From Welfare to Career Woman: The Grossmont College Office Professional Training Program

Stat: There are three single moms for every single dad in San Diego County.  And households led by single moms are twice as likely to live below the poverty line than households with single dads.

“My name is Deedee.  Before taking the Office Professional Training (OPT) program I was a single mother on welfare bouncing around from one dead-end job to another.  Taking the OPT program is one of the best decisions I have ever made.  I am happy to report that I am officially off welfare and have a wonderful and exciting new career in the insurance industry.  I was able to obtain my job because of all the training and education I received while I was a student in the OPT program.  The fact that the program comes at no cost to the students is a miracle in itself.” 

Education is a Game Changer: Barrio Logan College Institute

Stat: We’ve learned that education can be a game changer in someone’s life. Unfortunately, in Barrio Logan less than 3% of residents have a bachelor’s degree or higher.

“My name is Ariealla.  Can you imagine what it would be like to have your father think that college is only for your brother?  That your “career” is to learn how to keep house, get married and raise a family?  Or that your family doesn’t even want you to move away from home?  With the help of Barrio Logan College Institute, I was able to get support to discuss the challenges I’m facing at home.  After years in the program, I’m proud to say that I’m a Gates Millennium Scholar and I’ll be leaving to attend Franklin and Marshall University in Pennsylvania.  Not only getting a bachelors but having enough financial aid to get a doctorate in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math fields.”

Putting Your Best (Well-Heeled) Foot Forward: Dress for Success San Diego

Stat: Women of color are especially vulnerable in San Diego County and are twice as likely to live in poverty than white women.

“My name is Lettice.  After my appointment at Dress for Success San Diego, I felt that I could accomplish anything. When I put on my outfit, my daughter paid me the highest compliment:  ‘Mom, you look like you could work for President Obama in the White House!’ I succeeded in my job interview, feel good about my new job, and feel blessed that God has structured a plan for me.”

“My name is Maria.  I went home and tried on my new outfits from Dress for Success San Diego for my family and they complimented me on how professional I looked.  I could not believe they were talking about me. Every interview I attended increased my confidence and self esteem. Within two months I was offered a job with benefits.” 

Women Give San Diego presents: Women 4 Women

Women Give San Diego presents: Women 4 Women

Women love to gather, collaborate and help. We often find ourselves searching for organizations whose missions align with our passions and offer us an opportunity to gather, collaborate and help other women. More often, however, we underestimate our power when we combine these innate tendencies and skills. This month, Women Give San Diego, presented an event that opened my eyes to our power and impact.

Women 4 Women was held on May 7th and was graciously hosted by Dr. Walter and Mary Munk at their magical home in La Jolla. The event was targeted towards membership recruitment and it proved to be so much more. In fact, that day presented the reasons why I was proud to be a member of Women Give San Diego and how we are unique in a very powerful way.

When I first arrived at the Munk's home I was immediately transported into a mystical secret garden like get-away. It was in this moment I began my list of reason Women Give San Diego is unique and powerful.

Number 1: The generosity of our members. Every event we create a new member steps up and offers their home to host. I don’t think we have had a host need to provide their home twice yet because so many members graciously offer to share their sacred environments for our events. Simply amazing.

Gradually, members and guests began to arrive and indulge in tasty food, silky wines (generously provided by 12 Signs Wine) and engaged in stimulating conversation. As I made my rounds I started to see people who I had relationships with outside of Women Give San Diego that I had not invited myself. I saw women who worked for Shakti Rising, another organization that supports women and girls in San Diego that I also volunteer for. I spent time connecting with two women that I graduated with from Francis Parker School. I was thrilled to see women from Leap to Success, an organization that I supported through acting in the Vagina Monologues. Interacting with old friends and new friends brought me to the second reason why Women Give San Diego is so unique.

Number 2: Community, Friendships and Mentorship. Over the last couple of years, through Women Give San Diego, I have broadened my network to include some of the most influential and special friends and mentors of my life. No other organization that I am involved in offers the same opportunities for these relationships or brings so many different women with similar passions together.

Our membership is so diverse in age, background and careers that it opens up opportunities to connect and build life-long relationships with women you wouldn’t typically meet in your social and/or career settings. More importantly, if you were to meet them somewhere else you might not connect with them on the level you do when you are in this environment. There is some unspoken energy that fosters connected relationships in this group. That evening members were taking the opportunity to engage with one another by facilitating connections between potential members and current members. By the time you left, it was almost guaranteed you had made at least one new connection and friend, if not multiple.

