Landscaping Opportunities For Those Born With A Green Thumb

Not everyone is gifted with a green thumb. Some have tried effortlessly in planting a single plant or flower but to no avail. They most likely wither before it even grows an inch from the ground. But with the rapid urbanization and the construction of numerous skyscrapers here and there, there is little space left for landscaping or gardening. Then, there is pollution makes it harder for us to stay healthy as we are exposed to all sorts of it in our daily lives. Hence developers and builders now try to incorporate green spaces in tiny pockets of land in various parts of the city to make it greener and more livable aside from possibly reducing our carbon footprint.

It is why landscaping jobs are increasing and companies need more people to fill in jobs that require actual work on plants and green spaces to maintain a clean and lush look all year round. Aside from prior knowledge and skills on landscaping, a passion for plants and in beautifying spaces is also a must or else you’d find the job too exhausting and laborious aside from taking up too much of your time. It is the reason why only a few take up the challenge of doing something like this for a living because it can be really hard work at times.

Jobs are plentiful on Hilton Head Island, the problem is finding people to fill them.

For businesses like The Greenery, costs are growing like the weeds they cut down every day.

The landscaping company employs 650 people, and covers hundreds of acres in Savannah, Bluffton and Hilton Head.

But as the work has gotten bigger for the Greenery, their workforce is getting smaller.

“We used to have when you got into work 2-3 guys waiting outside looking for a job. explains Lee Edwards. “The next day if you didnt have one they would be out there again. Those days are long gone.”

(Via: http://wsav.com/2017/08/08/landscaping-business-is-booming-but-costs-rise-as-workers-disappear/)

It is not a glamorous job but it pays the bills and feeds the family too. It is also clean money and a decent job any average Joe can be proud of. If you are someone who doesn't mind doing the dirty work and likes making the planet a greener and more beautiful place to live in, then a landscaping job is right for you. And you should not feel threatened of any work stability issues as there will always be a demand for professional landscaping services in various parts of the country.

2. Diversify Your Offerings

Just because there’s a time that’s slower for your industry doesn’t mean it needs to be a slow time for you. Think about how you can expand your business to increase the scope of what you do and generate income during those sluggish months.

If you own a landscaping business, consider offering snow plowing services during the winter. Your expansion should be something logical that’s easy to manage with your existing resources and is a good or service that your current customer base will want to take advantage of; you don’t want to expand in a way that diverts your efforts and resources from your original business idea.

(Via: http://www.business2community.com/consumer-marketing/6-ways-leverage-seasonality-advantage-01893969#Yg7CpYctRUF1tmJo.97)

Perhaps the issue with landscaping is that work may be limited because of the changing of the seasons. But don’t let that dampen your spirits as there are plenty of ways you can make up for lost revenue by diversifying the services you offer such as tree clearing during autumn and even dabble into snow plowing during winter. With the help of technology and the Internet, you can learn new ideas on what can possibly work for your landscaping business in your area because for sure somebody else has already tried it too. You not only make money by landscaping other people’s lawns but you likewise make a positive change in this world that is badly needed at a time right now when climate change is at work and wreaking havoc on everyone’s lives.

The blog article Landscaping Opportunities For Those Born With A Green Thumb Read more on: TCR Blog

source https://www.thechurchreport.com/landscaping-opportunities-for-those-born-with-a-green-thumb/

Common Constraints To Volunteerism

The world isn’t always a nice place to live in but we can’t deny it is the only habitable planet in the universe where mankind can basically survive. Simply living isn’t an easy task anymore because many actually can’t afford a place of their own and essentially live in the street and rely on the generosity of others to sustain their needs. It’s the harsh reality of life but millions are living as homeless in various parts of the globe and it keeps on growing as the requirements for daily living isn’t that easy anymore.

While those living in poverty continue to grow, what can the rest of the world do to uplift their lives and brighten up their days even just once? The answer lies with volunteerism. People who are generous with their time and money enjoy supporting and volunteering in civic groups and NGOs that directly work with the poor and the homeless and those who deserve to receive help from the affluent. Unfortunately, not all the time these people are always rich and they do lead normal lives, which means they also have jobs that need their time and attention.

More than half of people who do not volunteer say that work commitments are the main reason they have never helped a charity, according to data from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport.

Further information released this week from last month’s Community Life Survey 2016/17 reveals that 52 per cent of people who had never formally volunteered said work commitments prevented them from doing so.

The Community Life Survey is an annual survey of adults aged 16 or over about their levels of community cohesion and engagement.

This year’s survey found that the proportion of people who said they volunteered fell over the past three years.

(Via: http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/work-commitments-main-barrier-volunteering-survey-finds/volunteering/article/1441752)

The number of people that volunteer in good causes has dropped because aside from work and family obligations, they have multiple preoccupations now that mostly involve technology. A lot of adults and teens spend a great deal of their time daily surfing their news feed and updating their social media accounts that they have little time left to spare for other causes like volunteerism and charity.

