Frequently Asked Questions
Why do we have 'neighborhood' on our merchandise?
At Foundation 4 Living we believe language has a significant impact on reality and should be accurate and purposeful when used. In normal conversation it is common to refer to the neighborhoods where we focus our outreach as "the hood". "The hood" is a place, a place with no mention of people or the emotions that come along with people. By placing "neighbor" back in front of "hood" the message is now about a community and its people. It is a small step towards changing the mindset about the neighborhoods we service. It is the initial step toward fulfilling our mission to increase a standard of living by focusing on the people in the community. It takes and will take collaboration and handshakes to meet our mission on a continual basis. The shirts are representative of those very things we want to convey.
What is meant by a "Bonsai state of mind"?
For people who are unaware, a Bonsai tree is the result of an Asian gardening practice. People are most familiar with the Bonsai trees which are much smaller replicas of their much larger, unhinged sibling trees. Through this practice there are tabletop Redwood trees that are in people's homes and gardens. The art of the Bonsai method is restriction. By restricting the space in which the trees will ever grow, the tree grows on a much smaller scale but still with all of its natural function and beauty. With careful pruning, planning, and attention a person can maintain a replica of the unrestricted beauties in places which would normally be impossible. So the Bonsai state of mind is the idea that people can be like Bonsai trees although they cannot be expected to reach their full potential with limited, restricted, and non-existent resources. At Foundation 4 Living, we aim to get rid of the limits and restrictions so that members of the Austin community and throughout Chicago can meet their full potential.