Even Stevens Sandwiches coming to Logan with a cause

City of Logan to welcome new sandwich shop come December

Even Stevens Sandwiches is coming to Logan this December and it’s bringing a different idea of how to do business.

The buy-one-give-one business is a restaurant based out of downtown Salt Lake City and along with two other locations, Sugarhouse and Draper, it is preparing to open two more; one in St. George opening within the next month and the other on Main Street in Logan opening in December.

The thing that makes Even Stevens different from most sandwich shops is it donates a sandwich to local non-profit partners for every sandwich purchased. Along with Even Stevens, BOGO Sandwiches in Farmington, Missouri, also uses the buy-one-give-one business plan. One of the first help organizations that benefits from BOGO’s business plan is St. Vincent DePaul Food Pantry. In Logan, Even Stevens will partner with the Cache Valley Food Pantry and the Citizens Against Physical and Sexual Abuse organizations.

“We're just very grateful to Even Stevens. We're grateful they reached out to us,” said Katie Feinauer, a marketing intern at CAPSA. “We're grateful for the service they provide to us and we're looking forward to working with them.”

Since opening in 2014, Even Stevens has donated more than 170,000 sandwiches to non-profit organizations in the Salt Lake Community alone. Last month the brand donated a total of 25,671 sandwiches between the three locations.

“Whether or not a business provides financial support to CAPSA, we are always grateful for their help and support,” Feinauer said. “With Even Stevens, it's fun because it's sandwiches and it just puts a smile on people's faces. Food can provide a great sense of community and it can remind you of home. Even something as seemingly small as a sandwich can also just let someone know you care.”

The Even Stevens’ creative director, Jamie Coates, said while the company supports local non-profits, it also embraces and activates local culture.

According to the Even Stevens website, together with the customers the company is expanding relationships with national and local brands to further its mission.

“Food connects everyone and community is our recipe book,” Coates said. “Every Even Stevens upholds the character of the surrounding city and engages with local artists, crafters and businesses to make their guest experience unique.”

According to the Even Stevens website, one in every six Americans is food insecure.

“It's very gratifying to see how much the Cache Valley community is willing to help us in any way they can,” Feinauer said. “We could not do nearly as much without the donations and volunteer efforts of community members and local businesses.”

25th Annual Clothesline Project

25^th Annual Clothesline Project

By Weslie Hatch

            From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today, SAAVY and the Center for Women and Gender held the 25^th Annual Clothesline Project in the Sunburst Lounge of the Taggart Student Center to raise awareness for domestic violence and abuse.

            In previous years, the Clothesline Project was staffed well, had big displays and saw large crowds. This year the Clothesline Project hasn’t seen those same numbers yet and it’s been a smaller event. That could be due to USU getting rid of Wednesday’s common hour. Each year, different groups and organizations have been involved. This year there were a few different groups such as CAPSA (Community Abuse Prevention Services Agency), AAEO (Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity), SAAVY (Sexual Assault and Anti-Violence Information), and the Center for Women and Gender. One other organization was The Family Place Utah.

            “SAAVY contacted us to set up a table so we can get our face out there and let people know what we offer and how we are there to help,” said the community liason or volunteer coordinator for The Family Place Utah (name disclosed). “SAAVY has such a great mission and it’s easy to work with them to reach out to those in need and to let people know that there is help out there.”

The event goes for three days and each day has a different theme. Today’s theme was Awareness Day. During the event, a student played the guitar while people walked around looking at the vendor’s tables and the clothesline of t-shirts. While guests walked around learning how to raise awareness, a gong, whistle, and cowbell were periodically being played over a loud speaker representing each time someone in the United States was being assaulted (gong), sexually assaulted (whistle), or murdered due to domestic violence (cowbell).

            The t-shirts were made by victims of domestic violence and abuse themselves or by friends and family of victims. The t-shirts display images and words that are representative of each victim and their abuse.

            “I am a big advocate for women,” said Stephanie Bagnell, the program coordinator for the Center for Women and Gender. “I believe in making a difference. I love seeing women get out of these abusive cycles and become empowered.”

            Bagnell said she hopes the next two days of the event will see more traffic and she hopes the event will help raise more awareness as well as get more people to become involved.

            The event will continue with tomorrow being Prevention Day and Survivor Day on Thursday where there will be a panel of domestic violence and abuse survivors ready to answer questions at 4 p.m. in the sunburst lounge.

            More information can be found by contacting Stephanie Bagnell at Stephanie.bagnell@usu.edu or (435) – 797 – 3703.

1st Annual Dean's Prize Competition

1^st annual Dean’s Prize Competition for the LAEP 2720 students

By Weslie Hatch

            The 1^st annual Dean’s Prize Competition for the landscape architecture and environmental planning (LAEP) 2720 students took place in April, 2015 at Utah State University. The LAEP 2720 sophomores and first-year grad students prepared submissions to create a new student center on campus.

            The inaugural Dean’s Prize is the preparation of a Landscape Master Plan for the proceeded USU Student Center. The Dean’s Prize Competition was specifically created for the students in LAEP 2720 as the final project of spring semester and will happen at the end of each spring semester from now on.

