originally posted this on godiscussions - didn't realize it had died out so much, so someone suggested I post it here as well...

For the past 3 years, The Organic Underground, a cafe and community centre in downtown Belleville, Ontario, Canada has been the home of the Quinte Go Club (QGC).

We have been meeting regularly there on Saturday afternoons almost since the day it opened, and have created many great friendships and memories in the process, while playing this wonderful board game we all enjoy, whether we happen to call it go, igo, baduk, or weiqi.

QCG, in partnership with our hosts at the Organic Underground, have held regular games, teaching sessions, demos, information days, and even a media blitz attracting the significant interest of local newspapers - all in an effort to spread our love of this game among the wider community.

The Organic Underground have even been so generous as to provide our club with a large outdoor tent for Belleville's annual sidewalk sale two years in a row - which we've used to set up games, demonstrations, and a multimedia display in an effort to increase the public visibility of go in our community. I've posted pictures of these events on GoDiscussions in the past.

We, like dozens of other groups and individuals in the area, rely on the safe, inviting, welcoming space that the Organic Underground and its hard working staff have provided for us. They truly have gone above and beyond, again and again, and for that, we at Quinte Go Club are deeply appreciative, as are countless others whose lives have been touched by those at the OU.

It is truly a unique environment, with a policy of providing fair trade, organic, and ecologically friendly meals, coffee, tea, movie nights, concerts, dances, community meals, and so much more to the community, including significant contributions towards making downtown Belleville a better place for the least fortunate living among us.

For more than a few, including myself, it is our favorite place - whether we happen to be go players or other hobby enthusiasts, aspiring local artists and performers, peace and social justice activists, parents seeking a friendly, nurturing environment to bring our children, or even just those of us looking for a great cup of tea and a yummy, nutritious, affordable meal to snack on while checking our email.

But now, the Organic Underground needs your help.

Its founder, Katharine Davis, has written an urgent financial appeal on the Organic Underground webpage, along with information about what you can do to help our beloved community centre remain operational. Time is running out.

I invite you to read it in order to understand just what valuable contributions the Organic Underground has already made, and could continue to make, with your help.

Many groups and individuals, not only locally, but around the world thanks to the power of the internet, have already heard the call and have done what they can to contribute to the invaluable cause of saving this community space by making a generous donation. I'm posting here on GoDiscussions because the OU have made an incredible contribution towards this game locally, and I would like their story to be known more globally.

Please visit the Organic Underground homepage below for more information, and if you are sympathetic to our cause, please forward the link to it as widely as you can. It is my genuine hope that the Quinte Go Club can continue to call the Organic Underground our home for many years to come - and together, we can help to make that hope a reality.

http://main.theorganicunderground.com/


Sincerely,

Jay Gannon
President, Quinte Go Club