Ronald Lovell heard about the number of people in Shasta County failing to answer their summons for jury duty.

Frustrated that this is so common, he decided to volunteer his service.

"Someone who's committed a heinous crime walking free simply because people didn't show up for jury duty, that's not acceptable," Lovell said. "You're turning this person loose to do this again and you're making a mockery of the justice system."

He wanted people to think about if it were their family member that was targeted by the criminal that was then set free because of a dismissal. 

Lovell said jury duty is "the last real grip where we're effective in what takes place in our government."

(Via: http://www.krcrtv.com/news/local/shasta/man-volunteers-for-jury-duty-upset-by-number-of-no-shows/602417072)

More people even avoid doing common voluntary activities like jury duties. They come up with all sorts of excuses even if they were already summoned by the court. Now, what more on other voluntary civic causes that they aren’t exactly required to participate in? Most people would rather stay at home and surf the web to their heart’s content or hang out with their friends. Those who are already into volunteerism are continually trying to raise awareness on the impact of volunteer work to society especially in the lives of the less fortunate.

The government can’t always address all the issues happening around us 24/7. At times, we have to pitch in and do our part in making a positive difference to society and not just complain all the time about the state’s inefficiencies. You’d be surprised at how volunteering a few hours of your time can uplift a person’s life or even an entire community. That’s the power of extending a helping hand – random acts of kindness that perpetuate the goodness in humanity over and over again.

Common Constraints To Volunteerism See more on: thechurchreport.com

source https://www.thechurchreport.com/common-constraints-to-volunteerism/

How Religion Sparks Terrorism

People are both sensitive and passionate about their faith. And the most apparent way of professing your faith is through your religion. Various organized religions abound the world today. Even in ancient times, people have professed different faiths and fought for it to the ends, especially when their religion or faith is threatened. And nothing much has changed if you look at how things are lately. Even though technology has taken over the world and we can say we are centuries ahead of the barbaric ways of our ancestors, religious terrorism remains to be an existing threat that we all face.

The rise of nationalism sparked religious terrorism and terrorist activities motivated by religion have risen significantly since the 1980s. Even during biblical times, violence and religion had a symbiotic relationship. Terrifying acts motivated by religion, justified by religious beliefs, or influenced by religious organizations is the very essence of religious terrorism. Today, current geopolitics forces are likewise closely linked with acts of religious terrorism.

Two horrific suicide bombings, in two different cities, two hours apart—this is how Egyptian Christians began Holy Week. 

In the cities of Tawra and Alexandria, Muslim terrorists stormed Coptic churches where they proceeded to blow themselves to a fine pink mist while taking 44 worshippers with them. These two attacks followed last December’s horrific suicide bombing at St. Peter’s Cathedral in Cairo that killed 29. 

Does Egypt have a problem with Islamic violence? Not according to Egypt’s most prominent clergyman, Dr. Ahmed al-Tayeb, who holds the prestigious title of Grand Imam of al-Azhar. At a conference in Cairo last month, al-Tayeb said that the incidence of Muslim violence around the world is rather unremarkable: “There is an obvious double standard in the world’s judgment of Islam on the one hand, and [its judgment of] Christianity and Judaism on the other, despite the fact that all are guilty of one and the same thing, that is, religious violence and terrorism.” 

The point al-Tayeb is trying to make is pretty straightforward: that people are quick to chide Muslims for terrorism when in fact the terror problem cuts across religious lines. Clearly all of this talk about terrorism must be a cloak for bigotry. If people were truly concerned with eradicating terrorism they would condemn it wherever it’s found. The fact that they don’t exposes their hypocrisy. 

(Via: http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/266436/if-terror-knows-no-religion-where-all-benny-huang)

Throughout history, revolutionary groups or terrorists with religious and political motivations perform various acts of martyrdom, self-sacrifice and suicide terrorism to trigger panic or mass hysteria and destabilize the government or sow seeds of fear in society and the people. Terrorist suicide attacks are inexpensive yet efficient ways of causing damage and sending the message aside from being highly difficult to counter.

US President Donald Trump has said that terrorism is one of the gravest threats to religious freedom around the world and hoped for a “better tomorrow” when people of all faiths, including Hindus, can worship according to their conscience.

In his weekly radio and web address, he said the US has cherished the freedom of worship “from the very beginning”.

“That is the promise the first settlers saw in our vast continent — and it is the promise that our bravest warriors have protected for all of our citizens in centuries since, a long time ago,” he said on Friday.

“Sadly, many around the globe do not enjoy this freedom — and one of the gravest threats to religious freedom remains the threat of terror,” he said.

