Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Donate shoes to kids in need in Compton, CA

The ladies of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., are taking donations of new and slightly warn shoes for their "Soles for Little Souls" program. All shoes will be donated to the Department of Children and Family Services office in Compton, CA.  Seeing as how SHIELDS works so closely with DCFS, the Compton Office in particular, this would be a great opportunity to further support our families who are currently engaged with the Department.They are seeking shoes of all types and sizes. The shoes are serving children from age 0-21. If you have old shoes that your children have grown out of or shoes that you have grown out of....they are all welcome.

If you would like to donate shoes you can drop them at the 
Prevention Initiative Demonstration Project (PIDP)/
ASK (Ask, Seek, Knock) Program office
2620 Industry Way, Ste F
Lynwood, CA 90262 

If you need pick-up services please contact Audrey Tousant, Program Manager, atousant@shieldsforfamilies.org 

We will be collecting donations until Monday, August 8, 2011.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Need a Mentor? Apply Today!

APPLY TODAY: Mentorship Program 2011-12
Featuring Cassandra Loch, LCSW, MBA

Application Release:
Tuesday June 21, 2011, 10AM PDT

Application Submission Deadline:
Sunday July 31, 2011, 12AM PDT



Jump start your summer and get ready to kick your career goals into gear!  Apply today for this exclusive Mentorship Program with Cassandra Loch, LCSW, MBA, President and CEO of PROTOTYPES, a non-profit based in Southern California.
  • How can I advance my career? What are my next steps?  
  • What are some ways I can improve my skills to be a more effective social work manager?    
  • How do other social work managers work with their staff in times of change?      
You will be able to ask Cassandra these questions along with other related topics in an intimate interactive webinar forum.  Ask about her experiences of being both a LCSW and MBA and working with both public and private sectors. Be one of the ten selected individuals and submit your application today.

For Program Details and Eligibility Criteria and a recording of Ms. Loch's recent webinar session on "Practical Strategies and Advice for Professional Advancement", visit our website:
www.socialworkmanager.org
Cassandra Loch photo
Click below to apply to this exclusive program:

Application Form

If you currently are not a member, you can still join today and be part of this Network and take benefit of this opportunity along with other professional development resources.  

These opportunities are one of the many benefits you receive as a Network member.Your continued support is essential in allowing us to provide you these exceptional resources.  

Regards,

Wendy Chiu, MSW
National Network for Social Work Managers
c/o Special Service for Groups
(213)553-1810

View our profile on LinkedInFind us on FacebookFollow us on TwitterView our photos on flickr

YNPN LA - Mixer @ CHAYA Downtown LA 7/26

YNPN LA would like to invite you:
Mixer at CHAYA
525 South Flower Street, Downtown LA
Tuesday July 26th from 6-9pm


Come and meet other nonprofit professionals!  Bring a friend and lots of business cards.
CHAYA Downtown, the newest of the CHAYA family of restaurants, combines urban chic and European sensibility with Japanese hospitality. Join YNPN at this popular
downtown destination!

Parking: City National Bank garage, restaurant validates.

Hope to see you there!



_____________________________________________

YNPN needs your help! Calling all young nonprofit professionals to complete a short questionnaire (it takes less than 3 minutes to complete) to help relaunch our network. Let us know what resources are most useful and relevant to your professional development. To participate, please click here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/D6ZBZZL

_______________________________________


YNPN LA events are opportunities for you to build your network and invest in yourself as a nonprofit professional, adding to your "toolkit." Our professional development programs offer intimate environments which allows for easy accessibility, networking and engagement opportunities with experts in a broad range of areas and members across the LA nonprofit sector.


Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor Project Update Open House

The environmental process for the Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor Project over the last three years is wrapping up soon and the office of Bernard C. Parks invite you an Open House to get the latest information. They will describe the last milestones for the environmental process and provide a recap summary of the Crenshaw/LAX Light Rail Transit alignment, station locations, maintenance facility site and the analysis of environmental impacts and mitigations. This meeting will be an open house format where you will have the opportunity to view project boards and a brief presentation. Project staff will be available during the Open House to answer individual questions.

We encourage you to participate in this open house!

