JULY
SPOTLIGHT
A.L.S., commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, can strike anyone at any age, and begins with muscle weakness and progresses to total paralysis where patients eventually lose even the ability to speak, swallow and breathe on their own. The cruelest facet of this disease is that the mind is not affected, making the victim a prisoner in their own body.
Approximately 30,000 Americans are currently suffering from the disease with over 5,000 new cases being diagnosed each year. A.L.S. is fatal and victims typically do not survive more than 2 to 5 years after diagnosis. There is no cure, no treatments worth mentioning, and the cause is still unknown. Additionally, A.L.S. is known as an "orphan disease" meaning a disease that is "relatively rare", for which the development of drugs is considered to be "commercially nonviable". Therefore, facilities do not receive government funding or help from pharmaceutical companies.
The A.L.S. Family Charitable Foundation is dedicated to raising funds for cutting edge scientific research and patient services for those suffering from A.L.S. The Foundation's Signature Event is the "Cliff Walk®" for A.L.S. Fundraiser, a 7-Mile walk along the Cape Cod Canal in Buzzards Bay. The upcoming 11th Annual "Cliff Walk®" will be held on Sunday September 9.
Fundraiser's like the Annual "Cliff Walk ®" for A.L.S., are crucial to funding research efforts, providing financial support and much needed equipment/ramps/etc. to local patients and their families living with A.L.S. and supporting several In-House Patient Programs. These programs are designed to assist patients with their unique financial needs due to the hardship of living with A.L.S., support patients and their families with vacations that will allow them to celebrate their lives together and provide for individuals or groups of patients or caregivers to enjoy an outing of their choosing.
For more information about the A.L.S. Family Charitable Foundation or our upcoming "Cliff Walk®" please call 508.759.9696 or visit alsfamily.org. |
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Laying a Foundation
by Allen Larson
 In the effort to sustain Cape Cod and to develop an organization that engages individuals to work towards that end, we encourage the sharing of knowledge and experience by groups as well as individuals.
In a capitalist economy, competing self-interests spur economic growth and build wealth. The Scottish economist Adam Smith articulated the principles of the individual's "invisible hand" more than 200 years ago. Smith published his ideas at a time that coincided with the American Revolution in which we broke away from Great Britain and established a new political framework that relied on the voting rights of the individual. And throughout our history, shared or common interests have often become broad-based coalitions for change.
"Trust-busting" efforts of the early twentieth century restricted the emergence of monopolies. The "New Deal" set in place programs designed to counter the consequences of the Great Depression. The "Great Society" chipped away at social barriers that limited the access of minorities, especially blacks, to economic opportunity and political power. And opposition to military operations mired in Vietnam led us to change course and pull out and end that conflict. Anti-war sentiment now is pursuing similar end results regarding our ongoing military operations in Iraq. All of those accomplishments resulted from the invisible hands of individuals seeking solutions to problems. MORE
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International Trends - Local Response
by David Augustinho
Executive Director
Cape & Islands Workforce Investment Board
 Recently I was privileged to hear Dr. Edward Gordon speak about global issues affecting the workforce. He is the author of The 2010 Meltdown in which he describes an impending crisis that could take place as a result of a number of simultaneous events. Dr. Gordon's information points to an increasingly unsustainable labor supply that will affect employers throughout the United States.
To summarize the bad news, we are faced with declining U.S. populations, especially in the number of available workers; an inexorably aging population worldwide; and an increasingly less educated U.S. population. (To see further details behind these predictions, please read "2010: Will there be a meltdown?" published in the Barnstable Patriot.)
Now that is most of the bad news. Is there no good news on the horizon? Well, yes and no. Dr. Gordon points to education as the great hope in our being able to overcome some of these factors-not only in our K-12 and higher education systems but also in a variety of other settings that can help to transform the lives and careers of our workers. And this is where the local workforce development system plays a roll.
As we look at labor shortages in many occupations, we need to do a better job of preparing individuals to shift their career focus to meet employers' needs. We need to identify individuals who are currently excluded from technology positions and upgrade their skills. Dr. Gordon refers to these individuals as "techno-peasants," and he estimates that they make up almost 50 percent of our current workforce. Life-long learning principles will need to be a larger part of our national educational landscape to implement these needed changes.
Here on the Cape, institutions like the Workforce Investment Board (WIB) and the Cape Cod Community College will play a critical role building a sustainable workforce. MORE
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| What is the Solution?
by David Chase Jr.
roots & shoots Youth Fellow
(2007 Graduate of Sturgis Charter School)
Loosely defined, sustainability is simply the continuation of a certain action without requiring any additional resources. However, when one refers to sustainability or being sustainable, it is rarely that simple. On a planet with billions of people it is difficult to take the resources required for everyone on the planet to do one action while still having enough resources to continue that action or continue actions that require the same resource. Simply put, the stresses that humans put on the environment by polluting, burning fossil fuels, deforestation, just to name a few, mean that the present quality of our lives is unsustainable. Yes, we can continue this way for a while, but in the long haul our planet cannot support such devastation. The question is no longer, "What is the problem?" but rather, "What is the solution?".
 I have had the great fortune of seeing the solution firsthand. Almost 50 years ago, Dr. Jane Goodall began researching chimpanzees at Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania. She made several discoveries that revolutionized the very definition of human - more than enough to ensure her spot in the history books. She could have spent the rest of her life with the chimps in an awe-inspiring place, but she noticed that the area around Gombe was being destroyed. She had the solution though. She knew that the people inflicting the destruction were not doing so purposely. In fact, she figured that if they really knew the effects of their actions, they would care deeply. And if they cared, then they would take action to make a positive change. MORE
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