Sister Giant…. a successful beginning

More than 20 women gathered throughout the course of the day on November 10 to participate in a livestream of Marianne Williamson’s Sister Giant gathering.  We are thrilled that current and new YES& women attended and participated in learning, sharing and connecting around women+politics+spirit.

A few potential action items that stood out from the conversations and can also be found in the Citizen Activation notes:
· Setting up a panel of women leaders to educate other women who are interested in running for office in this county and/or serving on committees.
· Mentoring women who want to run for office or sit on committees. Training/mentoring interns and assistants for women in office.
· Supporting Hilary Bryant with her abundance of emails, research, mail etc.

Meeting
We are setting up a quick meeting via conference call for anyone who thinks they might want to work on some of these initiatives or would like to stay/get involved.  At that meeting we will create the agenda for a longer meeting in January for those interested in staying in the loop (regardless of your commitment).  We are planning to host that call on Thursday, December 6 at 4pm,. We will be using this conference dial in:  712-432-3900 access 926191# moderator 107238.  If you can’t make it and are interested in staying connected, please drop us an email and we will send you out an update.

Access to More Sister Giant
Sister Giant still has live streaming available of Saturday. We already paid for it, so if you are interested in hearing any of the content again or want to share it with others, this will be a great opportunity. Please contact me (Julie)  and I will send you the password. Only one login at a time, so if there are multiple requests, we will spread them out over a few days.

We also hear that Sunday was amazing and are looking into that download. I (Julie) watched the panel on Saturday night with representatives from the political parties and found it to be an interesting dialogue. Sister Giant is also working on getting the speaker on “Prisons as a Growth Industry” to all of us who were not on site.  Thank you to Jessica for stepping up and giving us such great insight into our local issues.

UPDATE from Marianne- Her Letter To Sister Giants
Here is the update from Sister Giant http://sistergiant.com/sistergiant/letter-to-sister-giants/

Marianne & Sister Giant Follow-up Meeting
Via Sister Giant “Our first monthly phone call – dealing with the issue of the current conflict in the Middle East — will be held on Wednesday, December 5, 2012. My guest will be Rabbi Michael Lerner (www.tikkun.org) , whose new book is titled Embracing Israel/Embracing Palestine: A Strategy to Heal and Transform the Middle East. I have also written an article for Huffington Post called “Israel, Palestine, Love.” Dial in details for the call will be emailed and will be available on our site.  Our second call, to be held on January 2nd, will be on the topic of poor air quality in America’s public schools.”

Your Contributions
Thanks to the generous sponsorship of Diane Lamotte and the contributions from attendees, we helped fund one girl in the Mini Mermaid Running Club! We also dropped off $70 to Friends of Parks and Rec for the Youth City Council program. Together we contributed  a total $140 of donations from our event.  Thank you to everyone for your generosity!

Hey Sister Giant!!
We will be reaching out to Sister Giant to let them know that SC is listening and interested in staying connected and informed!

We are honored to have, once again, curated a conversation and possible actions around a topic that has deep resonance with women and our local/global communities.

Sister Giant- Live Streaming & Community Conversation for a New Political Consciousness

Since the success of “Miss Representation,” we have continued our quarterly meetings where we support each others work, network and discuss that different projects, life goals and intentions we all have for our lives, our work and our community.  We will continue these quarterly meetings with the next one scheduled for Wednesday, December 5 at 7:30 pm. at Center Street Grill (immediately following the 100+ Women Who Care Meeting)

A New Project has Begun!

Recently, we learned of an amazing event taking place in Los Angeles and decided to see how we could participate.  Sister Giant is being produced by spiritual & political activist and best selling author Marianne Williamson in partnership with The Women’s Campaign Movement at Yale University, Sister Giant is  a non-partisan symposium dedicated to empowering women to run for political office, with an emphasis on the intersection of spirituality, consciousness  and politics.

The stated goal of the event is to promote gender equality in political leadership at a time when the number of women in congress comprises only 16.8 %.  Non-partisan, unabashedly spiritual and progressive, the day will focus on three topics specifically including:

  • Child Poverty
  • Prisons as a Growth Industry
  • Democracy Imperiled by the negative impact of Citizens United.

During this election season, we have seen so many women’s issues discussed in the most arcane, inappropriate ways, it’s important for us to refocus, reframe and reclaim the political conversation in America.

