Carlton Lund and his wife, Sandy, partnered with Chad Randall, the chief operating officer of Sorrento Valley-based IPS Group, to sponsor the meters and the installation.
Designed as “smart” parking meters, the devices have been programmed to accept donations of coins, cash, and debit and credit cards from the public, with 100 percent of the money going to charitable causes.
“Darlene the Dolphin,” painted by the famous marine life artist Robert Wyland, is featured on the meters and as part of the kindness campaign.
The meters are the brainchild of Carlton Lund, a Carlsbad realtor.
“‘Feed Darlene’ is the moniker for the whole program because dolphins are the kindest mammals — they are friendly and people love them,” Lund told the Courier. “And Darlene is Wyland’s mother’s name and she is the kindest person I know. That creates the linkage and gets Wyland involved to do this.”
The eighth kindness meter is dedicated to the Wyland Foundation that Darlene Wyland runs. Christian Drake Lund, a local Laguna Beach artist and Carlton Lund’s nephew, created artwork for the gallery meter.
“I took a slice of California walnut from a dead tree — did not kill the tree for this — put some glow powder on the cracks, and clear coated the wood,” the artist wrote in a email. “The circumference reminds me of the jagged shores of Laguna, also the blue waters (glow powder). I put a gold finish on the legs. The result is an eye-catching curiosity that draws people in to potentially donate to the Wyland Foundation and Carlton’s causes.”
Donations made via the meters are processed by the meter company, then sent to the Carlsbad Charitable Foundation, which disperses 100 percent of the funds back to the organizations where the meters are located.
“I love the anonymity of it, and that it is automatic — there is no paperwork, and [the charities] get 100 percent of it,” Carlton Lund told the Courier.
Carlton Lund and his wife, Sandy, partnered with Chad Randall, the chief operating officer of Sorrento Valley-based IPS Group, to sponsor the meters and the installation.
The first meter was installed at the Agua Hedionda Lagoon Discovery Center last fall along with the launch of the “Kindness Matters” campaign in partnership with Kids for Peace and the Carlsbad Charitable Foundation. Meters are also located at the Carlsbad Charitable Foundation, Tip Top Meats, the Carlsbad Boys & Girls Club, Kids for Peace, the Moonlight Amphitheatre and the Bressi Ranch Boys & Girls Club.
For more information, visit Kindnessmeters.com.
