Our Grantee: Supportive Parents Information Network

Supportive Parents Information Network

SPIN’s Board took the feedback they received from WGSD last year to heart and have been working relentlessly to gain experience in processes, strategic planning and effective communication. The Board consists of 10 members five of whom are former clients that bring expertise about poverty and how to gain self-sufficiency; the other five are professionals whose experience with poverty is either distant or non-existent. As you can imagine these two groups might approach governance very differently. This year started with a commitment to ensure that the Board could communicate with each other given their disparate backgrounds as well as with SPIN’s clientele. A facilitator was brought in to help the board develop communication skill sets using the Meyers Briggs methods. Once their communications problems were under control, a strategic planner assisted the Board by providing a template they could use to modify to fit SPIN. All of SPIN’s activities and volunteer positions were reviewed in light of what is needed for SPIN to sustain their past success in helping parents and families out of poverty. This month they expect to have their strategic plan committed to paper.

Las year the 2010 WGSD grant funds were used to update SPIN offices and computing capacity as well as getting help with their strategic planning efforts. This coming year SPIN, with the help of contacts provided by WGSD members, is committed to finding transition funding to cover their operations, $200,000 for each of the next 5 years. These contacts will hopefully connect SPIN Board members with people who can help fund this organization while it garners the skills to fundraise effectively. WGSD 2011 grant funds will be used in these efforts.

One of the most important things that SPIN does for their clients (primarily women in extreme poverty) is assistance in making an individualized plan for how to get out of poverty and to reach their life goals. No matter what the client’s goal is, SPIN will look at what the personal stumbling blocks are for the individual and help them plan accordingly. For many clients it is help in getting as much education as they can while on public assistance, or help with transportation to get to work, or help with a disabled family member so that they can maintain a job. SPIN is very successful in helping their clients make that arduous climb out of poverty.

Other SPIN programs that are working well are the Scholarship Team program which tutors parents and their children twice a month and the Emergency Loan Program which is run by the parents/ clients themselves. The children in the Scholarship program are more successful in school and are graduating. The recipients of the emergency loans have become active in SPIN and have repaid their loans according to their re-payment schedule. In becoming active in SPIN clients learn how to gather and harvest the voices of the poor to self-advocate. Also the program with US Bank is still helping SPIN clients by offering special accounts that are low cost and low risk. The accounts offer SPIN clients three free money orders, an ATM card which helps the client establish a credit history and saves them about $250 per year by not using check-cashers.

Both SPIN and WGSD have been dealt a personal blow through the loss of leadership of one of their own. While Jan recovers from her surgery we are all trying to keep WGSD on track until she is able to take the reins once again. This year SPIN lost a dear friend with the death of Aida Reyes, Community Outreach Coordinator for the past 10 years. All of our prayers and thoughts are with the friends and family of these two spectacular women.

Written by Dana White, WGSD Member

Meet WGSD Member: Morgan Justice-Black

In her professional life, Ms. Justice Black – a native of San Diego - is the Director of Development & Marketing at I Love A Clean San Diego (ILACSD). She is responsible for all marketing efforts related to ILACSD programs and events, oversight of all development at the organization including contract renewals, corporate sponsorships, and grants as well as leader of all grant writing activities and outreach to potential funders.

After graduating from the University of California, Santa Barbara with degrees in Environmental Studies and Global Studies, Morgan moved back to San Diego and wanted to get involved in her hometown community – returning to her roots.

“Growing up in San Diego, you naturally develop environmental stewardship whether you like it or not because our activities revolve around the outdoors. The beach has always been something I wanted to protect. Throughout my schooling I was able to learn about the humanitarian and anthropological side of the environment.”

When she first came on board at ILACSD, five years ago, there were only five staff members and now there are twelve. The organization has had the opportunity to grow and tends to promote internally by tasking current staff members with more responsibilities if they are up to the challenge. Morgan worked her way up from Volunteer & Event Coordinator to Outreach Director. During a restructure, a year and half ago, Morgan moved over from the program side to development and marketing where she created the department from scratch. No small feat.