SO, we are planning another event that connects great content with great conversation.

During the all day, Saturday November 10 event, we will be listening to:

  • Marianne Williamson: Symposium Hostess; Author of 13 books on spirituality and culture.
  • Lisa Bloom: Author of:  SWAGGER: Ten Urgent Rules for Raising Boys in an Era of Failing Schools, Mass Joblessness, and Thug Culture
  • Adam Winkler:  Professor of Law at UCLA and author of:  GUNFIGHT: The Battle Over the Right to Bear Arms in America.
  • Patricia Russo: President of the Women’s Campaign School at Yale.
  • Jean Houston: Author, philosopher and leadership consultant to the United Nations Development Program.
  • Sara Jane Rose: 
Founder of Sally’s List
  • Deb Sofield
: Past President, Women’s Campaign School Yale University; Executive Consultant

In addition, we will be sharing our reactions, creating alliances and connections, and using breakouts to empower more women in local, regional and national politics.

If you’re interested in helping, email: sandy@communications4good.com.  Please register and come to the event!  http://yesandsistergiant.eventbrite.com

July 10 Meeting Kicks Off a New Project: Mentoring

July 10, 2012 meeting:  Mentoring Project
“Yes2Mentoring” Collaborative (for lack of a better name to be chosen later) is a group of Santa Cruz County leaders who are interested in connecting “mentors, mentees, and money” so that every child in the country has access to a caring adult.

It was “born” from an interest in mentoring expressed by members of Yes&, a group of energetic Santa Cruz women leaders “in search of a project”, according to Sandy Skees, the founder.

The first project was to do a screening of the documentary “Miss Representation” and start a dialog about improving opportunities for women and teens in our county.  Thanks to the efforts of that group, “Miss Representation” was screened in more than six schools throughout the county.  The “birth” of this collaborative network is “Project 2″.

The next meeting will be on August 9 from 3:00 – 5:00 at the Santa Cruz County Office of Education (Encinal Street) in the Ocean/Pacific Conference Room.  It”s open to anyone in Santa Cruz County who has an interest in mentoring the next generation.

We hope to see more of you on the 9th – feel free to invite others!

February 16, 2012 Meeting – Much Accomplished!

We had our quarterly meeting today and made great progress in getting clarity on our shared purpose, how we can support each other, agreed to next steps, and scheduled our next meeting for Thursday May 24 at 6:00 pm (location TBD).

PURPOSE:  We are change agents for Santa Cruz County, developing the leadership we need to make our world better.

WE WILL:

  • Have regular gatherings where we connect and network
  • Support one another as needed
  • Participate in full circle learning and professional development
  • Mobilize and evangelize on behalf of each other
  • Bring visibility to what others are doing in our community

RESOURCES, ACTIONS AND NEXT STEPS

  1. The web site will include a regularly updated directory of each member’s bio so that we can reach out and leverage the skills, talents and connections of this powerful group of can-do women (Sandy Skees and Mary Talpas will update the site)
  2. A Facebook Group will give us a way to stay connected in real time with updates, events, requests and posts that keep everyone informed and in touch (Lori Butterworth will create and invite everyone on the current google.doc list)
  3. We will meet quarterly in a more informal evening gathering to network and connect.  The flow of our two hours together will be:  Short introductions to the entire group.  Random selection of three participants to tell the story of their journey and give all of us a glimpse at how we got to today. A Reciprocity Circle of intentional sharing of requests, non-financial support or asks that will help us get done what we need to get done (Jennifer Astone agreed to show us how to conduct this effective resource-sharing practice)  We meet on Thursday, May 24 at 6:00 pm at a place Heidi Boynton will confirm.
  4. At least once a year, we will host a guest speaker and invite our youth, giving all of us the inspiration or tools needed to be leaders.
  5. We will recruit new members to our YES-& change agents group, taking care to bring into our group all of those who are committed to making Santa Cruz and our world a better place by empowering leadership among a broad range of people.

Feel free to add a comment here or post an idea to our Facebook page

We are on our way!

Miss Representation Screening & Community Conversation Big Success In Santa Cruz

Our first Yes-& project, the Miss Representation Screening and Community Conversation at the Museum of Art and History (MAH) on December 6th was amazing.  More than 90 Santa Cruz County educators, students & committed leaders gathered to screen a great film, followed by lively discussions, questions, ideas, suggestions and collaborations. Just what we all hoped for!

