What does a Duck say?

Run Amok Duck FX is a gateway to the artist, Rebecca Duck. That's me! The site provides information about my projects. Sometimes it's art because that is my passion and my drive, but more often, you'll see how I've dedicated my life to affecting real change. At the ripe young age of 21, I have taken it upon myself to be the voice that gathers the masses to remind them that they can do something about the state of affairs. I have gathered the people, and now I am gathering resources because these dreams are big. This dream is one where abandoned homes start disappearing and decreasing in number as we push forward, leaving no stone unturned. Those abandoned homes are a resource for numerous raw materials, and they aren't being utilized because of pure stigma! There are plenty of fixtures, pipes, woodwork, appliances and so much more just waiting to be used in new homes for those in need. All they need is a lot of hard working, dedicated people to give them some time, love, and care.

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The best part is that I get to give back to the school that trained me. DEC, Douglas Education Center, is my alma mater, and it resides in Monessen, PA. Monessen is the city that this big dream has slowly begun to come to fruition in. There are a large number of abandoned and condemned houses with plenty of projects in place to begin cleaning up the city, but the truth is, progress is slow. This is why I want to use the city clean up projects to help local students. I want to use the abandoned homes in a few manners in order to get them cleaned up and demolished. First, I want to get city permission to take crews of volunteers in to remove any reusable materials to be set aside for later use. Then, I want to do "break it" fundraisers where people come in, pay a few dollars, and smash to their heart's content within their allotted time. The concept has done well elsewhere, and it works since the buildings are meant to be demolished anyway. Once all is said and done, the dumpster costs and labor costs to demolish a building drop drastically for the city, and everybody wins! If we do well enough on fundraisers, I'd even like to do some of the demolition work ourselves, too, but that will be further down the road.

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Once we reclaim the materials we need, I want to you use funds to build DIY tiny homes for the organization and for those in need. The plan is to make the very first home the residence for the organization so that we can take in people who need a place to stay almost immediately. The floor plan is already designed so that we can accommodate a larger number of people in what is still considered to be a tiny home. The next step will be taking applications for tiny homes and delegating projects by need and the order in which they arrive. Once we reach the point of being a thriving and independent initiative, I hope to expand and grow to help other cities.

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The last part of the drive behind this initiative is to give back to DEC. I graduated from the Savini Program with an Associates Degree in Specialized Business in February of 2017, and I still have friends and contacts in the city. While at DEC, I ran into Len DiNaples. He worked for DEC in the placement department, and as it had turned out, I'd known him and his two girls from my hometown in Murrysville. The thing about Len is that he worked at DEC not because it was a job to pay the bills, even though it was, but instead because he genuinely cared for the many students who passed through his office. He was the kind of man who checked in with people to make sure they were doing okay personally well after they had graduated simply because he hadn't heard from them in a while. He became a stand-in father for the many students who had less support and for the ones who had never been away from home. He took that role of his own volition, and he did it well. He was loved by many until his passing, and then I believe he may have been loved by more as his stories and kindness were told to family and friends of people who knew him.

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He changed lives. He had a story for everything. He was defined by most by his kindness and wit.

Rest in Peace Len DiNaples.

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I would like to take that role on at DEC. I don't have as many stories. I don't have nearly as many years of experience, but I have passion, kindness, sympathy, patience, and dedication. I think that I can at least begin to reach out to students in the way that he did. I want to see them succeed. I want to offer them experience in fabrication, teamwork and building on a site that can offer them a home if they have none to go back to or if they have no ability to get a home for themselves. This project gives them easy access to experience that they need to thrive in the industry, and it will broaden their horizons to take the artistic skills and talents that they have and utilize them in new, creative ways. They get to make these tiny homes works of art in their own right, and I have an opportunity to help them do it. The real truth is that this project is designed with only one thing in mind: helping people.

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My opportunity didn't come knocking. It whispered in a room of chaos, and I listened. Now, I will extend my hand. I will be the opportunity that shouts from the rooftops and demands to be seen. Change starts with one voice, and I am raising mine.