Faithful Central Bible Church – The Living Room
400 W Florence Ave, Inglewood, CA 90301

Served by Metro Lines 40, 111, 115, and 212.
Parking is available on site. Spanish translation will be provided.

All are welcome to attend, and you are encouraged to share this invitation with fellow community members, neighbors, and any others.

We look forward to your participation.

To RSVP or for more information, please contact Kinya Claiborne at 213.622.4937 or RSVP@mckissackmw.com. RSVPs are appreciated but not required.

Special accommodations and information in alternative formats are available to the public. All requests for reasonable accommodations must be made three working days (72 hours) in advance of the scheduled meeting date. Please call the Project Hotline at 213-922-2736 or the California Relay Service at 711.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Emergency Meeting Today on Crenshaw-LAX Line


EMERGENCY MEETING:
PREPARING TO SUE MTA
Crenshaw Subway Coalition Community Meeting

Today Monday, July 18 6:30 - 8:30 PM
US Bank Community Room on Crenshaw/Slauson
5760 Crenshaw Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90016

[PLEASE BRING YOUR CHECKBOOKS]

MTA is Trying to Speed Up the Game Clock
 
(Forgive the incredibly short notice, but we are in part responding to MTA's unprecedented attempt to vote to approve the project 7 weeks sooner than legally permissible.) 

Attendees of our June 30th meeting were first informed of two elements of our multi-faceted strategy to win the battle with MTA for an underground Leimert Park Village station and subway on Crenshaw Blvd:

  1. Holding our elected officials from Congress down to City Council and the Mayor accountable for delivering more of our tax dollars to the Crenshaw-LAW project to fund the Leimert Park Village station and subway in Park Mesa Heights
  2. Suing Metro in court for violating environmental and civil rights laws
At tonight's community meeting we will further explain the legal basis for a lawsuit, in particular the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) that MTA is violating. 

The importance of tonight's meeting increased a few days ago when it was revealed that MTA is attempting to "speed up the game clock" and approve the project at their August 4 board meeting as opposed to their September 22 board meeting. (After MTA approves the project, the window of opportunity to file a CEQA lawsuit is JUST 30 DAYS.)

In our review of every other transit study of similar nature over the past decade, MTA provided a 30 day public review period and multiple community meetings after the final project document was released to provide citizens an opportunity to, at the very least, go on the record to express their concerns.  There are even federal requirements for a 30 day public review period.  And yet as of this morning, just 17 days from August 4, MTA still has not released the final project document for review.  They haven't even given it to the elected officials or fellow public agencies!

This is just the latest greatest display of disrespect of our community and egregious violation by MTA and partially why we believe that a legal challenge is key to our victory.  It will make MTA more likely to concede the Leimert Park Village station and Park Mesa Heights tunnel.  As was clear in the lead up to the May 26th MTA board vote.  MTA has the money to build the project the way the community desires, they just currently lack the will.  Simply, MTA's draft document is legally flawed, the basis for Metro staff, Mayor Villaraigosa and wanna-be Mayor Zev Yaroslavsky's opposition to the Leimert Park Village station and Park Mesa Heights tunnel is flawed, and if MTA had conducted a proper environmental study both designs would be in the project.

There will be more to come after tonight's meeting, but for now, please hear our urgent appeal for generous donations so that we can fund a legal challenge.  Lawyers are interested, but because this type of law is a true specialty - there will be costs. 

The leaders of the Crenshaw Subway Coalition and Fix Expo Campaign have adopted as a policy to only ask the community for financial support when we need it - and now is that time. 

As has become clear both in our fight with MTA on the Expo Line crossing at Dorsey High School and in other project fights with MTA by other communities, the agency/board does not begin taking communities seriously until lawyers get involved.

A CEQA lawsuit is the stick we need to accompany the carrot in our battle with MTA on the Crenshaw-LAX Line.

Please send your donations to:

Crenshaw Subway Coalition
P.O. Box 432181
Los Angeles, CA 90043
 
ANY donation is greatly appreciated, but generous donations are much needed.  Checks can also be hand delivered at our meeting tonight, or you can make a secure online payment with your debit card or credit card via PayPal at www.CrenshawSubway.org

Sign AB 828 petition to remove lifetime ban of Calfresh for individuals with drug felony convictions

Please sign this petition to allow people with
drug-related felonies to receive foodstamps:

http://www.change.org/petitions/support-ab-828

Do you want to help hungry California families get nutritious food? Do you believe that people deserve a second chance?  Do you want to reduce prison costs in California?