            “The competition was created by my colleague David Anderson, and approved by Dean White of the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences specifically as an exciting conclusion to spring semester for the LAEP sophomores and first-year graduate students in my class,” said David Evans, professor of the LAEP 2720/Site Planning and Design.

USU wants to create a student center that is more student, automobile, and community accessible. The hope is that some of the new add-ons will not only benefit the student body, but to benefit potential business partners and guests when going to the University Inn as well. Some of the design plans include: redesigning Aggie Blvd. with a proposed cross section with access to the new Aggie Life and Wellness Center and the existing HPER building, to create an amphitheater on the south side with pedestrian access that will initially replace the current amphitheater on Old Main Hill, to develop logical pedestrian access to the University Inn and other adjacent buildings, and to develop a public garden with pedestrian circulation and seating along the eastern edge; just to name a few.

            “My hope is that the work of the LAEP students will be seen as a useful communication tool for the university as they move forward with the design of the new Student Center,” Evans said. “USU Facilities had previously hired a Salt Lake City Architecture firm, MHTN, to prepare a Feasibility Study for a new Student Center building. Our students prepared site design concepts for the Student Center landscape based on the preferred architectural design shown in the Feasibility Study.”  

            The Dean’s Prize Competition gave the LAEP students an opportunity to improve design and illustrative skills in a competitive environment and which in turn gave them real-world experience.

“The final design took about four weeks, but we had a pretty good idea of amenities and layout by the second week. However, the design process is very dynamic, so changes and alterations were being made clear until the last minute,” said Steve Woody, a Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning junior and a member of the 1^st place design team. “I believe that it [the new student center] will give students additional reasons to stay on campus and pave the way for an influx in events, markets, etc. The opportunity is there to create markets and attract more out of state students, which will bolster the local economy and hopefully increase diversity within Logan. Overall, I think it will really reinforce a unique, memorable college experience at USU.”

            The university has rumored to build a new student center sometime in the near future, about the year 2020, and the feasibility study was the first step in that process. The only issue now is deciding whether a ‘more modern architecture is the way to go or a more classic design that can withstand changes and not look ‘dated’ in 20 years’. The work of the students will be an important tool as the university enters the next phase of design for both the building and the landscape.

More information can be found by contacting Dean White at ken.white@usu.edu or 435-797-2201, or by contacting David Evans at david.evans@usu.edu or 435-797-0508.

Young Women Christian Association's LeaderLuncheon in a nutshell

Young Women Christian Association's LeaderLuncheon in a nutshell

By Weslie Hatch 

            The YWCA’s 27^th annual LeaderLuncheon took place on Friday Sept. 25, 2015 from 11:30am to 2:00pm at the Grand American Hotel in Salt Lake City. The luncheon is held every year to present the women who have received outstanding achievement awards their award, give guests the opportunity to give donations, and to hear the address given by the keynote speaker.

            The Young Women Christian Association or YWCA, in Utah, “is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all.” The YWCA’s LeaderLuncheon started with a reception where the guests mingled before the luncheon began. The luncheon then started with a welcome, sponsor recognition, and a video presentation for every woman. This was all preceding the outstanding achievement awards and the Mary Schubach McCarthey Lifetime Achievement Award presentation, which is an award the YWCA created in 2003 “to honor a woman of national or international renown whose own life exemplifies women’s empowerment and whose work has significantly advanced the rights and interests of women and girls.” This year the award was given to Former Governor Olene S. Walker. The award has only been given twice before in 2006 and in 2011.

            After the award recognition, the keynote speaker was introduced. Each year there is a different keynote speaker and this year Laura Ling, an award-winning journalist and writer, was the speaker of choice.

            “This year we chose Laura Ling to be the keynote speaker,” said Annie Studer, the marketing and communications manager for YWCA. “We chose her because we feel as though Laura Ling is an inspiration figure in journalism and women’s leadership.”

            Ling spoke about the time in 2009 when North Korean soldiers arrested her along with her colleague Euna Lee.

            “I thought that this years speaker was amazing. I feel like she hit very valuable points,” said Sydney King, a member of the YWCA. “Not only did she talk about her time in Korea and how hard that was, but she spoke on how that has helped her not just personally but in her career. She addressed the women in the room directly and talked about how women can be important figures not just in everyday life but in the professional world as well.”

            King said that she always looks forward to who the keynote speaker will be each year. She said the speaker is usually someone who has overcome a “strange” situation which makes their speech compelling and will draw people and donors in. Every year, during their speech, the keynote speaker will try to remind the guests to donate to the YWCA and if they have already donated to hopefully donate a little bit more. At this years LeaderLuncheon, there was a very generous challenge match. The YWCA had the opportunity to raise $180,000 for YWCA programs and services that advance the well-being of Utah women and their families. The Circle of Women offered to match whatever goal was set for donations, which happened to be $90,000 this year. The association is excited to announce they were able to meet and match the $90,000 to raise the $180,000 they were hoping for.  

            More information about the YWCA Utah can be found at www.ywca.com or by calling 801-537-8604.