CSAR: Consolidation for Social Awareness and Responsibility FWD

Tom Boland (wgcp@earthlink.net)
Sat, 24 Oct 1998 07:56:08 -0400 

FWD  CC REPLIES TO:  Richard Gurbin <truegrowth@sympatico.ca>

http://www3.sympatico.ca/truegrowth/csar.htm
CSAR: Consolidation for Social Awareness and Responsibility
            "We are aware.  We do care."


CSAR, Consolidation for Social Awareness and Responsibility, is our attempt
to attract influence and attention to the issues of homelessness/near
homelessness. The following article is a brief description of our efforts
to date. Comments, suggestions and support of most any kind is welcome.
Please exercise Option#1 described below.




         GOOD WORKS:  HELPING THE HOMELESS
         by Susan Doran, Real Estate Magazine



Real estate sales representative Richard Gurbin, 50, has come up with a
novel way of helping the homeless, and, he's eager to spread  the word.
Gurbin's brainchild-an Internet based letter writing campaign  to help the
homeless-is a sound idea that puts today's  internet technology to a
philanthropic purpose in a practical way.

"It always bothers me to walk down the street and see the homeless ...  the
number of homeless people is growing at an alarming  rate," Gurbin says. "I
started thinking there has to be a way to help. I  could volunteer, but I
decided against that partly due to time
constraints. Being in real estate (he's with ReMax Professionals in
Etobicoke, Ont.), I don't have a predictable schedule.  "Everything I
thought of involved tremendous inputs of time, or energy,  or money,"
Gurbin says. And I thought, "If I'm having this  problem, others will too.
My website evolved from those thoughts. It's  developed for people who want
to do something useful but  don't feel they have a lot of time. They can
contribute quickly, easily,  but significantly-in less than 10 minutes.

He officially started the site-named Consolidation for Social Awareness
and Responsibility (CSAR) -- last year on his birthday, August 30.

Four options are available, depending on how much time you want to spend
wading through the CSAR website.

Option #1: (the key to the site): There are pre-written advocacy letters
to various people and organizations in a position to help the  homeless
(including the prime minister; the Canadian Medical  Association; and the
City of Toronto's Office of the Homeless  Advocate). Simply print these
out, put them in envelopes, and mail them.  Any and all of the addresses
you'll need are listed in the website.

Option #2: Navigate the entire website, which Gurbin describes as
"comprehensive." You'll find examples of what others are doing  to help the
homeless, as well as information about the various other  causes and
support groups Gurbin is interested in.

Option #3: Included here are ways to help Gurbin and CSAR, whether by
actively helping to administer the website, offering  feedback, and
suggestions, or fostering awareness of CSAR by including  the site on your
e-mail Signature file or promoting "link  exchanges" with other websites.
Gurbin is open to suggestions about  other causes that could be included in
the site.

Option #4: Clicking on this option will provide you with a summary sheet
suitable for posting on bulletin boards. It includes a brief  description
of CSAR and how it works.

If CSAR website is successful (Gurbin doesn't have a counter and so has  no
idea how many 'hits' it gets), Gurbin hopes to use it not just to help the
homeless but to effect action on global issues from pollution to children's
rights.

His well-developed social conscience, he explains, is the result of a
tapestry  of life-altering and affirming events. Born the youngest in  a
large caring family (his father owned a tool and die shop and would
sometimes work all night, only to get paid in chickens), Gurbin  survived
two separate near-death experiences-a car accident and an operation by his
early 20's.

Born and raised in Essex, Ont., he's lived in Mississauga since 1980.
Before becoming a real estate sales rep in 1987, he put his  financial
degree to use working as a financial analyst for a
multinational firm, and later a market consultant specializing in
"productivity improvement".

But after racking up 100,000 frequent flyer points and finding that he  was
becoming a stranger to his two daughters, he entered real estate.

It's a wonderful career for family-oriented people," he says. "You work
odd hours, but if you want to go to the zoo, you don't have  to ask
anybody."


The CSAR website address is http://www3.sympatico.ca/truegrowth/csar.htm

contact Richard Gurbin ... he would be happy to hear from you!
truegrowth@sympatico.ca

*****

You can check CSAR sponsors at
http://www3.sympatico.ca/truegrowth/grand.htm
towards the bottom of the page.
CSAR's mission statement and operating style can be accessed from the top
of that same page.
Also look at the CSAR FAQ's at
http://www3.sympatico.ca/truegrowth/faq1.htm
and the press release at
http://www3.sympatico.ca/truegrowth/pubrel.htm

END FORWARD

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