The Women’s Policy Institute needs your support for the Nutritional Assistance for Families Act, A.B. 828.  Introduced by Assemblymember Swanson (D-16) and co-sponsored by the Women’s Foundation of California Western Center on Law and Poverty, the bill will help ensure that no one goes hungry

By 'opting out' of the federal lifetime ban on CalFresh assistance, California stands to receive benefits of up to $8.2 million from the federal food assistance program (SNAP). For every dollar spent by the state, CA will inject $2 to local economies at a time when all of our communities are hurting financially.  By removing this arbitrary and unfairly punitive lifetime ban, administrative burden and costs to the state will be reduced by eliminating additional burdensome eligibility determination measures.  Most importantly, providing people with food will help them successfully re-enter their communities and become self-sufficient.

Help us join thirty-seven states and the District of Columbia in ensuring the successful reintegration of people with former drug offenses, support A.B. 828 by:
  1. Writing to your Senator (http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html)
  2. Signing our petition (http://www.change.org/petitions/support-ab-828 )
  3. Inviting friends to join this facebook group (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Support-AB-828/227210493968835?sk=wall).
Supporters as of June 16, 2011: Alameda Cnty. Community Food Bank, Alameda Cnty. Board of Supervisors, All of Us or None, Books Not Bars (Ella Baker Center), CA Assn of Food Banks, CA Catholic Conference, CA Coalition for Welfare Rights, CA Coalition for Women Prisoners, CA Comm. on the Status of Women, CA Food Policy Advocates, CA Hunger Action Coalition, CA National Organization for Women, CA Pan-Ethnic Health Network, CA Partnership, CA Prison Moratorium Project, CA Public Defenders Association, CA Rural Legal Assistance Fdn., CURB, City and County of San Francisco, Coalition of CA Welfare Rights Orgs., Community Works, Cnty. Welfare Directors Assn. of CA, Drug Policy Alliance, East Bay Community Law Center, Food For People, Fresno Metro Ministry, Friends Committee on Legislation, Having Our Say!, Homeless Action Center, Hunger Action Los Angeles, JERICHO, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, LIFETIME, LA Community Action Network, Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, Nat’l Assn. of Social Workers, CA, Salud Para La Gente, San Diego Hunger Coalition, Second Harvest Food Bank S.C. Cnty., Senate Select Community Comm. on CA’s Correctional System, St. Anthony’s San Francisco, St. Mary’s Center, Stop the Cuts Coalition Alameda Cnty., Time for Change Foundation, Transition Clinic, Western Center on Law & Poverty, Women’s Foundation of California.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Male Violence Prevention Project Leadership Forum


Please save the date for 
Partnership for Families'
5th leadership forum on 

August 31, 2011
8:30 - 11:00 AM

Santa Monica Library Multipurpose Room
601 Santa Monica Blvd.

More information to follow.


Please RSVP to 

West Angeles Family Source


Friday, July 8, 2011

SHIELDS Recognized as one of Nations Top-Rated Nonprofits

We are pleased to announce that thanks to the dedication of our supporters, we've been named a Top-Rated nonprofit on @GreatNonprofits! 

Thank you for taking the time to write a review for us.
You can read and write reviews for us anytime at http://bit.ly/oqsrWs

Bernard Parks 8th District E-News


Dear Constituent,

As we reached the mid-point of 2011, I want to thank the entire community for your support and attendance at all of the 8th District events and programs. The next six months will bring more of the same, outstanding community events such as the three day music festival in Leimert Park on Labor Day weekend, the demolition  of city owned  property within Marlton Square in July , the pastors and religious leaders breakfast in August, the State of the Eighth/Star Program in September, the Taste of Soul in October, the Thanksgiving Turkey GIveaway & Christmas Tree Lighting in Leimert Park  in November and the annual Christmas Toy Giveaway in December. See you at these  events as they are being planned for the entire community.

