Poetry

Blog by Gina…
Last week was a busy week. At least for me. We had a staff party with United Way to celebrate our goal to have 100% staff giving! We had a social event in which a potluck was followed by a trip to Theater in the Grove’s production of Cinderella, starring our very own Kristi Van Nostran as Joy, the ugly step sister. It was hilarious and fun was had by all. But most importantly, this week we went to the Center for Gender Equity’s BRIDGE program Year End Celebration at Pacific University. The Bridge Program allows Adelante Mujeres program participants to study literature with Professor Nancy Christoph at Pacific.
To be honest, I went because of the food. I hadn’t packed a lunch, wasn’t thrilled about my take out options and I was hungry. Plus, I like to support and interact with the students as much as time allows. I sauntered over to Pacific, my old stomping grounds, up the stairs of Marsh Hall into Taylor Auditorium. It was different from how I remembered but nice to be back. A PowerPoint presentation was set up, welcoming the guests and students. Martha Rampton addressed the crowd, explaining the long time partnership between Adelante Mujeres and the Center for Gender Equity. Bridget spoke as well, to thank Martha and CGE but also to encourage the students as they nervously fiddled with papers or hair in their seats. Then Nancy took the microphone. She is wonderful. She was my favorite professor at Pacific. She does incredible work, especially with the women of Adelante Mujeres. Watching her, listening to her speak about the journey though several short works of literature and poetry with the women over the past 12 weeks, I remembered what a great teacher Nancy is. I felt happy to know that she was sharing her gifts with the students of Adelante Mujeres. What I wasn’t prepared for were the gifts the students had to share with the crowd.
They had written 1-2 poems each week of the class and Nancy asked them to share their favorite two. Oh me, oh my, we had a room of very talented poets. There were odes to tables and sofas and food, there were poems dedicated to sons and teachers, there were poems about motherhood, immigration and love. And they were good. I was brought to tears a few times, so were many of the students presenting. They really had opened up to the process and shared their innermost thoughts and feelings and what came out was in the form of beautiful poetry.
I hope to be able to share with you some of the poetry in the near future but I am still working on permission.
Please know these women have extraordinary talents that have been hidden or gone unrecognized because of little formal education, language and cultural barriers, gender bias, isolation and time. Given the opportunity, through their studies at Adelante Mujeres, these women will continue to thrive.

Exciting Day in the Office

Blog by Gina...
Today was an exciting day in the office. I don't know what it is about December, maybe the promise of an extended break from this chaos, but everyone's spirits were high. Lupe's birthday was yesterday and to celebrate she treated us to a delicious lunch of mole. Mmmmmmmmm! Plus, all of the office staff were present! Which can drive us crazy (visualize 900 square feet and 10+ people working; one phone line, loud talkers; meeting with program participants...)! But that alone was exciting because we've suffered a string of injuries and illnesses and the office has been feeling a bit bare lately. That's not even the most exciting part though! Today, we signed the lease to our farm. OUR FARM! Several acres of farmland for Adelante Mujeres’ program participants. With a LONG TERM LEASE! Access to WATER! So our Agriculture program can not only provide classroom agricultural and small business training but also on site practice and access to land so interested folks can start their small scale farming enterprise! Our project participants will grow market produce on the land and use the Forest Grove Farmers Market as an outlet for that produce. We take the land over on January 1, 2010. Have I mentioned what high hopes I have for 2010?
We will have a lot of work to do to get the land ready-any interested parties should contact us about volunteer opportunities and work parties. Hooray!

Adelante Empresas

Blog by Gina...
Today Adelante Mujeres sponsored the Forest Grove Chamber of Commerce luncheon. Students from the Adult Education class prepared a delicious meal of tostadas followed by yummy flan. As the auditorium filled with Chamber members the students dished up plates and greeted the business community. After introductions, Ali Brown, Adelante Empresas Coordinator, started off the program by explaining about Adelante Mujeres and all of our programs. Then she introduced a few of the entrepreneurs working with us and they addressed the crowd. First Gabriela Perez spoke as representative of the Cleaning Wizards. Gaby explained how she has always wanted to own her own business and now she is doing just that. With this added income she is able to help cover everyday expenses for her family and save some for her children’s education. It was touching because I could tell how proud she is! Concepcion Giron spoke next and she got a bit choked up as she explained that her business was started by her husband, who was recently in a fatal car accident. She went on to say that she is persevering and will be successful with Adelante’s help. Hector of Hector’s Car Detailing was the last to address the crowd. He explained how Adelante Empresas has helped him gain clientele and grow his business. After working for years for other companies he thought “I can do this for myself” and with Adelante Empresas help, he has.
Their stories are more powerful than anything we can explain, they are stories of resilience and struggle and overcoming barriers that many of us can’t even imagine. Sitting at the Chamber lunch, listening to the stories, I felt proud to be an employee of Adelante Mujeres. Proud of what we have accomplished and what we have inspired others to accomplish; who we have set on the path to empowerment and all that they are doing now!