As the evening continued, people took their seats in an amazing garden-like amphitheater and one of our members, Dr. Jenn Gunsulas, began the program.

 

Megan Lim, our Membership Leadership Team chair had so eloquently coordinated this incredible event from start to finish incorporating as many members as she could to truly give guests a taste of what Women Give San Diego does and who we are collectively as a donor’s circle. As I listened to each member share a story of their own experience with Women Give San Diego or a story of the women and girls who have benefited from our grants thus far I couldn’t help but think of the next reason.

Number 3: Helping women and girls in our local community. Women Give San Diego is helping women and girls that are underserved here in our own city of San Diego. We are able to focus our grant dollars on organizations that are genuinely dedicated to helping provide real opportunities for these women and girls so that our money is a wise investment that will ultimately positively impact our society.

As the program came to a close and women began to mingle again I stood back and took in the vision of so many powerful women coming together for a not only worthy but needed cause. I realized in that moment that if we want the world to have more women like this, and we do, it starts with us providing the opportunities for those women and girls now so that along the way they too can give back and support future generations to come. Women 4 Women couldn’t have been a better title for this event because the entire evening was just that; Women connecting, collaborating, sharing stories and focusing on a cause together to help and support other women.

There are many more than just 3 reasons that Women Give San Diego is unique and powerful. Those three reasons are my main reasons. I invite you as a member or member-to-be to consider your reasons and join us as we continue to provide what is necessary to build stronger communities starting with our women and girls.

Protect women and families!

A message from Women's Foundation of California:

Spread the word about the need to preserve programs that protect women and families!

 Women are the backbone of California’s families, workforce and economy. Yet over the past three years, California has chosen cuts-only budgets that have shredded programs critical to the health and safety of women and families. These cuts have had a devastating effect.
This can’t go on!
Help us preserve programs that protect women and families.
You can join us by spreading the word about the need for a balanced budget that includes wise revenue solutions that benefit California’s economy for generations to come.
Use #standwithwomen to tell others. Change your Facebook profile picture to the image above starting today through May 14.  Get your profile picture here. (To download the image to your computer, right click on the image, then select save as (it’s especially convenient to save to your desktop.)
Our goal is to beat back any further cuts to the following programs:

1. The welfare to work program known as CalWORKs;
2. Subsidized childcare, which provides vital assistance so that mothers can work; and
3. Community colleges.

We’re launching the campaign on  May 14 in Sacramento because that’s the day Governor Brown releases his May Revise of the Budget in which he’s proposing even more cuts to these lifeline programs.
If you want to join us in Sacramento for the launch:
Monday, May 14, 2012, 11 AM
Same day that the Governor will be releasing May Revise of the Budget
California State Capitol North Steps
(On the L Street side)
www.standwithwomen.org

http://womensfoundationofcalifornia.org/2012/05/11/spread-the-word-about-the-need-to-preserve-programs-that-protect-women-and-families/ 

Celebrating Transformation: Momentum Awards 2012

On Thursday, May 3, 2011, hundreds of fabulous women (and a couple men!) gathered to celebrate transformation at the Women’s Foundation of California’s Momentum Awards held at The Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills.

 

(members: Dr. Jenn Gunsaullus, Renee Herrell, Sasha Clines)

“Celebrating powerful women who transform lives.”

The evening began upstairs on the outdoor patio of The Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills with delicious food and wine.

After we were all sufficiently fed, the attendees were escorted down stairs to the ballroom for the Awards Ceremony and cupcakes (!).

With Beyonce’s “Girls!” (lyrics: Who runs the world? Girls! Girls!) blasting over the PA system, the Mistress of Ceremonies, Assembly member Holly J. Mitchell, took the podium to welcome guests and began honoring the awardees.

Kathryn Downing, Chair of the Women’s Foundation of California Board of Directors, spoke of courage when she accepted the Changemaker Award. She encouraged us to “speak one’s mind from the heart.”

Susan Burton (pictured), Founder and Executive Director of A New Way of Life Reentry Project, accepted the Groundbreaker Award and spoke of her own experience of being incarcerated and released led her to start an organization to help women rebuild their lives after prison. Her message to women who were formerly incarcerated: “You don’t have to do this alone. I will help you.” A New Way of Life Reentry Project is a grant partner in Los Angeles of the Women’s Foundation of California.