When it comes to volunteering in the community, Morgan just can’t say “no”. Through the encouragement of her high school friends including fellow Women Give member, Sasha Clines, she joined the Junior League of San Diego. At first, she was more of an observer, but quickly gained her confidence and got involved. She joined the Growing Healthy Students Committee and ended up chairing the Sponsorship Committee.

“I wanted to get back to San Diego to engage with movers and shakers that will help me find my career path and open a door to work in environmentalism – something I was interested in doing as a professional career.”

Today, she chairs the Community Partners and Advocacy Committee. The Committee is dedicated to discovering how Junior League can better serve the community as well as advocate for issues on the local and statewide level. This committee has grown from an intimate group of just a few to 20 women.

Morgan joined Women Give San Diego in 2011 – once again through the influence of her civic-minded girlfriends. Megan Lim, a Women Give and Junior League member, encouraged her to attend a membership recruitment event. At the time, Morgan was looking to further connect with women doing good things; she wanted to identify with her fellow members as well as find women mentors.

“I love being a part of the Junior League, but there has always been a little something missing. At Women Give, everyone is on an equal playing field. As a member, I can connect with the President of the organization on the first day. I like that Women Give is really open to meeting and engaging with individuals from all ages and sectors of the community.”

She recently joined the Women Give Grants Committee.

“It was really neat to read through all the applications from the nonprofits. Normally I am the one completing the grants.”

On the Committee, she enjoys utilizing her background of grant writing to better evaluate the grant proposals submitted. She finds it exciting to identify the organizations that are going to make the biggest and best impact in the focus area. In her short membership, she has excelled at getting involved and connecting with the different members.

“Becoming a member of Women Give has given me additional confidence in pursuing leadership. I’m currently going through LEAD San Diego’s Impact San Diego program; something I wouldn’t have considered before meeting Jan and other Women Give members.”

Engage and Be Engaged: Membership Recruitment Event

On Wednesday, October 5, 2001, the Women Give San Diego members gathered at Barbara Bry’s beautiful home on Mount Soledad. Despite the rainy evening, we had 82 women attend the gathering.

Linda Katz opened the evening up with a history and overview of Women Give. She gave an update on our co-Founder, the Brain Warrior, “June” Tuttleman who is inspiring us all with her strength and determination.

Bunmi Esho, Membership Team Chair, was our official mistress of ceremonies and commanded the room with the tinkle of her bell. Each attendee was assigned to a small group and rotated through five stations with the help of their “shepherds”.

Three of the stations had roundtable discussions with our grantees:

· Dress for Success

· Supportive Parents Information Network

· Just in Time

The other two stations engaged attendees in discussion:

· At the membership station, Gayle and Linda informed women of the benefits of membership and how the ladies could get involved.

· At the networking station, attendees were provided an opportunity to engage and speak with other guests. There were question prompts to help the women engage in conversation with one another.

After each group rotated through the stations, Gayle Tauber wrapped up the evening with some final comments and thoughts encouraging attendees to join our incredible and dynamic members to raise the economic status of women and girls in San Diego.

If you or a friend is interested in joining, there are two ways:

Online

1. Visit: http://www.womensfoundca.org

2. Scroll down a bit, and on the left side you will see a "Donate Now" option.

3. Select that and fill out the form accordingly.

4. Under "Special Options" in the "Special Instructions" box near the bottom, please make sure you state that this donation is for “Women Give San Diego”.

Mail/Check

1. Fill out this gift form.

2. Send gift form and a check directly to the Women's Foundation of CA. Please write on the check memo that it's for Women Give San Diego.