Oh, yeah, the Adelante Mujeres blog!

Blog by Gina…
So you are wondering-where have you been? Is this blog doomed to social media oblivion? No, no and emphatically no! We have had a few bumps in the road but Adelante Mujeres is back, from travels, illnesses, injury and serious lack of time, to update our blog much more frequently. This is my promise, to each and every reader. All six of you!
The last time I posted was in June. In July, I fell in love. That is my only excuse and I’m sorry that my bloggy time was spent making googly eyes at a man. In August, I was mauled by a dog while visiting a farm. He took a few chunks out of my leg and after lots of stitches, crutches, infections and MONTHS of resting, I am still not yet fully healed. But I am close. This concludes the excuses portion of our blog. Please read on…
Being that it has been such a long time I thought I would update you about what has happened. This is a long one, so pop some popcorn and get cozy.

The Forest Grove Farmers Market celebrated the autumn harvest and our last market day on October 14, 2009. It was a great season and I was sad to see it go. Having missed several weeks because of the dog bite I felt that the Market should still be going on. The staff who filled in (and did a wonderful job at that) may feel differently.
Top Successes of the 2009 Season:
--Secured two significant grants to help fund the Forest Grove Farmers Market (and other Adelante Mujeres projects). The grants allow us to increase outreach to new customers-especially low-income shoppers!
--Vendors donated over 1735 pounds of food (much needed fresh fruits and veggies as well as gluten-free goods, meat, and other treats) to the St. Vincent DePaul Food Bank of Forest Grove during the 2009 season!
--$11,297 worth of tokens were used to purchase goods at FGFM during 2009 as well as an additional $1,450 in matched EBT tokens were spent!
--We greatly increased the number of EBT shoppers/EBT dollars spent at the FGFM-In 2009, we had 117 shoppers using SNAP dollars, spending $6,343 (a 422.5% increase from 2008 which accounts for almost ½ of all token sales)!
--Our “Shopping on a Budget” class series as well as “Cooking on a Budget” demonstrations were very popular. The classes and demonstrations helped the low-income community, market shoppers in general, as well as added to vendor sales by encouraging shoppers to purchase and cook with locally produced goods!
Now we are busy working with a committee of vendors, planning the 2010 season and everyone is very excited about it. There have been some rumblings about the Forest Grove Farmers Market moving off of Main Street. For the record, we are working with the City and downtown merchants to renew our mutually beneficial contract and I’ll keep you posted.

In October, Adelante Mujeres was named one of Oregon Business Journal’s Top 100 Non Profits to Work For! (See our blog post from June 16, 2009.) We ranked fifth in the small non profit category and scored 7th overall out of 100! Over 200 non-profits participated and we are very honored to be among the top 10! You can see the entire article here.

On November 1st we celebrated our annual Día de los Muertos Celebration. Day of the Dead started as a small celebration within Adelante Mujeres as a way for the Adult Education students (mothers) to share with their children a little bit of their culture. Soon volunteers and other community members wanted to come and it has morphed into a huge gathering of the Forest Grove community. It was held at Pacific University and we served delicious tamale dinner, the women made altars honoring famous Latinas and Mexico en la Piel dance troupe kept us entertained. It was a fun night and we look forward to next year! Pictures are coming soon.

That's all I've got in me for right now. But welcome back to all of our readers! Thank you for your continued support!

Wise. Latina. Woman.

Blog by Bridget:

We made a wonderful discovery when we realized that diverse experiences do lead to diverse perspectives. While some are aghast at Sonia Sotomayor’s expressed hope “that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life,” others perceive a refreshing, reverberating tone. If it is wisdom we are looking for, then let’s call on the richly varied experiences of all those around us. The sorry absence of so many voices has beyond doubt impoverished our vision. Remember that until recently it was assumed that the best candidate for any well paying job was always a white male. In truth we have come a long way! Now let us focus on inclusion, rather than exclusion.

