GROW Project Completes Websites for 10 Rural Grassroots Groups For Immediate Release: September 19, 2000 For more information contact Alice McCombs 715-524-5998 (Shawano, WI) Ten rural grassroots organizations have new websites courtesy of the EarthWINS GROW Project. Grassroots Rural Online Webworks (GROW) is a project developed by EarthWINS, www.earthwins.com, and Clean Water Action Council of Northeast Wisconsin, www.cwac.net, with a grant from the Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund (GLAHNF) http://www.glhabitat.org. The GLAHNF grant provided funds for domain registration, hosting, and promotion for 10 domain-name websites to rural organizations, or organizations with a large rural membership, that work to protect aquatic habitats in the Great Lakes region. Alice McCombs, President of EarthWINS, an online activist organization in Shawano, states, "Grassroots groups located in rural areas have a hard time using the Internet, especially getting websites. I wrote the GROW grant to help these groups learn to use the Internet and to get the public and media attention for their issues that having their own domain-name websites would provide. The GROW Project helped Friends of the Mecan, one of the organizations fighting Perrier in Central Wisconsin, with www.friendsofthemecan.com. McCombs states, "Most of the people struggling to protect Mecan Springs and later Big Spring in Adams County were not online. After many phone calls, emails, and attending one of the company's PR events in March, I was able to design and promote a website that informs the public about the communities' fight to protect their water supplies." Steve Argo, coordinator for Waterkeepers of Wisconsin, a group opposing Perrier in Adams County states, "The Friends website has been very helpful with fundraising and public education. We list the website on all of our group's literature." The GLAHNF grant allowed EarthWINS to provide a range of design services from a simple "front page" to a large site with many pages. Midwest Treaty Network (MTN), www.treatyland.com, already had a non-domain name site and only needed a "front page" with an easily recognizable website address. Zoltan Grossman, MTN Coordinator, states, "Treatyland.com has rapidly become the first stop for people around the country and the world wanting to find out about treaty rights and Native American environmental issues in the western Great Lakes region." Bonnie Fronek of Clean Water Forever, www.cleanwaterforever.com, a group that raises funds to help the Town of Nashville pay legal fees incurred in its fight against the proposed Crandon mine, said she is grateful for the work done on their site. "The Clean Water Forever website helps make it easier for non-profit organizations to look at how they can earn income. Also having the generic trust language available for anyone to see has been a great asset. Clean Water Forever has earned $1650 so far with the help of our website." McCombs designed the GROW Project websites. EarthWINS has provided free website services to 26 organizations since 1995. Online Technical Support for the GROW websites will be available at "Cyber-Barbarians," EarthWINS new website under "heavy construction" at www.cyber-barbarians.com. "During the struggle to pass the Mining Moratorium the mining industry called activists using the Internet 'cyber-barbarians'," McCombs said. "So I decided to oblige. Cyber-Barbarians will provide useful tools for Internet activists such as resources for research, contacting the media, raising funds and, of course, website design." EarthWINS GROW Project Websites: Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger (CSWAB) http://www.cswab.com/index.html Clean Water Forever http://www.cleanwaterforever.com/index.html Flintsteel Restoration Association http://www.flintsteel.org/index.html Friends of the Mecan http://www.friendsofthemecan.com/index.html New Transportation Alliance (NTA) http://www.newtransportation.org/index.html Northwoods Economic Development Project (NEDP) http://www.northwoodstourism.com/index.html Nukewatch http://www.nukewatch.com/index.html Rusk County Citizens Action Group (RCCAG) http://www.rccag.com/index.html Wisconsin Resources Protection Council (WRPC) http://www.wrpc.net/index.html Wolf Watershed Educational Project/Midwest Treaty Network http://www.treatyland.com/index.html +++++++++++++++++++++++++ Alice McCombs P O Box 573 Shawano, WI 54166 Ph: 715-524-5998 FAX (Call First): 715-524-9958 www.earthwins.com [EMAIL PROTECTED]
