Volume 4: June 2007

 pasadena-foothill valley

Peace & Unity Walk: The Summit Neighborhood
Pasadena/Altadena Mothers on the Move (MOMs) along with the YWCA Pasadena-Foothill Valley call for peace during a 36 day influx of city area violence

     
Members of the Pasadena community walk together to remember, to bring peace, and be a source of hope.

On Thursday, June 14th MOMs along with the YWCA put on a Peace & Unity Walk that started at La Pintoresca Library and continued down Summit Street ending at Robinson Park Center for a community forum.

Stepping out to be a part of the solution - as the most recent act of violence occurred during the afternoon of June 12th at Marengo Avenue and East Penn Street, located one block east of Summit Avenue - area mothers, residents, youth and other community members will lead the healing pilgrimage. The goal of the effort is to acknowledge that all community members are affected by any death or acts of violence against any of its members. 

June 14th was the inaugural event for Pasadena/Altadena Mothers on the Move. Under the guidance of the YWCA, 100 community members and officials walked together along Summit Avenue, stopping in four different locations that represented the loss of life in North, South, East and West. At each of these stops water poured out onto the ground to symbolically cleanse cleanse our streets of blood and hurt. At the 'summits' of mountains and hills water flows down to nourish the communities below. This is our hope: that this 'Summit' will be a source of healing, will begin to flow for us, for Pasadena. A prayer was also offered at each stop with participants of the march speaking up in agreement. As the group of marchers made their way towards Robinson Park Center, different songs sounded throughout the crowd while the expressions on the faces of the marchers communicated a deep desire for transformation.

As we move forward, we are hoping that the MOMs initiative will result in action steps towards a solution to the violence in our streets. It is also our hope that this walk signaled the beginning of our community coming together to form a cooperative identity that includes us all. We must all be a part of the answer because we are all members of this community.

"Our obligation is to give meaning to life and in doing so to overcome the passive, indifferent life."
Elie Weisel, Holocaust survivor

   
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• Just For Girls enrichment and development program for the school aged young women of Pasadena.
• Racial Justice work in our community.
• Community Building efforts through our public dialogue and program initiatives. 
• Ensuring that your sister, your wife, you and our young women and families have a voice in our city, region and nation!

• Volunteer.  We are always recruiting women and girls to be mentors, to join a committee, or for leadership opportunities.
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Just For Girls (JFG) News:
JFG participants and their mothers enjoyed spending time together at our annual Mother & Daughter Night

JFG participants and their mothers eat and work on craft projects together at Mother & Daughter Night held on May 27th, 2007

May and June were months of bonding for our JFG participants and their mothers or guardians. During these months we concentrated on good character and relationships with others. In doing so, one group session asked the girls to write a letter to their moms explaining something that they would normally have trouble saying face-to-face. The girls then had to decide whether or not to give the letters to their moms; the overall idea was to open the door to communication.

Other group sessions were tailored towards the girl's need for learning how to conduct themselves as young ladies in all aspects and situations. As a conclusion to our May and June programming efforts geared to foster bonding, we had our annual Mother & Daughter Night that tied together everything the girls had learned in the last few months.

Background to Mother & Daughter Night
Mother & Daughter Night is a night where moms and/or guardians and their daughters can enjoy a meal together and a few hours without interruption. Many of the girls have multiple siblings or a mother/guardian who works many hours a day and is left with little one-on-one time during the day. This event provides that time for the mothers/guardians and their daughters.

Each mother/guardian and daughter who participated in Mother Daughter Night received a frame that they decorated, a Polaroid picture of themselves, dinner, and dessert. The mothers/guardians and daughters also played a game together to find out how well they knew each other.