3. The address is:

Women's Foundation of CA, 340 Pine Street, Suite 302, San Francisco, CA 94104

WGSD: Membership Quarterly Meeting

Girl Effect: A presentation by Planned Parenthood at the WGSD Quarterly Membership Meeting

A collaborative written piece by WGSD members:

Morgan Justice-Black, Director of Development & Marketing, I Love a Clean San Diego

Kersten Wehde, Associate Director of Major Gifts, Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest

On September 12^th, the members of Women Give San Diego were treated to an informative meeting hosted by Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest’s (PPPSW) Rebecca Karpinski, Vice President of Strategy and Organizational Effectiveness, and Nora Vargas, Vice President of Community Engagement. The venue and presenters were graciously arranged by Women Give San Diego member and PPPSW Board Chair, Jennifer Dreyer. She led us in a fun and thoughtful activity.

Planned Parenthood and Women Give are very similar in their desire to empower women and girls and close the economic gap that exists among many women. The meeting opened with a short but powerful video entitled “Girl Effect”. This powerful 3-minute video addressed the relationship between unintended pregnancy and poverty among women. (See video here: http://www.girleffect.org/video)

Rebecca noted some interesting statistics and challenges specific to San Diego County:

- 250,000 women are living at 125% of the federal poverty level. For a single woman, that means $13,000 in annual income, and $28,000 for a family of four.

- 80,000 women live in extreme poverty. For a single woman, that means $5,000 in annual income, and $11,000 for a family of four.

- Women are more likely to live in poverty because they work part time or sporadically; have children, are single parents or care for others; and may suffer from pay and health inequity.

- 25% of women in SD are foreign born, many with limited English proficiency, which limits their employment opportunities or traps them in lower-wage fields that lack benefits (i.e., domestic workers and childcare).

- 6% of all women are undocumented or unauthorized residents

Being poor increases one’s likelihood of unintended pregnancy. Women living in poverty are less likely to have insurance, access to services, and funds to afford services. They are also less likely to fill prescriptions. Planned Parenthood’s role is to provide women with access to affordable reproductive health services and accurate information so they can plan their pregnancies and continue on their path to economic self-sufficiency.

Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest includes 19 health centers across three counties (San Diego, Riverside and Imperial), and serves 300,000 patient visits each year. Significant funding for PPPSW comes through the state’s Family PACT (Planning Access Care Treatment) program, conceived by Governor Pete Wilson. Because income is so inextricably tied to unintended pregnancy, FPACT has become a crucial program for women living in poverty, allowing them to access free services including testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infection, cancer screening and birth control. It makes economic sense, too: For every $1 we invest in family planning, the state saves $5.33 in future Medi-Cal and other social service costs, and that’s just in the first year.

Nora Vargas spoke after Rebecca, citing Planned Parenthood’s multiple community engagement activities in the agency’s three-county service area. Among the more recent endeavors are efforts targeting monolingual communities such as the Somali refugee population, as well as the successful Teen Success program for pregnant and parenting teens. Participants in this program are expected to maintain their family size, complete their high school/vocational/GED education, and develop life skills that lead to self-sufficiency. This is considered an especially at-risk population, as teen mothers are more likely to drop out of high school and be and remain single parents. One-fourth of adolescent mothers will have a second child within 24 months of the first.

PPPSW has a variety of programs including:

· Classroom education in partnership with many local school districts in San Diego, Riverside and Imperial Counties.

· Faith-based programs collaborating with spiritual institutions.

· A Promotoras program which trains a motivated individual from disenfranchised communities to speak to her community members about family planning and other issues in their native language.

· Teen Success, focused on young women who have carried “unintended” pregnancies to term, and is intended to help these young women find jobs, finish school and better manage motherhood.

Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest is committed to closing the economic gap through reducing unintended pregnancy. See for yourself at: http://www.plannedparenthood.org/pacific-southwest/

Note: you may have seen Jennifer profiled last month in a few local publications: http://www.plannedparenthood.org/pacific-southwest/files/Pacific-Southwest/RanchoSantaFeReview_08-11-2011.pdf