Make sure you stay up to date with all the latest developments on my webpage www.bernardparks.com or twitter @BernardCParks and on Facebook at Facebook.com/CouncilmemberParks and Facebook.com/BernardCParks.
Thank you for your continued interest in the Great Eighth!

Respectfully,
BERNARD C. PARKS
Councilmember


Click HERE for full newsletter

http://www.simplesend.com/simple/textlink.asp?NewsletterID=59071

http://www.simplesend.com/simple/textlink.asp?NewsletterID=59071

2011 Youth Photo Empowerment Contest!

  Youth Photo Empowerment Contest! 

The Photo Empowerment Contest challenges you to apply your creative and artistic skills using photography.  We bet many of you may not even know you have skills behind the lens!  Well now is your chance to discover your hidden talents -this contest will  allow you to see your world and community in a whole new light!



You have the month of July and August to submit two photos and two writings
describing each photo. Each submission must express one or more of
the following THEMES of EMPOWERMENT:

OPPORTUNITY  

PRIDE
CHANGE
LEADERSHIP



PARENTS! PLEASE REGISTER VIA THE LINK BELOW AND CAREFULLY READ THE INSTRUCTIONS LISTED HERE! EVERYONE IS A WINNER!

We will display all photos on the National Urban League's

"I am Empowered" website.
You can create prints of your photos using our toolkit!
All participants will receive recognition for their participation.
Winners will be announced by August 15th*
*The number of top winners will depend on number of entries received.
 

Top winners will receive: Grand Prize $250 American Express Gift Certificate and Digital Camera
Second Place 14 Pixel Digital Fuji Camera
Third Place Compact Digital Camera

Winners will have their photos displayed at the National Urban League headquarters in New York City! 

AND....

Winners will receive a custom complimentary I Am Empowered t-shirt featuring the winning photos!


DEADLINES PUSHED BACK!

Deadline for parents to register: July 22, 2011

Deadline to submit final photos: August 26, 2011


PARENTS!
Click Here to Complete the MANDATORY REGISTRATION.


CONTEST INSTRUCTIONS
PART 1 - WRITING
You didn’t think it was going to be that easy now did you?...there’s one more part!  To accompany each photograph you will be asked to write a paragraph with no less than 200 words and no more than one page, single spaced, telling us the following:
-Why you chose the theme you selected for that particular photo.
-Why your chosen theme/s are significant or important to you.
-What made you snap that particular shot over another? (In other words, why did you decide to submit this photo instead of another shot in your bunch).
Don't forget to check your spelling!


Keep in mind we’re interested in your thoughts and your opinion.  The more descriptive and honest the better!
Remember - You must submit two writings; one for each photograph submitted.  Please do not submit more than two photos and two writings!
At the top of each writing please include the following heading:

2011 Photo Empowerment Contest

Name , Age
Phone Number
Email
Writing #1 or Writing #2


PART 2 - PHOTOS

 FINAL SUBMISSION
We will accept final submissions via hard copy mail or via upload through the link below only.  

CLICK HERE TO MANUALLY UPLOAD YOUR FINAL SUBMISSION.
If sending by mail, entries must be post marked by AUGUST 26.  Hard copy photos must be at least 4” x 6” in size. Send hard copy photos to:
National Urban League

Attention: Photo Empowerment Contest
120 Wall Street, 8th Floor
New York, New York 10005
 

GUIDELINES
  • Participants are encouraged to shoot personal lives, community events, school events, gatherings, summer events, festivals or social happenings to acquire eligible shots. 
  • Participants are encouraged to use digital cameras for the purposes of composition and quality and for ease of sharing and uploading.  Though not recommended, film cameras, camera phones or other digital photographic devices may be used as long as final submissions are clearly visible.  Photos may be black + white or color.                                  
CONTEST RULES

  • No content that is directly offensive to any ethnicity, gender, religion, or culture
  • Photos of unknowing participants that have a reasonable expectation of privacy shall not participate; i.e. photos of individuals walking on the street or in the background, for example, are permissible because these subjects do not have the same “reasonable” expectation of privacy as someone who is seen through their home window.