Anna Deavere Smith (pictured), award-winning Playwright and Actor, accepted the TrailBlazer Award. She described transformation as: “If you saw one word every day, you would become it. That’s transformation.” Her unforgettable performance was an impression of two women who had gone through an incredible transformation. Ms. Deavere Smith turned herself into “Harriet,” a survivor of the Rwanda genocide who quietly reveals the gruesome details surrounding her family’s murder and her escape from her attackers and eventually reveals that she is know a student at Stanford – gaining a *gasp* from the audience. Harriet speaks of forgiving those who murdered her family and village: “You can’t go further than you can go. You have to forgive. Forgiveness is grace. Grace is a form of transformation.” Then Ms. Deavere transformed into Maria, Juror #7 on the Rodney King federal trial who describes the inner-workings of the jury room and the day where everyone melted down or as she refers to it: “The AA Meeting.” Through the decision-making process, Maria realizes that “I’m learning about my best and worse self.”

A BIG thank you to Gayle Tauber for hosting a table and inviting us to be her esteemed guests!!!

 

Meet our Grantee: Foundation for Women

“It’s really about women of means helping women in need.”

The Foundation for Women is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization that strives to continually support and encourage impoverished women, both globally and locally, by funding and creating microcredit programs. The organization is currently operating microcredit programs in two regions; FFW USA Microcredit Program, with a pilot in San Diego, and FFW Liberia in Africa. Women Give has funded the San Diego Microcredit Program $3,000 a year for 2 years.

I had the opportunity to speak to Murugi Kenyatta, VP Community Development for the Foundation for Women who was born in Kenya. Murugi has seen the microcredit program work firsthand. She says, “It’s proven to be a useful tool for empowering women and breaking the cycle of poverty.”

The FFW San Diego Microcredit Program utilizes the Grameen method (developed by 2006 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus), and is serving poor industrious women with microcredit loans of $250, $500, and $1,000 and requiring prospective borrowers form groups of 5 that meet on a weekly basis. The model promotes successful repayment and savings. During the weekly meetings, participants receive entrepreneurial training, financial education and professional mentoring. At least 100 groups of entrepreneurial San Diego women have built their own microenterprises with FFW loans. Through its partner agencies that serve these communities, the Foundation for Women receives referrals for potential borrowers.

There are 80,000 women living in dire poverty in San Diego. 95% of the women are Latina and many are new immigrants or second generation Americans who live below the poverty level. Yet among them are industrious and driven women who have figured out a way to run their own business – from child-care to cooking tamales to jewelry making. Several have joined forces and started commercial cleaning services while one woman has ventured into the male dominated construction business and is passionately encouraging other women to join her.

According to Murugi, “FFW is committed to helping women realize their dreams and fulfill their potential. We want to serve every woman in San Diego who needs a hand up.” She adds, “if you have the drive and passion – here’s the money, here’s the education and training. We believe in you, we know you can do it – go get it!”

Since March 2010, FFW San Diego has served over 560 women in fourteen centers located throughout the County - from Fallbrook to San Ysidro. The demand for the program is high and the capacity is not currently there. In 2012, the Foundation for Women hopes to serve 750 women with a goal of serving 6,800 women by 2014.

Currently, the Foundation for Women is recruiting more staff members and resources to meet this need. They like to promote from within because “it’s really all about women empowerment.” Nora Batley-Nido participated in the microcredit program and is now the program manager. The idea is to train the current “borrowers” so they can fill the staff roles. When FFW identifies a leader among the group, they train her to take on a leadership position.

The Foundation for Women is also looking for volunteers like Diane Adcock, Women Give member. She worked one-on-one with one of the microcredit recipients who’s a jewelry maker by helping her market her jewelry through Facebook and other sources.

In her own words, Diane says, “I got in touch with Foundation for Women after speaking with Murugi Kenyatta at the WGSD Holiday party. She shared with me the scale and scope of their micro-finance program and I was surprised how diverse the women’s businesses were! I decided to attend a few of their meetings and find out how I could help the women promote their businesses. What they were most curious about were online marketing tools and tips on how to buy and sell online. We decided that it would be best for me to create a PowerPoint presentation (which I'm still working on) outlining some tips and to assist individual women on an as-needed basis.

In February 2012, I went down to Chula Vista and helped one of the Micro-entrepreneurs, Elsa Urzúa, create a professional Facebook page for her jewelry business, Se Icon Jewelry. I taught her the Facebook basics, helped her upload professional looking display photos, and also set up a Google Checkout Account so she can accept online transactions. She was very sweet, and offered me a beautiful bracelet that I'll be sure to wear to our next membership meeting to show off.”

If you are interested in being a mentor, volunteer or a guest speaker for the Microcredit program, please contact Murugi at murugi@foundationforwomen.org

The photos were taken by one of our most driven microentrepreneurs/professional photographer, Alejandra Carrera.