To conclude the night, the mothers/guardians and daughters were provided with a presentation by Peace Over Violence regarding violence prevention, which evoked some much needed conversation among the mothers/guardians and their daughters. One of the participants, Natalia 16, told her group leader the next day that, "me and my mom were talking on the way home. I told her things that I was afraid to tell her, but I did and she was fine." This is one of the primary goals of Mother & Daughter Night: to bridge the gap between uncommunicative mothers/guardians and their daughters. 

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Be part of our community agenda!

• Racial Justice Committee
  Contact Denise Jones, Chair
• Women's Issues Committee
  Contact  Judy Brown, Chair
• Auxiliary Board of Directors
  Contact  Dianne Segura
• Finance Committee
  Contact  Dianne Segura

Woman of Excellence Highlight: Ellen Snortland:
Author with twenty years of TV, film, theater and print experience  

In 2002 the YWCA Pasadena-Foothill Valley honored Ellen Snortland at the annual Women of Excellence Awards Luncheon for her work in the field of Communications. Recently the YWCA had the opportunity to re-connect with Ellen Snortland as she attended the Women of Excellence Leadership Speaker Series with California Secretary of State Debra Bowen on May 23rd, 2007.

When we asked why Ellen has continued to remain a friend of the YWCA she responded,"I love that the Y is so in touch with the physical, you never left the body out." The YWCA's programming history has included wellness classes and girls sports "which have been a key part of women's empowerment." Ellen values the importance of "empowerment spiritually, intellectually and emotionally" and praises the Y for its holistic approach.

Here are some inside facts about a woman who empowers us to empower you:

• Ellen is always passionate about the empowerment of women and girls. Her role as an advocate for those who have been "historically underserved and defenseless is the best use of her time and has the biggest payoff."
• She is currently directing a documentary, based on her book Beauty Bites Beast/La Bella Muerde a la Bestia , a bilingual film which is slated for completion during the fall of 2007. www.knivesandspoons.com/ellen . This moving and inspiring film stresses the importance of being able to protect ourselves as a human right.
• Ellen is an active member in the United Nations Association and speaks out about:
  • Self-defense: "self-defense is a human right. We can die from not protecting ourselves, just like we can die without eating."
  • Sexual Harassment: This crime is "included within the spectrum of violence against women."  Ellen feels it is important to begin teaching children the tools they will need to protect and defend themselves at an early age. "Just as parents teach kids about traffic rules, they need teach people rules too."

Ellen is an instructor on self-defense for women and children and has offered to lead a self-defense session for the YWCA Pasadena-Foothill Valley. Stay tuned, dates to be announced!

Thank you, Ellen, for being a part of the solution to many problems and struggles in our communities!  Visit her website @ www.snortland.com

Many Thanks!

The YWCA Pasadena-Foothill Valley would like to thank all Partners & Donors who made this year's 2007 JFG Program fun and exciting!

• AVON, Ari McIntyre
• Black Male Forum
• Blair LEARNS
• CalTech
• Cesar E. Chavez Foundation
• City of Pasadena
• City of Pasadena Central Library
• City of Pasadena Police Department
• City of Pasadena, Office of the City Manager
• Day One
• The Honorable Debra Bowen, CA Secretary of State
• El Centro de Accion Social Inc.
• Flintridge Foundation
• Grace Center
• Hathaway-Sycamores Child & Family Services
• Haven House
• Institute for Girl's Development
• Kung Fu San Soo, Steve Montgomery 
• Pasadena/Altadena Mothers On the Move (MOMs)
• Pasadena City College
• Peace Making Circle, Hector Aristizabal
• Peace Over Violence, West San Gabriel Valley Center
• Planned Parenthood of Pasadena, Inc.
• Robinson Park Recreation Center
• Ronald McDonald House
• Trader Joe's
• Western Justice Center
• Wild Oats
• Willard LEARNS
• WNBA Sparks

 YWCA Pasadena-Foothill Valley • 1200 N. Fair Oaks Ave. • Pasadena, CA 91103

 Phone: 626-296-8433 • Fax: 626-296-8434

    www.ywca-pasadena.org