WOMEN TRANSFORMING SONOMA COUNTY THROUGH COLLECTIVE PHILANTHROPY | NOVEMBER 2021 | ISSUE 50 |
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Impact 100 Redwood Circle is pleased to announce that The LIME Foundation is the winner of this year’s $100,000 Impact Grant. The LIME Foundation will use the grant to expand its NextGen Trades Academy to provide 60 additional youths (for a total of 240) with vocational training, personal development, and long-term career placement over the next two years.
Letitia Hanke, founder, president, and executive director of the The LIME Foundation, accepted the award on behalf of her organization at our Membership Meeting on Saturday, November 6th. “On behalf of the LIME Foundation, I would like to thank the Impact Grant Committee for their hard work and everyone who voted for us. Our NextGen Trades Academy is changing the lives of our underserved youth in so many ways, and we are forever grateful that Impact 100 Redwood Circle believed in our dream.”
In presenting the award, Impact Grant Committee co-chair Ina Chun said, “Letitia, you spoke of what a difference one person can make in a young person’s life, and we are excited to help The LIME Foundation make that important difference in the lives of the 240 young men and women whom you’ll train and inspire over the next two years.”
This year’s two Merit Grants were awarded to finalists Legal Aid of Sonoma County, represented by Robin Hammond, and Santa Rosa Community Health, represented by Annemarie Brown. The Merit Grant recipients are free to use their $12,500 grants at their discretion.
This year, 74 percent of our membership cast ballots. Thank you to everyone who nominated a nonprofit and who voted. Special thanks to Impact 100 Redwood Circle member Misty Mesel for nominating The LIME Foundation!
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Many thanks to all who joined us either in person or on Zoom for the Impact Grant Member Meeting on November 6th. We had about 100 members and guests sign up for the live meeting, and over 60 registrations for the Zoom meeting. It was wonderful to see so many of you in one way or another, and the award presentation was as exciting as ever!
After the meeting, in-person attendees enjoyed a lively outdoor reception with delicious catering by the Tilted Platter, as well as our traditional celebration mimosas and more. Zoom guests participated in breakout groups, and the discussions were lively and thought-filled. We are learning as we go with the hybrid meeting format, and we appreciate the feedback from Zoom attendees on how we can improve for next time, particularly with the audio quality and the screen picture quality. Thank you all for your input!
Note: for members who missed the meeting, the presentation is available on the Members Only portion of the website by clicking here. Login required. A photo gallery will be added soon!
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Member Survey - Have You Submitted Yet? |
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Your Leadership Team is currently grappling with several “big picture” topics and wants to hear from you. A survey was emailed to all members on November 8. Responses close on November 18.
While our membership continues to grow, we have a choice about how large an organization we want to be. There may be a fundamental tradeoff between more money for grants vs the challenges of running a large volunteer-led organization and ensuring a sense of community, connection, and engagement for all members.
In addition, there is increasing awareness in our community and within Impact 100 Redwood Circle around diversity, equity and inclusion. Clarity on how our members view this will assist your Leadership Team in making decisions about future programs, policies, and practices.
The survey should take about 10 - 15 minutes and all data will be anonymous to the Leadership Team. We welcome your candor and comments.
If you have not yet submitted, please take a moment and complete it. If you did not receive the email or cannot locate it - please use the link below to view the survey and respond.
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VOICES
Our very first $100,000 Grant recipient, is requesting “Thanksgiving kits”. Due to the pandemic, they cannot host an in-person celebration, but they are requesting our help providing 20 kits with the following items for their clients’ Thanksgiving dinner.