On Palm Sunday, as Christians around the world celebrated the beginning of the Holy Week, IS killed 45 people and injured over 100 at two Christian churches in Egypt, he said.

“We condemn this barbaric attack. We mourn for those who lost loved ones. And we pray for the strength and wisdom to achieve a better tomorrow — one where good people of all faiths, Christians and Muslims and Jewish and Hindu, can follow their hearts and worship according to their conscience,” Mr. Trump said.

(Via: http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/terrorism-one-of-gravest-threats-to-religious-freedom-trump/article18044812.ece)

One of the reasons why Donald Trump ran for office is because he is worried about the state of the nation and the constant terrorist threats all Americans have to deal with for a while now. He felt that the previous administrations weren’t doing enough measures to prevent these terrorists from gaining access into the country and endangering the lives of millions of Americans.

His campaign of making America great again aims to address the issues of religious terrorism among others; something that he felt weren’t given enough focus in the past. He is a true patriot by heart and only does the things that he feels is for the good of America regardless of what the outsiders may say. And for him, religious terrorism is a threat that he doesn’t take lightly because he’ll never risk the safety and security of every American, regardless if they voted for him or not.

The following blog article How Religion Sparks Terrorism Read more on: TCR Blog

source https://www.thechurchreport.com/how-religion-sparks-terrorism/

Africans Deprived Of The Chance To Learn

Education is the key to the good life. It’s common knowledge that educated people have better chances in life. They can land better jobs than those without bachelor degrees and can definitely go up the corporate ladder. And since quality education opens doors to various opportunities, parents do their best to send their kids to good schools for their brighter future.

Our cognitive superiority as humans is what separates us from all the other species on earth. However, not everyone is given the chance to better themselves because you need to invest a lot of money before you can get that coveted college diploma that will be your ticket to living a stable and comfortable life. Not everyone gets the chance to study in struggling third-world countries. How can they pay for expensive tuition fees when they can barely afford basic life necessities like food, shelter, and clothing? Even the government can’t afford to subsidize the youth’s education, making it hard for the poor to uplift their lives.

The Global Education Monitoring Report notes that donor countries are placing a lower priority on education aid, creating an annual $39 billion financing gap between 2015 and 2030. As allocations for health and humanitarian relief increased globally due to the refugee and migration crisis in Europe, aid to education stood at $12 billion in 2015, 4% below the 2010 levels.

This shortfall is specifically affecting countries most in need—worsening the prospects for achieving global education goals. The situation is especially critical in sub-Saharan Africa, where the countries most in need are located, and which also has over half of the world’s out-of-school children.

(Via: https://qz.com/1003800/unesco-says-education-funding-stagnates-as-us-uk-and-others-place-lower-priority-on-aid/)

Africa is a rich country in terms of natural resources but is one of the poorest places on earth. It’s quite an irony, right. When you hear the word, Africa, you often think of famine, poverty, and conflicts. Even the wilderness is fast disappearing because the Africans aren’t educated enough to protect their natural resources and they can’t count on a corrupt government to fight for their rights.

In the next two decades, Africa must become capable of negotiating a global economy increasingly driven by technological advances and new trading relationships. Much of Africa’s economic performance flows from resource-rich industries that are hardly models of sustainability. Rather than relying on its natural resources, Africa must accept that the most important factor in its future success – as it is for all economies, developed or not – is education.

Education is now the best predictor of wealth creation worldwide, and in the coming decades that pattern will only intensify, as economic productivity becomes increasingly focused on innovation, technology, specialisation, and creativity. Many types of jobs will also be automated in the coming years, and this will change Africa’s labour market – partly because many industrial jobs in Africa consist of tasks that could in theory be replicated by new technologies. Countries must think about creating or promoting sectors with jobs that are high in ‘soft-skills’ and creativity if they want to be competitive globally in the decades to come. Without investment in educational standards, Africa will be left behind.

That would be a tragedy for the continent’s greatest resource – its young people. 

(Via: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/opinion/without-education-revolution-africa-s-economic-green-shoots-will-wither/199261.html)

The only disadvantage of Africans is that they lack the resource to produce globally competitive citizens. The African youth are not oblivious of all the technological advancements that their foreign counterparts get to take for granted. With the right tools, they can change the image of their continent and gradually address the chronic issues that are crippling their society and lives.

Most African families can barely eat, so sending kids to school is quite impossible given their current situation. Aside from the basic necessities, it is the one thing they need the most. If only their resources are managed right and they don’t get looted by corrupt officials and other countries of the richness of their land, educating the African youth won’t be a problem at all. Only then can they truly change African life for the better.

Africans Deprived Of The Chance To Learn is republished from https://www.thechurchreport.com

source https://www.thechurchreport.com/africans-deprived-of-the-chance-to-learn/