The movie itself, written and directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsome was well received. One high school student shared how surprised she was that women are so poorly represented in our society.  She added that this needs to change and, based on her participation in the action groups, is already engaged in creating that change. Immediately after the screening, the attendees were divided into 5 different groups representing neighborhoods and schools throughout North and South County.

Each group was asked to discuss:

(1) What’s already working in our communities and schools in helping empower girls

(2) What isn’t working or isn’t available

(3)  Ideas for programs or projects that can accelerate a change in culture and media to support girl empowerment

After the brainstorm sessions, everyone gathered back in the main lobby for an idea synthesis and to see what actions were going to take the momentum forward.

What’s Working  There is already some amazing work being done to empower girls. For example, Link Crew (peer to peer mentoring), National Coalition Building, Conflict Management Programs, Equity Club, Anti-bias Curriculum, Reading Books and Viewing Media by Women Authors, PVPSA, Mini Mermaids, Planned Parenthood, TedX Community for Juniors, Women in Science, Organic Food and Health Consciousness, “I Decide” program, Diversity Center Outreach, Junior Guards, City of Watsonville Neighborbood Services Program, Delta School “Exploring Life Options”, and Mount Madonna’s Volleyball Collaboration Team.

What isn’t Working.   Examples include: the need to engage boys in these kinds of discussion, a lack of respect when describing women’s actions (use of negative words or tone), lack of resources on how to be a leader, young boys access to porn, lack of networking possibilities, school dances pressure to engage in activities girls don’t want to do, male coaches/teachers making sexual inappropriate comments to girl students, pressure to date, girls being mean to girls, teen pregnancy, lack of clothing ethics, body image problems, padded bras and bathing suits marketed to prepubescent girls, dismissing problems as catty, lack of anti-bullying policy or not followed through, harassment, cyber culture, interpersonal communication, and parents don’t say “no”, and lack of family dinners, .

Ideas for Empowerment.  Such great creativity came from groups of leaders and teens.  These included:  Consciousness raising, media literacy programs, mentoring programs for girls, creating media that better represents the reality and experience that local girls are having, create girls support groups at high schools, hire more women coaches for sports teams, parental education programs for awareness and discussion, group activities for boys and girls to break down stereotypes, community service with gender focus, and leadership development modeled on gay straight alliance that takes on gender stereotypes,

Action Plans.  From all of the great ideas developed in the breakouts, attendees agreed that these three projects have the most promise AND agreed to step up and make them happen.  We will be looking for outcomes in three areas:

1. Community-wide screening of the film in schools and /or theaters along with media literacy training and discussions. The plan is to leverage the Santa Cruz Film Festival,  curriculum and various film versions that Miss Representation, in partnership with Girls for a Change, has created to get the widest possible screenings of the film throughout the entire county — aimed at reaching girls, boys, parents and educators.

2. Speed mentoring program linking girls and women leaders.  Girls for a Change has created a program and all the materials needed to host a speed mentoring event.  This group will figure out how to create an opportunity that matches girls with mentors, using resources already created.

3. Social media and an online teen film festival.  This program involves asking high schools boys and girls to create their own video for an online film festival. This will serve as a platform for our youth to speak their truth about how they want to see girls and boys portrayed in media. We also want to identify where the media is portraying girls or boys in a bad light and let the advertisers and companies know we are not buying it. We’re are participating in the Miss Representation campaign on Twitter, inspired by Girls For a Change. If you see a product or advertisement that misrepresents or degrades women – whether in a store, online or in a magazine – here’s what you can do to make a difference:On Twitter, post a description or a picture of the offensive item with this hashtag: #notbuyingit.

YES we uncovered the insidious messages to girls in our society AND each of the action groups are off and running to address the problem.

Off we go!

This all happened because a group said “yes” to possibility. Who knows what’s next?!?!

Miss Representation: Film Screening & Community Conversation

“Like drawing back a curtain to let bright light stream in, Miss Representation (90 min; TV-14 DL) uncovers a glaring reality we live with every day but fail to see. Written and directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the film exposes how mainstream media contribute to the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America. The film challenges the media’s limited and often disparaging portrayals of women and girls, which make it difficult for women to achieve leadership positions and for the average woman to feel powerful herself.”

TRAILER:  http://missrepresentation.org/the-film/


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