Yard of the Week Contest

Why?

Humans are complicated…we have dreams of good things, dreams of bad things, and we make good things bad, and bad things good , it is complicated…and we then live the results.

The result is often misery through misunderstanding.

This is the effort of the Yard of The Week Contest. Simply, the idea is to show a person the way out of often regular dismal life, and into the higher elements of life. If God is in your life, you will find Him alive and well within. If not in your life, you will find Him anyway!

If you have never had much good in your life, it stands to reason that you depend on nothing good, and for guidance, you miss good. And the reverse is true. If you have good in your life, if you depend on good, then it stands to reason that you will practice good and good things will follow you.

So, what happens now? We show you a way to dig for this evidence of good.

In the winter, we select a neighborhood of dismal expectations. Easy to find, they exist all over the USA in mid to medium to large cities. Inner city low income areas are the targets. We select one or two. Then, in spring we announce the Yard of The Week Contest, a spring planting contest. Generally, we send an announcement of the contest to all addresses in the area. We try not to get personal for some housing is substandard, and basically awful, perhaps embarrassingly so. Our announcement happens in February or March. The first contest day is mid-May and then weekly for eight weeks until mid July.

All contest efforts and awards are based on three things. "Effort! Means! Ability!" are the three. If you have little money, have bad health, and do the best you can, we will pick up on this and you can be a winner. If you have the grandest house, lots of money, and do an excellent job you too will be a winner. The idea is that when one person wins, everybody else wins as well…winners beget winners!

If you live next to a winner, we think, and it seems proven, that you too will identify with the winner…and do what it takes to join the winner next door. Sooner than later, the neighbor next to you will adopt the same attitude and they too will strive to become a winner. Winning is contagious…( have you ever seen an NFL team enjoy their loss?)

Proof? We only have one complete statistical record. In Columbia, S.C., we entered a high crime area in May of 2005. At the end of 2006, crime had dropped 65% ( report is available upon call). Other programs were ongoing, yet had been for the ten years prior.
We were the new in the neighborhood. We found the winners, they found themselves.

Some of the areas we have had contests :
Florence, S.C.; Camden, S.C.; Spartanburg, S.C.; Winston Salem, N.C.; Baltimore, Md.; and Columbia, S.C. We have offered this contest to Helena-West Helena, Arkansas..but they cannot get around to it. ( pull Helena up on Google…terrible crime rate and just what we are seeking!!) The flop of leadership is amazing…but ever so true.

Government? Government is not a good thing for these people involved. And we are not connected to government. Right now, the contest is funded by an individual and then many, many, many more who are the participants. The participants purchase the supplies, purchase the plants, and provide the labor. This is positive side economy working full steam. I help you, you help another, and the another helps another and then? We all hold hands and march off into a nice neighborhood we all just reconstructed…out of heart and flowers.

Crime? It seems to hit the road. Unwelcomed by the neighbors, the criminal is told to skip off. And seems to do just this.

Leadership? Leadership at the political levels seems mostly intent on serving the welfare of the leaders. They seem uninterested and incapable of helping. In fifteen years, the score is zero for political leaders. Yet this is also the good news. The people don't need political leadership..the true leader is within each person..and is readily available to each person. And this is the truly good news…we are our own leader…and coupled with our neighbor, we become a group of leaders, showing the strength of leading ourselves to our intended goals.

Can we help you to get one started? Yes sir! We will show you all that you need to know. If you have terrible violence, collective depression, much crime and wholesale misery, we have a good answer. I will show you how, what, and some expected results.

Expensive? Nope! $2 per person with the families doing all the planning, all the purchasing, all the work, and taking all the congratulations of being a winner. It will take a couple of outsiders a few Saturdays in the spring and summer to do the judging, furnish the signs, and the small cash prizes.

Description: There should be approximately 300 houses within a contest neighborhood. Each week, some ten houses will be selected as winners. The categories? First Most
Tender Loving Care, and 2nd , 3rd ; First Most Green Thumb, 2nd , 3rd; First Most Natural Yard, 2nd, 3rd; and an Honorable Mention. Each winner will receive $10 gold dollars ( if available) or ten brand new $10 dollar bills.

Time: The judging shall be on Saturday morning about ten oclock til noon. People are usually at home at this time. In most cases, we take pictures of the yards, and the winners ( if permissible).

Results: Then, we wait!

Please take a look at www.yardoftheweek.org
This is what happens.

Grade Contest: This is a cousin of the Yard of The Week Contest. Look at the Grade Contest within the website and see the pictures of the grade winners. This can happen in your Yard Contest area…simple, inexpensive and no government.

If you have a question, call me, Clif Judy at 803-530-5216
I live in Columbia, S.C. I will be happy to help.