We are hoping to distribute 20 Thanksgiving dinner kits. Thanksgiving food kit items are as follows:
- Instant Mash potatoes (20 individual packets)
- Gravy Packets (20 individual packets)
- Stove Top Stuffing (20 boxes)
- Cranberry sauce (20 cans)
- Canned Yams (20 Cans)
- Canned Green Beans (20 Cans)
- Canned Cream of Mushroom (20 Cans)
- Corn Bread Mix (20 boxes)
- Mini Pies (20/30 pies)
- Velveeta Mac n Cheese boxes (20 boxes)
- Gift cards (20 for $10 for a rotisserie chicken)
Please bring your complete kit to Voices, 714 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa from noon – 4 pm on Tuesday – Friday, Nov. 16-19, and Tuesday & Wednesday, Nov. 23 & 24
Food For Thought
Help Food for Thought clients receive everything they need to make a festive holiday meal. Access their Virtual Food Drive by clicking here. at www.fftfoodbank.org/food-and-funddrives
Mark your calendar for Thursday, December 2 for Dining Out for Life. Simply dine at one or more participating restaurants and a percentage of your purchase will go to Food for Thought. Click here to see a list of participating restaurants.
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The winner of the Arts & Culture Community Grant award last April was Artstart. Their project was to support Elsie Allen High School students through the creation and installation of a mural at the school.
The mural “Weaving Cultures” was created by approximately 40 students and two teachers from Elsie Allen High School, with the guidance of Hannah Day and other Artstart artists. The original design and concept (created by Angelica Salas de Torres and Kathryn Loomis and their students), was adapted by Artstart Lead Artist, Hannah Day to fit the available wall space. It was designed to be executed as a distance-learning project, with major components painted off site by Elsie Allen and Artstart students.
The mural centers around a portrait of the school’s namesake, Elsie Allen, an activist and revered basket weaver of the Pomo tribe, who sits beneath a black oak flanked by the school’s mascot, the lobo. The tree is draped in a number of vibrant flags symbolizing the about twenty different nationalities represented at the school. Much of the mural is painted in a method of slowly layering the colors in progressively lighter layers which gives it texture and a depth of color.
The installation was completed at the end of September with several Impact100 Redwood Circle members in attendance for the event.
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ED TALK Recap - Education |
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The Impact Education Committee was proud to host Dr. Laurie Fong for October’s ED TALK on the state of education and a vision for the future.
DID YOU KNOW?
- Required College Prep classes resulted in a 6% increase in the graduation rate for Latinx students in Sonoma County.
- Overall, students are experiencing higher levels of anxiety. For example, Girls aged 12-17 have had a 51% increase in mental health and suicide risk emergencies.
- The time is now to examine the educational structure in light of 21st century needs, engagement and inclusivity. We need to envision new models of education.
- Covid funds helped to acquire Chromebooks and hotspots so students could have access to virtual classrooms. Mental health services received funding. We need, however, to recognize that there is a difference between “one time funding” and funding needed services for the long term.
The good news — Dr. Fong says “a single supportive, caring person makes all the difference in a student’s success” so you as an individual and a member of Impact 100 Redwood Circle can find purpose within our families, with friends and in the greater community to support children.
If you missed this valuable presentation, you can find her Powerpoint by clicking here, or view a recording by clicking here. The passcode is %9&0ph=H
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New Member Orientation - Zoom
New Members: Watch for your email invitation to the New Member Orientation via Zoom on Wednesday, January 26, 2022 at 5:30. You’ll meet other new members and learn about many ways to engage in and stay informed of Impact 100 activity.
Cocktails & Conversation – In-person!
Mark your calendar for Thursday, January 13, 2022, at 5 PM, for the next Cocktails & Conversation. It will be held at a local venue TBD. Reach out to friends and acquaintances you’d like to introduce to Impact 100. Watch your email and our website for a registration link coming in the near future.
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A message from the Education Committee and DEI Team
Many of us saw the blazing Press Democrat headline last week - “Exiting officials cite racial bias”
The County is losing an outstanding Director of the Economic Development Board, Sheba Person-Whitley. Many of you joined the ED Talk, hosted Jan. 2021 with Ms. Person-Whitley and saw the innovative work being done in her office and the broad scope of initiatives since the pandemic, as well. For those of you who were not able to attend the event you can find a copy of her presentation by clicking here.
As Leadership and the DEI Team have guided us along the path of education and awareness of diversity, equity and belonging issues universally, we need to become aware of the problems here at home. With a heavy heart we will say goodbye to Sheba, wish her well in her new opportunity and look at who we are, as a community and listen to each other, realizing that we all have work to do in fighting racism.
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