Spencer Handley

Fill and Build: Progress Report

This last weekend was the first big push for Fill and Build. We have been working extremely hard for the last few months to make this project happen and we are finally seeing some headway. 

The project started with an idea and has grown into something that I feel really connected to. Over the past three months we have worked closely with Free the Children and the Goodwill, put up a website, organized volunteers, prepared our materials and marketed the project.

We started pre-collection pickups at the beginning of the month and were able to collect a significant amount of donations from the community, meeting loads of really engaging people in the process. The energy and encouragement that we have received through the process has been really inspiring. About two weeks ago, we were interviewed by a wonderful woman named Elina from our local newspaper and featured in a full page article, which was really exciting!

Read the article here.

After that exciting news, we were met with even more excitement when we were given the opportunity to speak at Free the Children’s: Youth Summit - Los Angeles Conference.

Austin and I shared our experience with the students, ages 11-20 from all over Los Angeles. We are so grateful for this opportunity! We met so many inspiring students, finally got to meet our Free the Children mentors, Helen Ma and Sarah Koff and even got a chance to meet Robin Wiszowaty, an incredible philanthropist and director of Free the Children’s Kenya program. She currently lives in Kenya and she shared the story of her experience working in marginalized areas in the region. It was a clear reminder of what we are working so hard to support. She was incredible! We brought a truck to the event and were able to collect loads of donations from the students. 

We were so excited! The parents were enthusiastic, and we even met faculty from local elementary and middle schools who want to collaborate with us by doing donations drives at their schools.

The following day, we hosted our first official donation drive with the Goodwill. We had loads of volenteers come out to help (THANK YOU VOLUNTEERS!!), and too many donations to count! Our team met so many kind souls, many of whom came out as a result of reading the article in the newspaper (thank you Elina!). Austin and I drove around the city in a box truck, picking up furniture and bags of donations from the local community. We were interviewed by an online news group and our good friend Gina came out to take photos and record an audio interview for a project called Difference Makers (I’ll share more on this as I get more details, I think it’s going to be a really interesting project). At the end of the day we were able to fill 70% of the truck, which was a HUGE accomplishment as these trucks are utterly MASSIVE! We also got a great feel for how we will approach our next drive in a month and half. This weekend was a great success for us, hopefully one of many! We have a lot of cool plans in the works, it’s going to be exciting!

-The Fill and Build Team

Foundation

Just finished just about the coolest web series ever. It’s called “Foundation” and it’s hosted by Kevin Rose (check him out if you haven’t already). He has selected the top developers and entrepreneurs in silicon valley and conducted half hour to hour long interviews with each of them. The insight and knowledge is worth more than any college education you could ever buy. Please, please, please, if you are interested in tech/design/business/life CHECK IT OUT! So far there are 15 episodes, so start on episode one and go through the whole series if you have the time. It will keep your interest! 

How to Live Longer and Avoid Degenerative Diseases (Nutrition).

I thought I would share some cool nutrition stuff that I have learned both for my own record and for anyone who is interested. For a while now, I have been experimenting with supplement routines. After digesting quite a few of books and articles on nutrition, I have reduced my routine to nine different supplements. They include; Alpha Lipoic Acid, DHA, Fermented Cod Liver Oil, Chelated Minerals, Vitamin D-3, Vitamin C, B-Complex, Ginko Biloba and a general multivitamin (google them for details and health effects on each supplement). As an experiment, I have decided to add four more items to that list.

The first supplement I have added is Policosanol, a supplement extracted from waxes in plants such as sugar cane, yams and beeswax.

Research suggests that it lowers cholesterol and reduces health problems related to cholesterol in life. I have a family history of diabetes and high cholesterol and have decided to take preventative measures early on to reduce my risk.

The second compound I have added is Garlicin, a garlic extract. The health benefits include significant reduction in Cancer probability, cholesterol reduction and a significant boost in cardiovascular health.

The third supplement I have added is a decaffeinated green tea extract which is incredibly high in polyphenols. It’s tested health benefits include improved mental alertness and thinking. It primarily serves as a preventative supplement. This “super-pill” or sorts has been known to prevent breast cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer, gastric cancer, lung cancer, solid tumor cancers, skin cancers related to sun exposure, crohn’s disease, parkinson’s disease, diseases of the heart and blood vessels, diabetes, low blood pressure, chronic fatigue syndrome, dental cavities, kidney stones, and skin damage.

The final supplement I have decided to add is two Brazilian nuts per day, which are an abundant source of the mineral selenium, an important mineral for heart and joint health. Brazil nuts are also extremely high in the magnesium, zinc and thiamine. Research shows that they are high in antioxidants and cancer preventative properties. They lower risk of cardiovascular disease and improve liver function.

Hopefully I won’t be adding anything else to my routine for a little while.

Fill and Build Sponsorship Platform

I finally finished our seven page “Sponsorship Platform”. The full packet can be downloaded here (right click and select “Save Link As”) . We are distributing it tomorrow and hopefully confirming our sponsors this week! We are hoping get between 15 and 20 solid sponsors, so if you have friends with companies, let me know in my contact form! 

Also, I have made quite a few updates to the site, check them out at FillandBuild.com.