CONTACT US
If you have any questions please send them via email to PhotoEmpowers@nul.org or call
(212)558-5400 and ask to speak with someone with the Photo Empowerment Contest.
RESOURCES FOR PARENTS
Click the below links to learn more about National Urban League youth programs and ways the Urban League is engaging our youth across the Nation.
NUL Education and Youth
http://nul.org/what-we-do/our-programs/education-and-youth
I Am Empowered Education and Youth
http://iamempowered.com/get-empowered/education-youth-development
GOOD LUCK AND STAY EMPOWERED!

An Evening with Cornerstone Theater on Wednesday, July 27




Cornerstone Theater Wants to Know: What Feeds You?
 

On July 27th, The California Endowment, in conjunction with Cornerstone Theater Company (CTC), invites you to answer the question: “what feeds you?” In a time of crippling scarcity and overwhelming abundance, individuals and communities are responding to this question in different and compelling ways. By examining community health through this lens, CTC will unearth the complexity inherent in food system issues through The Hunger Cycle, a new series of world premiere plays that will be produced over the next four years to investigate the universal and urgent need for food.

Bring your personal experiences and stories to actively participate in the evening’s discussion facilitated by Cornerstone Theater, which will feature Michael John Garcés (CTC’s Artistic Director), members of CTC’s ensemble, and other community participants. Your stories and shared experiences will be collected and ultimately transformed into community-based theater pieces that will form The Hunger Cycle.

The Center for Food and Justice (CFJ), a division of the Urban & Environmental Policy Institute at Occidental College, will be on hand to provide a framework to discuss the current state of food and hunger in Los Angeles and the resources available to us locally.
 
About  

Over the last 25 years, Cornerstone Theater Company has produced over 80 original productions, exploring urban and rural populations facing complex issues around themes including faith, justice, the environment, and sexuality. Last year, Cornerstone completed The Justice Cycle, with sold out performances of Naomi Iizuka’s 3 Truths 
at California Plaza in downtown Los Angeles after spending the previous four years exploring issues of justice and how laws shape and disrupt communities.

Over the next four years, Cornerstone will examine our country’s current hunger crisis through the eyes of people who are directly affected by the complex issues of food and hunger – food equity, access, nutrition, health, and the environment.

CLICK HERE TO RSVP |

 Admission is free; however, an RSVP is required.

The dialog and workshops will last approximately 45 minutes.
Audience question-and-answer session will immediately follow.

Please e-mail
rsvpchc@calendow.org with any questions.

 


Date
Wednesday, July 27th

Check-In
Begins at 5:45 p.m.

Program
Starts at 6:30 p.m.

Venue

 The California Endowment
Center for Healthy Communities
Yosemite Hall
1000 North Alameda
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Click here for a map and directions

We look forward to seeing you!

The Youth in Transition 365 (YT365) Conference Los Angeles

The Youth in Transition 365 (YT365) Conference
Los Angeles

The YT365™ conference series has been developed to further assist youth who are wards of the state, which often consist of individuals involved in the following out of home care systems:  foster care, group home, legal guardian pre-adoption and relative kinship caregiver.  The conference has been developed in order to assist the thousands of youth who are under state care and face many transitions 365 days of the year.

The conference is divided in two strands, the Pre transition-age and the Transition age group.  The strands consist of five major themes which are: Personal Growth, Education, Financial Independence, Health & Wellness, Transition and Independent Living.  These topics and the strand design have been developed to provide maximum growth and learning for age-based participants.

Donation: $30

DUE TO THE TREMENDOUS RESPONSE OF SUPPORT THERE ARE ONLY 150 SEATS LEFT AVAILABLE FOR REGISTRATION


Contact
The Youth in Transition 365 (YT365) Conference | Los Angeles
The Youth in Transition 365 (YT365)
yt365@onfocus.org
415-671-4363

When
Saturday July 30, 2011 from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM PDT

Where
West Los Angeles College | Fine Arts Building
9000 Overland Avenue
Culver City, CA 90230 

Chili's Cordially Invites You To SHIELDS for Families Night!

MAKE SURE TO BRING FLYER WITH YOU IN ORDER FOR ORDER TO BENEFIT SHIELDS!
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FLYER