Many of you know that I work at a non-profit in Santa Ana that provides dance, academic and family programs to low-income youth, in order to bring hope and opportunity to them by teaching self-esteem, self-discipline and a sense of accomplishment. In essence, it is a place that believes in the art of being there for each other, and where we hope these youth can foster their dreams.
I am very proud to announce the new name of this great organization: The Wooden Floor. This video explains how we arrived at this new name, and why I think it perfectly represents our focus as an organization.
The Wooden Floor, with the added tagline "From Here You Can Step Anywhere," was chosen as a metaphor for the foundation the organization provides to thousands of young people. It honors their connection to the dance floor where through daily practice they learn self-awareness, confidence and discipline.
Our name is all that is changing. Our mission remains the same, and the design of our new name was to be more relevant and solve misconceptions put forth by the previous name (i.e. we're not a ballet academy, and we do not exist under the umbrella of St. Joseph Health System).
I'm really excited for the next stage in the life of The Wooden Floor, and am so blessed to be a part of it. Many of you know that I have been insanely busy preparing for this change, but it is hard work that I am happy to do. I really do believe that God is blessing this place. It is not a Christian non-profit by any means, but I do believe that we desire that our students experience emotional and spiritual growth as they go through our programs. Honest creativity and the offering of a safe, compassionate family are at the heart of God, and that is why I love working at The Wooden Floor, no matter how crazy busy I may be. :)
It’s taken me a long time to come around to caring about climate change. I have never been a scientific-minded person, and it takes about ten seconds for me to get lost in a technical discussion about global warming. It has not helped that every argument I read presents a different, rather subjective opinion on climate change. These arguments range from the belief that if we do nothing, the earth will disintegrate in a matter of decades, to those that claim that global warming is a complete farce. By the end of the day, any desire I might have had to engage in the discussion has vanished from my frustrated and confused mind.
Skeptics continue to question if any good can really come from climate change legislation. I myself am a person that needs to receive rational, detailed evidence before I will believe that an idea is worth pursuing. But in this debate, it’s hard to separate fact from fear.
I found this article from Jason Scorse, the Chair of the International Environmental Policy Program at the Monterey Institute, to be a nice push to look at the glass half full when it comes to the outcomes of reducing climate change, at both personal and legislative levels. His bottom line: “So what if global warming is a hoax? There are clear and inarguable reasons that we should be doing everything in our power to reduce our use of fossil fuels and become leaders in the green energy revolution. For a bonus we might also help to reduce climate change and ensure a reasonably hospitable planet for generations to come.”
If you still remain unconvinced that getting involved in this discussion is worth your time, remember this ultimate truth: it is our moral imperative as Christians to care about climate change. Why? Because climate change impacts the way people are able to live and provide for their families. The injustice of our current situation is that those that have contributed least to global warming are those in most danger of being affected by it. Vital resources will diminish, water scarcity will become an even greater problem, and the economic effects will hinder growth in developing countries. Here’s an excellent report on the correlation of poverty and climate change.
Daysix.org is an organization that is trying to keep these issues at the heart of the climate change debate as we near the December global climate talks in Copenhagen. For those of you that have a more visual bent, they’ve put together a great video that acts as the rally cry for climate change in the faith community.
The question that always remains for me in any issue is this: what are practical steps we can take to make a difference? Well, this is where we need to help each other; get discussions going and throw ideas out there. I think that a great place to start is taking a look at the food we eat, considering the huge role that it plays in our daily lives and relationships. Have you considered where your food comes from, if the farmers that produce it are treated justly (if, in fact, it actually comes from a good, old-fashioned farm), and how accessible healthy food is to the impoverished around the world? Other issues I’d like to tackle are the amount of trash we produce, cutting down the pollution we create with the exorbitant amount of driving we Southern Californians do, and creating access for our low-income communities to environmental education, good food, and the equal opportunity to benefit from new climate change legislation. The list goes on and on and on, but rather than letting that become a hindrance, let’s keep the conversation going and try to tackle these things one at a time as a community. Ideas anyone?
Two wonderful new films have recently opened and should be trickling down from LA soon, so have them on your radar!
First on the bill is "A Serious Man," the new film from the Coen Brothers ("No Country For Old Men," "The Big Lebowski," and the list goes on and on...). It is a complex, dark and hilarious story of a midwestern physics professor trying to figure out the meaning of life as fate brings one blow after another. The characters are rich, and the performances are wonderful. This isn't exactly a film to cheer the spirits, but it entertainingly demonstrates that it is sometimes impossible and unnecessary to take life's awkward turns seriously.
Second on the must-see list is "An Education," the story of Jenny (played by Carey Mulligan, who has constantly been compared to Audrey Hepburn) who is on a one-way street to a proper Oxford education, much to the satisfaction of her parents and teachers. That is, until she meets a charming, much older man (played by the wonderful Peter Sarsgaard) sweeps her off her feet and carries her into a whole new world of glamour and spontaneity. But Jenny must decide what will be of true value in her life as she discovers the darker sides of the pursuit of carefree happiness.
Read more about it here. Watch the trailer here. Hope you enjoy them both!
Halloween is my favorite holiday of the year. Perhaps it’s because I’m making up for lost time since my family did not start celebrating the holiday until after I was 10 (my parents weren’t the biggest fans of ghosts, witches and the intensive pumpkin-carving process), or perhaps it’s because… well, frankly, it’s awesome! I love the cooler weather, the pretty leaves and the first rain showers of fall (oh wait… I live in Southern California now), as well as the fabulously creepy music, watching “Nightmare Before Christmas” a dozen times, eating pounds of sugar and trying to out-do everyone else in the creative costume category.
While October ushers in the Halloween season, it is also Fair Trade Month. TransFair USA is holding a month-long campaign to spread awareness of fair trade consumer options to support small farmers in the developing world.
How perfect that these two events should coincide, because Global Exchange is once again hosting its Reverse Trick-or-Treating program.
According to the Africa Faith and Justice Network, 284,000 children work in abusive labor conditions in West Africa’s cocoa fields, and many cocoa farmers cannot meet their basic needs because companies pay such low wages. An astounding 70% of the chocolate you find in stores comes from these West African fields – that chocolate doesn’t seem so sweet now, does it?
The Reverse Trick-or-Treating program works to address this injustice by allowing kids to give fair trade chocolate back to adults while trick-or-treating on Halloween. Attached to the chocolate is a card with more information about the issues of the cocoa industry and the solutions Fair Trade offers. You can order a free kit from Global Exchange here. If you, like me, will not be trick-or-treating on Halloween, you can also order fair trade chocolate and flyers on Fair Trade cocoa to hand out.
This is a great way to promote justice in the cocoa industry and work to end poverty in these West African communities. Happy Halloween, everyone!