Ms. Sotomayor rightly recalls the beneficent forces that propelled her forward. Yet few wise Latinas have been so fortunate. For most the doors have not been opened wide. There are fissures, cracks in the windows, the slow dismantling of patriarchal prejudices as we search for new forms, like the ancient gathering trees of Guernica, Spain offering shade and room for all. Native peoples attest to the wisdom of age and the wisdom of diverse opinions through wisdom councils of the elderly and wisdom circles wherein everyone is listened to and the accumulative wisdom fills the center and points the way. We need Arthurian round tables to bring in the silenced and unheard, and deference to those who up till now have spoken little.

Still, some tables are built for nine. Who than shall be seated? Whose experience will help us understand the degradation of poverty? Whose stories will tell us what war feels like? Whose history will reveal how bitter the taste of discrimination, how limited the horizon circumscribed by a millennia of belittling? And who will give us hope and speak to the resilience we need? Today we call forth the many wise ones we’ve relegated to the kitchens and laundry rooms, fields and back alleys, back staircases, back, back, back behind white privilege. The core of our work in Adelante Mujeres could be described as giving voice lessons. Education, Empowerment, Enterprise – varieties of voice lessons to allow a new music to ring forth.

Thanks so very much for joining us in this endeavor.

100 Reasons

Blog by Gina…
We are participating in Oregon Business' 100 Best Non-Profits survey. We hope to win. But if we don’t, that’s okay. We’ve compiled a list of reasons, in no particular order, why Adelante Mujeres is, in our minds, the best place to work:

• Office babies. Or babies in general who appear at our office, our staff meetings or other places. Adelante Mujeres understands that babies and women go hand in hand and one without the other is unnatural. So everyone is welcome and accommodated.


• Our Leader. She hugs us when we get to work, genuinely cares about our non-work lives (or lack thereof) and treats everyone as equals throughout the organization. She inspires us and helps us to see our own potential. Errors to her are only learning opportunities and she isn’t just a boss but a friend.


• Snacks. At every meeting. Always. We are not talking chips and salsa; I’m talking empanadas, tamales, mole, tostadas, etc. Food is culture and we embrace that.


• Office dogs. First there was Nellie, the blind dog. Then Mozzie and his protective growl. Now there is Morgan, visiting all the way from New Mexico.


• The Forest Grove Farmers Market. Fresh Oregon Strawberries – need I say more? Adelante brings these and many other great produce, craft and food vendors to downtown Forest Grove every Wednesday from May to October.


• Our Board of Directors. They are community members and friends and guide us on our way. They are a governing force with a unicorn and rainbow coating. We trust them to guide us and they trust us to do good work. Their dedication to Adelante Mujeres is commendable and each year they get better and better.


• Carpool. Bike. Public Transit. It is all encouraged and hours are flexible so we can commit to travel with the environment in mind.


• Spanglish. The official language of Adelante Mujeres! Our bilingual staff flows in and out of Spanish and English and loves to make up new words such as “coche-piscina’ for a literal translation of “carpool” or “planta de huevos” for “eggplant”. We crack ourselves up. Plus, we are constantly learning – everyone speaks Spanish but we all learned it in different places so our word choices vary. The Guatamaltecos use different vocabulary than the Paraguayans and the Mexicans have their slang that I’m trying so desperately to learn. Everyone adds to Adelante’s language official.


• Project Participants. We would not be who we are without the amazing women, men and children who make up Adelante Mujeres. They have become a part of our family and will forever have a place in our hearts. Their courage and determination are an example for us all.

Please help us add to our list-we can easily get to 100 reasons we love Adelante Mujeres with your help!

What's a "woman's issue"?

"Every issue today is a woman's issue -- the defense of our country, our economy, education, healthcare, and protecting the environment. To get more women into public office, we must get more women involved in politics. What people don't realize is that even a small amount of time volunteering can make a difference. Can you make a few phone calls? Can you lend your home? Help write press releases? Work for what you believe in, whether it’s on a local, state, or national level."
--Nancy Pelosi in Know Your Power: A Message to America's Daughters