people see others in their community caring and helping out in small ways that they will become more sensitive to the issues, get involved, and pay it forward.

?Is it your father that needs to be taken to the dialysis center? The sick neighbor that needs to cut his lawn? The elderly person that needs to get across the street? Aren?t everyone’s blueberries tied to helping mankind in some way? Isn?t it all about our responsibility to help others, even if in some small way? It happens every day and most of us don’t even see it.?

Since the first interview with Shaltz, the blueberry campaign has been in full swing and is indeed developing into an avalanche of people helping people. A student Blueberry Ambassador program has been formed in several Flint schools, enlisting students to help others.

Students in Tammy Trombley’s fourth grade class at Gates Elementary School in Davison, MI started their ambassador program in December, before the actual launch of the official program. Some of the good deeds they performed appear on a blog at the Flint Journal.

Although the program is designed for sixth through 12th-grade students, the enthusiasm of Trombley’s students and their early start garnered them an exception to the rule and a spot in the program.

There is commonality in their stories ? their deeds are small, but made a huge impact. Makayla McArthur made valentines and Rainbow Loom bracelets and handed them out to nurses and other employees at a nearby hospital pediatric unit. Gage Lieske helped an elder at church hand out bulletins on a busy Sunday morning. He also delivered valentine cards and chocolates to several residents in an assisted living facility in Grand Blanc. Similar stories from at least ten different students are included in the original blog posting made in February.

Shaltz’s goal was to get 10 schools to enlist student volunteers who pledge to carry out random acts of kindness while serving as ambassadors. At the end of the campaign in May, the community will have an opportunity to vote for their favorite ambassador based on stories published describing their activities and good deeds. Shaltz is working under a partnership with the Flint Journal and MLive to publicize the program. The People’s Choice Award ($1,000) and a Founder’s Choice Award ($500) will be given out at the end of the campaign.

Each student ambassador receives a t-shirt, a blueberry pin and blueberry cards. The cards contain the statement ?I’m concerned about the blueberries? and are designed to be handed out to people that receive the goodwill of students. The instructions are simple ? a request to pay it forward ? each recipient is asked to perform a good deed or small nicety for someone else and to pass the card along to them with the same request to pay it forward. In this manner the program spreads from the small acts of the students out into the community. But you don’t have to have a blueberry card to participate.

Readers are encouraged to submit their own stories of random acts of kindness that they have experienced both as a giver and a receiver of the kind gesture. A dog named Rosco was rescued and returned to his happy owner by a friendly grandma. A man that forgot his wallet received a gift of gasoline for his generator from a complete stranger. A driveway was magically cleared of snow while a couple was vacationing in California over the holidays so they were able to pull right in after a long flight home. A stranger in Chicago helped a couple of lost tourists find their way, then paid their bus fare to get them where they needed to be in the subzero temperatures of mid-December. The stories are numerous and a joy to read.

Concern for the blueberries is serving to open the eyes, and hearts, of citizens in the Flint area in a big way. There are several articles chronicling the actions of many students and adults enjoying the act of ?paying it forward.?

Stories from Bentley Schools.

Stories from Scott Community School.

Stories from Flint Southwestern deaf and hard of hearing students.

Stories from Hahn Intermediate School in Davison, MI.

General stories from members of the community.

If you are interested in contacting program coordinators, please email them at [email protected], or visit their official website. The program is currently only available in Flint, MI, but seems to be very popular and has the potential to make quite an impact in other communities as well.

Are YOU concerned about the blueberries?

 

Edited/Published by: SB

 

 

martyMarty Townsend is active in Michigan with several groups and organizations, including the National Action Network (NAN), Occupy Detroit, Save Michigan Public Schools, Dearborn PTA Council, Michigan Petitioners, and several other small groups working together to make Michigan a better place. She concentrates?on educational issues, but also covers human interest, liberal politics, Michigan, environmental issues and Detroit, including the fight against Emergency Managers, the Education Achievement Authority, and fighting the corporate take-over of Michigan and the United States.