Suzan N.  Kesim
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Community

"Life isn't about what you have; it's about what you have to give."

My years of volunteer service are an important part of who I am and my commitment to those around me.

I grew up in the Michiana area and have a deep love and concern for this community.

We all have something wonderful to give--time, money, talents to those around us. It is critical to "pay it forward".

My favorite volunteer activity is committing "Random Acts of Kindness". 


South Bend Maker Faire

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For the last three years I have worked to bring the Maker Faire to South Bend.  It celebrates both art and technology and congradulates the STEM efforts in the community.  

What makes a Maker Faire special?

It's a celebration of Form and Function. Tech is often very functional, but form is what makes us want to interact with it because it is appealing and beautiful.

You see this with the engineering in cars on the inside and the form and beauty on the outside. We will soon be printing our shoes to match a scan of our feet but we would also like them to look nice on the outside.

The Function Makers are the engineers and programmers. The Form Makers are the artists that bring us beauty. Maker Faires have both and hopefully teach people to join the two for products we enjoy using.

Apple is one of the most well known examples for making tech sleek and beautiful. 

Steampunk is also an area where tech and art have been combined.

Mark your calendars for July 30, 2016 for South Bend's FIRST Maker Faire! 

Maker Faires celebrate ALL Makers. We hope you will find fun and inspiration from all our Makers. Enjoy!

Suzan Kesim
Founding Organizer and Co-Chair for the South Bend Maker Faire 2016

Unity Gardens

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The Unity Gardens Inc. is a collaborative network of community  gardens originated to increase the availability, awareness, and accessibility of  healthy, locally grown food. Each Unity Garden has two criteria; diverse people  coming together to grow food and a sharing component. The gardens provide food  for any in need & bring diverse people together to grow, harvest, share, and  eat healthy food. The Unity Gardens Inc. surrounds community gardens with the  resources and systems needed to ensure success with growing food while  developing partnerships with area businesses, government, universities, schools,  churches, nonprofits, and neighbors. 

The 
mission is to improve  community health -- physically, socially, and economically. The Unity Gardens  will reduce chronic illness and obesity within the community via education and  increased accessibility of fruits and vegetables. The Unity Gardens will improve  social health by providing unconditional free food and opportunities for the  disadvantaged. The Unity Gardens will improve local economic vitality by  developing a sustainable local food system, recapturing food waste, creating new  jobs, and increasing per-capita productivity.

I've enjoyed both learning and contributing to the Unity Gardens.  As part of the efforts I planted a "Yarden" in my own front yard and have helped with some of the fundraising.  

I post my gardening tips on the Michiana Yardeners Facebook Page.  

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Michiana Fast Forward

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To promote and highlight the great technology in the Michiana Area, I created the Michiana Fast Forward Website and the  Michiana Fast Forward Facebook page.  It also has some fun and interesting technology on the horizon.  I am interested in seeing the next generations advance.  Our area has been the center of innovation in many ways.  For the business professional, I post Tech Tips on my Business Facebook Page Suzan N Kesim

Junior League

Junior League of South Bend Indiana
The Association of Junior Leagues International Inc. (AJLI) is an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable.

There are over 160,000 women in 292 Leagues in four countries who make a difference in their communities every day through their volunteer efforts. Junior League members have been making a difference for over 100 years. www.ajli.org

Our local League has accomplished incredible projects year after year.  I created the first website and database for the local office. I have been a member since 1994 - 2015 and received the "Internal Active of the Year" in 2000. 


Center for Hospice

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My 10 Years of Hospice Service Pin
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Established in 1978, The Center for Hospice and Palliative Care, Inc. is an independent, community based, not-for-profit organization, improving the quality of living through hospice, home health, grief counseling, and community education. The Center for Hospice and Palliative Care, Inc. serves Elkhart, Fulton, Kosciusko, LaGrange, LaPorte, Marshall, St. Joseph and Starke counties in Indiana.

I had the privilege of being an in-home volunteer for ten years.  I volunteered 4 hours per week.   I know the benefit of giving caregivers a much needed rest and time for themselves, as well as the peace of mind it gives someone to be able to die in their own home. www.centerforhospice.org


Junior Achievement

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JA Worldwide is the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating students about workforce readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs.

Junior Achievement programs help prepare young people for the real world by showing them how to generate wealth and effectively manage it, how to create jobs which make their communities more robust, and how to apply entrepreneurial thinking to the workplace. Students put these lessons into action and learn the value of contributing to their communities.

JA’s unique approach allows volunteers from the community to deliver our curriculum while sharing their experiences with students. Embodying the heart of JA, our 384,925 classroom volunteers transform the key concepts of our lessons into a message that inspires and empowers students to believe in themselves, showing them they can make a difference in the world. www.ja.org

I have taught students at Adams, Clay, LaSalle and John Grissom. It's hard to believe volunteering can be so much fun! 


Master Gardener

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To better the environment I became a Master Gardener. Part of becoming a Master Gardener requires local volunteer hours and educating fellow gardeners.   I also volunteer with Unity Gardens and help with Development

Take a virtual tour of my gardens:  Sue's Gardens  

Write My Law

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The project I wanted when I worked with the Code for America HackMichiana group was a website that would help the average citizen research and present a law to legislators without hiring a lawyer and a lobby group.  The government needs to return to the people.  Locally I was interested in animal rights laws and environmental laws.  Like most people, hiring a lawyer for these interests was not in the budget.  I created this website and with the help of Ed Edmonds of the University of Notre Dame Kresge Law Library.  There is now a resource to help everyone participate in their government.  www.WriteMyLaw.com 

Fab4Dogs

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I would very much like see laws around companion animals standardized.  With a local group, many issues have been identified.  The ultimate goal is to have template laws written so state and local entities can adjust them and incorporate them.  These have been organized on http://www.fab4dogs.com/animal-legislation.html We are currently looking for law students and lawyers willing to step up and make this happen.
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Grant Writing

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In 2013 I completed three certificate courses in Grant Writing to better support the causes I feel passionate about.  Grant writing is the latest area where I am expanding my writing skills.   

To read about my  writing as a journalist and technical writer, click here.

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P. O. Box 10226
South Bend, IN 46680
574.291.9102

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